Sure, penny stocks to watch could make sense if you have extra funds to play around with, but if you have yet to build an emergency fund, pay off debt, and max out retirement savings, then there is work to be done with your spending. While it is important to experience life and not save every last cent, there is a line you cross where overspending has taken place and you are just flat out wasting money, possibly in ways you have yet to realize.
Going Out to Eat
I don’t claim to be a cook, in fact, I would rather call in a carryout order then to cook, cleanup, for a subpar meal, but when you start adding up the costs of stopping for coffee and a bagel in the morning, going out to lunch at work, or taking the family out to dinner, you’re probably easily spending hundreds of dollars per month, whereas if you went grocery shopping and did a little meal prep, for a fraction of that. You can even set the timer on your coffee pot to be finished brewing by the time you are ready to walk out for work, just needing to put into the travel mug.
Paying Credit Card Interest
Credit cards can be a positive money move like protection your bank account from fraud by avoiding debit, building up your credit score by paying on time and keeping debt low, but if not used right, credit cards can send you into a freefall of debt, paying interest every time a full statement balance is not paid by the due date. Paying only the minimum will satisfy the account for the month, but will do little to the balance, so making the largest payment you can afford until the balance is gone is the best way to avoid wasting money on interest.
Not Budgeting
Did you know that two-thirds of the population don’t follow a budget? That’s pretty scary in that most are just spending away without setting limits. Why is that? Sure, budgets are tough and will need tweaking as you adjust monthly spending, but if they allow you to free up extra money, then it’s worth a try! At least you could start by taking last month’s debit or credit card statement and go line by line at all your purchases to have an idea of where exactly your money is going every month.
Not Looking for the Best Deals
It used to be in order to look for the best deals you would have to drive all over town, going store to store to save a few bucks, but now you have the luxury of going from website to website in a matter of seconds, so spending minutes worth of time to find the best price is a no-brainer, especially since most sites offer free shipping, so you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own house to deal with traffic, crowds, not to mention wasting your entire day.
