Many people don’t realize how much unnecessary money they spend every morning, and how much they can save if they adjust these habits. Here are five common ways to throw money away on a daily basis. Eliminate these tendencies and you’ll love the savings you see!
1) Shower Until You’re a Prune
Turn the shower on immediately as you enter the bathroom. It needs to be just the perfect temperature when you get in, right? Once condensation clings to the wall, it’s probably hot enough. Don’t forget to draw a smiley face in the steamed mirror first! Stand in the near-scalding water for an extended time, letting the water slowly melt away last night’s cobwebs and bring you to life. By the time you’re clean and wrinkled, the water should have been running for about 20 minutes (including heat-up time). With today’s standard 2.5 gallon-per-minute showers, you’ve successfully used 50 gallons of water!
2) Spend Plenty of (Star)Bucks!
While you most likely have a fine coffee machine on your kitchen counter, stopping by a coffee shop on the way to work is an easy way to remove a five-dollar bill from your wallet! Make sure to get something elaborate, as it will be much more expensive than a boring drip coffee. Make it an everyday habit!
3) Avoid Carpools
Many people commute to work from similar areas, especially if the office is in the city. While you could carpool to work, maybe even have a rotating system with your nearby coworkers, definitely drive solo if you’re looking to waste money. Like ants marching single file to their hill, one by one the employees can arrive at work. With expensive gas prices, avoiding carpools is a great way spend unnecessary money and evade new friendships.
4) Be a Water Snob
No matter what you do for work, it’s very important to stay hydrated. While many people use the communal water tank in the office, you should think about drinking from sealed water bottles, whether brought from home or purchased from a vending machine. Sure, it’s basically tap water with a label, but the seal helps you convince yourself that it’s fresher. Also, don’t hesitate to buy other drinks throughout the day, such as juices and soda.
5) Never Make Your Own Lunch. Ever.
Once lunchtime comes around, go ahead and feel smug as you walk past a coworker pulling out a sack lunch. Ha! Those brown-bagging suckers. They don’t know what they’re missing! You know better. You know that you can get a chicken Caesar wrap at the deli across the street for $12. Chips and a soda with that? Yes, please! Eating out every day is an easy way to spend close to $75 a week.
Get rid of these expensive morning rituals and you’ll notice the savings within no time. Are there any other times in our daily lives where we often spend unnecessary money? Share below!
