Everyone’s had the experience of checking their bank account at the end of the month and seeing that there’s more money missing than they had expected. While we all have to pay bills and cover the cost of living, sometimes it can be infuriating to watch our hard-earned money slowly disappear over the course of the month until we’re desperate for the next payday.
There are a number of ways that we lose money without realising it, and once we find out where the money is being lost, it’s simply a matter of changing how we spend, cutting off unused bills and subscriptions, and making sure we know where every cent is going.
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The Cost of Food
We live in an era of abundance, meaning that when we visit the local grocery store, it’s easy to spend a lot of money on a full cart of groceries in order to keep our fridge looking topped-up. But this can quickly become a problem when a certain amount of the food we bring home ends up being wasted. In the United States, for example, it’s estimated that the average household throws away around $640 a year worth of food. This is food that was otherwise fine to eat, but due to the nature of sell-by-dates, will get thrown away. The best way to get around this problem is by creating grocery lists and meal plans and using the food that is available at home, and ensuring that only a small amount is thrown away when absolutely necessary.
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Unused Memberships
This type of cost usually applies to gym memberships, but it can also consist of streaming services, online games, or other types of subscriptions. We often begin to pay for these subscription-based services with the intention of making full use of them, but over time we become busy with our daily lives and forget about them, and the charges continue to be taken off every month. This is especially prevalent with online banking, where we can set orders for payments to come off of our accounts automatically and without prior verification. While it may seem like a good idea to hold on to your gym membership, if you haven’t used it within six months, it’s a better to end the monthly payments and put the money toward better use, such as online casino Singapore games or home exercise machines.
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Restaurant Meals
We all love to enjoy the occasional meal at a nice restaurant, but they’re also one of the most expensive ways of enjoying food. This can include anything from takeaways to eating out at the local Italian place, but the total cost of enjoying food not made at home can quickly add up to thousands by the end of the year. Linked closely to the cost and wastage of food, the easiest way to save a lot of money is by simply purchasing food at the grocery store and cooking it at home for most nights. Going out should be a special occasion done once in a while when there is more than enough money to spare.