Ahhhh… Perkstreet. How I remember you fondly, then not-so fondly during our little fling back in the day… I’ve been thinking about you lately. Sometimes I feel sad. Other times I think about what might have been had you not been so short-sighted in rejecting me. I mean, seriously, what the frankenberries went wrong?!? Or was it me? Well, according to you it was me (isn’t that the opposite of letting someone down easily?). (In their defense, they apologized and some kids got a little closer to literacy as a result of the drama…)
But now, Perkstreet, you bring me a list of nine money wasters and how to avoid them. You know how much I love not wasting money. Why do you dangle such fine money-saving goodness in front of me? You know I have a weak spot for you…
Nevertheless, I know it’s not Clint and Katy’s fault that your left hand wasn’t talking with your right hand and that you were so obsessed with some stupid algorithm that you denied someone who would have swiped that debit card and kept a pretty hefty balance running with you for the last year and a half… (I guess I’m still a little bitter, haha!).
Anyhow, let’s start saving some money! What do Clint and Katy offer as 9 big money wasters to avoid? Let’s dig in:
- Neglected Rebates. I hate rebates. I have no idea why because I should be pretty diligent in turning them in. My wife’s pretty good at it, so she definitely saves us with this one! Although because I bank with Bank of America, I often get annoyed even when rebate checks come in. What is it with banks and stupidity?!?!
- Unclipped Coupons. I’m lukewarm on coupons lately. I believe in clipping “enough” coupons, but not to obsess over them. My wife generally spends a couple of hours doing the sale/circular/coupon tango and then I go shopping. This usually nets about $25 to $50 per hour for her time. We don’t buy coupons or anything like that, although we live in a condo building with about 250 units and score a bunch of extra coupon books from fancy pants residents who are too good to save money!
- Overlooked Tax Breaks. Hire a pro to do your taxes, OK? My bet is you save way more than you pay.
- Spending With No Rewards. Again, lukewarm on this. If you can do it without “spending more” then go for it. But if you end up spending more than you normally would then don’t worry about rewards. Pay cash, negotiate the price down and stick to a written budget.
- Life Insurance Scams. Agree completely. Whole life is a waste of money. Get some term life insurance if anyone would be harmed financially should you die early OK? I may put a whole new page detailing what a freakin’ ripoff I think whole life insurance is using actual numbers from a quote I received compared to my current plan. Getting at least 10 times your income for a 20 year term is dirt cheap (especially for healthy young people).
- Extended Warranties. Ripoffs. Maybe auto warranties direct from the dealers are an exception to the “ripoff” allegation, but I still think they’re a waste of money. If you couldn’t afford to repair a car, just buy a cheaper car. (Same with TVs, etc.) That’s my motto.
- Late Fees on Bills. Dumb. Don’t pay late. Set up auto-pay if you can’t remember to pay everything. You’ll play catch-up if you think they overcharged you, but at least you won’t miss anything.
- Wasted Food. This one’s tough for me. I try and follow the Santa Clause method now (making a list, checking it twice…) when buying groceries. It helps.
- Impulse Purchases. Haha! I hate impulse purchases. Try avoiding buying anything located within 10 feet of the cash register! Stores like to put impulse items right there, so you start filling up the cart while waiting in line. Oh, and stay out of freakin’ malls where you have to walk by five Annie’s Pretzels or Cinnabons to get back to your car… those suckers are dangerous!
Hmmm… What do you think? I’d say a pretty good list of things to avoid. Sorry for getting a little emotional at the beginning there… haha, no I’m not! It’s my blog and I can cry if I want to! 
What’s your biggest money waster? I’d have to say restaurants lately. We’re pretty busy and with two kids sometimes we take the easy way out, although I’ve done a pretty good time of limiting my work lunch spending lately. It’s definitely something I’m focused on this year.
Until next time, put your credit card down and slowly step away from the mall!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with you on pretty much everything here. We don't do coupons because there's no such thing and I've never worried about getting rebates and points because I don't really spend enough to justify it. The one exception to this in my AMEX card that I use for all travel/hotels and that only works for me because the points never expire. As for Cinnabon…ah well I actually go out of my way on occasion to get some of their gooey goodness…it's a weakness I know.
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I think if you are able to stick to a written budget, you should reconsider using a rewards credit card. If credit card issuers are going to be aggressive enough that they offer rewards on purchases, you might as well take advantage of it, especially if you have the discipline to pay off the balance each month. I try to put most of my purchases on a cash back credit card. It also helps with budgeting since you get everything written down in your monthly statement.
My recent post The Financial Burden of Moving (and Breaking Up)
Oh, I love my Amex card and use it as often as possible (I get 2% cash back – I know I could get more with rotating rewards and other cards, but so far I've kept it simple…). I just always qualify it with "make sure you don't out-spend the cash back. I'm sure you're rockin' it.
My recent post 9 smart moves in a tough economy
Hey Modest Money! Yeah, we use a 2% cash back Amex as much as possible but try and negotiate a better cash discount (unless we want the "protection" of the credit card – extended warranty and dispute process – in which case we just pay with the Amex). We never carry a balance, so it's been great forr us.
Great points re: budgeting too. Checkbooks have officially gone the way of the typewriter…
My recent post 9 smart moves in a tough economy