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13 ways Americans throw away money

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Svnla said:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-ways-americans-throw-away-money.html

1. Unused gift cards
2. ATM fees
3. Traffic tickets
4. Candies
5. Lottery tickets
6. Tobacco
7. Alcohol
8. CC interest
9. Casino
10. Soda
11. Wasted energy
12. Wasted foods
13. Bad health
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That above is a silly list - most of it unavoidable for many of those burdened with each, even CC interest (ok, maybe we all can do our bit in using those gift cards or reducing our ATM fees)

But the real list is this below, if we can add extended warranties to it :


JoeyP said:
Missing these:
1. Car leases/loans
2.
Credit cards
not sure many can avoid this
3. Cable/satellite
4. Servicing avoidable debt
5. Keeping same insurance, without looking into quotes from others
6. Any mortgage besides 15 year fixed rate (also buying too much house)
7. Impulse purchases
8. Fast food
9. Most cell phone plans
10. Giving companies access to your checking accounts
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destrekor said:
Good coffee can be delicious, whereas regular run-of-the-mill variety is as you described.

The good beans can also be expensive though.
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I have yet to have any plain coffee that is not hideously bitter.
But I also seem to be quite sensitive to bitter things.....and I often find many "good" or "delicious" foods to be kind of nasty and gag-inducing. My mom would often bring home various things from the farmer's markets in the area (lots of Pennsylvania Dutch style cooking), or would cook up various things herself. Everyone else in the house thought all of it was just wonderful. I instead learned that "Try this! It's good!" was almost never an accurate statement.



They can also be ridiculously priced if they happened to be shat out by certain animals.
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Yeah...that's just weird.
We've already got plenty of foods that came about because of:
- Low income or limited resources: I've got flour, eggs, tuna, and milk. Screw it, I'll mix them together and see what happens. Result: Tuna casserole.
- Cottage cheese: Milk's gone bad. Oh well.
- Cheese: Cottage cheese has dried up. Oh well.
- Casu marzu: (My favorite): Cheese is infested with maggots. Oh well.
- Civet coffee: Hey, that cat ate my coffee beans! Oh well, we'll just use them after they pass.

(I know, I know...some of this is slightly inaccurate. #NotIntentededToBeAFactualStatement)


But yes, pills are that much better. No guesswork, no effort.
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Indeed. Plus easy dosage control, and no need for bathroom runs every 10 minutes for an hour.
 
trmiv said:
Wasted foods. Super guilty of this. My wife and I buy stuff from the store for the week, and then something happens one night and we don't make it, and it goes bad. Or we buy 6 apples, eat 4, and then 2 get soft and get thrown out. etc.

Some of this can't be helped though because you can't buy stuff in smaller packages if you're just buying for two. If I want to make hamburgers for my wife and I, we have to buy 8 damn buns. I end up wasting 5-6 of them. Or an entire pack of cheese that gets partly eaten, frozen for a bit then tossed.
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Thank you! My wife always complains we should waste less, but you have accurately pointed out how difficult it is, even with two kids around, when food is sold in such large packs.
 
Svnla said:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-ways-americans-throw-away-money.html

1. Unused gift cards
2. ATM fees
3. Traffic tickets
4. Candies
5. Lottery tickets
6. Tobacco
7. Alcohol
8. CC interest
9. Casino
10. Soda
11. Wasted energy
12. Wasted foods
13. Bad health

Which one of you guys/gals are guilty of?

Me = soda but I am cutting back, lottery but only when the jackpot was up to $200 million or more and only 1 or 2 tickets. Oh yeah, I could lose a few pounds and working slowly on it.
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1) nope
2) prob under 10$ a year in these
3) havent gotten one in over a decade
4) not sure this counts - sure its junk food, but if you eat it its not wasted
5) maybe 5$ a year on the big ones
6) nope
7) i dont drink often enough for this to count
8) never carry a balance
9) never been
10) stopped drinking it at any frequency, a case will last me a year
11) umm ok
12) everyone is prob guilty of this
13) sorta
 
1. Unused gift cards Nope
2. ATM fees Don't care
3. Traffic tickets Nope
4. Candies Nope
5. Lottery tickets Don't care
6. Tobacco Nope
7. Alcohol Don't care
8. CC interest Don't pay any
9. Casino Don't go
10. Soda Don't drink
11. Wasted energy Don't care
12. Wasted foods Don't care
13. Bad health Should eat better
 
Alcohol - wouldn't really say it is a waste.
CC interest - yep. not a lot, but I do carry a balance on one card.
wasted energy - don't consider DC projects wasted. My personal choice.

So, only guilty of one. In the process of paying it down (5 months and paid off).

- I am sure I have wasted some food in the past. who hasn't?
 
Cerb said:
Thrown away money?! What? You go try not paying one, and see what happens. You can try to avoid them, but they exist mostly for revenue generation, not safety.
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I sure hope you are joking. It is extremely easy to avoid getting traffic tickets.

KT
 
Leasing cars.
Leasing furniture.
Leasing electronics.
Contract cellular phone service.
Cable/Satellite TV.
Credit of just about any type.
Eating out constantly.
Wasting energy.
Throwing food away.
Constantly upgrading electronics.
Driving too much.
Driving too fast.
Not haggling, ever.
Not shopping for insurance.
Buying low end goods which much be replaced over and over.
Not insulating your house (see: wasting energy).
 
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trmiv said:
The only ones on there I do that I consider a waste are credit card interested and wasted foods.

Credit card interest, yea it sucks, made some bad choices. Been transferring them to zero interest though and paying them off.

Wasted foods. Super guilty of this. My wife and I buy stuff from the store for the week, and then something happens one night and we don't make it, and it goes bad. Or we buy 6 apples, eat 4, and then 2 get soft and get thrown out. etc.

Some of this can't be helped though because you can't buy stuff in smaller packages if you're just buying for two. If I want to make hamburgers for my wife and I, we have to buy 8 damn buns. I end up wasting 5-6 of them. Or an entire pack of cheese that gets partly eaten, frozen for a bit then tossed.
Click to expand...

Freeze the leftover buns, or buy fresh rolls from the bakery section for a couple cents a piece. As for the cheese, try going to the deli and getting a small portion, like 1/4lb.
 
Of that list, the only ones that would apply to me are: CC interest (paying it down as fast as I can) and some occasional food waste.
 
Cerb said:
Thrown away money?! What? You go try not paying one, and see what happens. You can try to avoid them, but they exist mostly for revenue generation, not safety.
Click to expand...

Using their estimate of 37.5 million tickets per year divided by approximately 700,000 police officers in the United States, that's about 53 tickets per officer per year. At $150 apiece that's only about $8000 per officer. If traffic tickets are intended for revenue generation, they're doing a bad job.

I've been pulled over about a dozen times in my life for offenses that warranted tickets, I was given three tickets and the rest were warnings. If traffic tickets are intended for revenue generation, they're doing a bad job.

In some places traffic tickets are used primarily for revenue generation, but I don't think that can be said for most places.
 
I think its hilarious how defensive some people in this thread are getting...how DARE that author say you're throwing your money away???
 
Deeko said:
I think its hilarious how defensive some people in this thread are getting...how DARE that author say you're throwing your money away???
Click to expand...

Well the author is an idiot, some waste is part of the game. I've had phases where I've wasted alot before I learned. Thats how everyone learns.

This is this "forgot how I learned what I practice today" trend where as soon as people learn something they assume everyone who hasn't learned it yet is an idiot, never mind that OTHER people knew before you but just didn't care to rub it in your face.
 
OverVolt said:
Well the author is an idiot, some waste is part of the game. I've had phases where I've wasted alot before I learned. Thats how everyone learns.

This is this "forgot how I learned what I practice today" trend where as soon as people learn something they assume everyone who hasn't learned it yet is an idiot, never mind that OTHER people knew before you but just didn't care to rub it in your face.
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.....what? You aren't making sense. The author is an idiot for pointing out areas where Americans spend a lot of money frivolously? Are you attempting to say someone should go through a phase of wasting a lot of money on ATM fees before realizing its wasted, and it is "idiotic" to point those wastes out?

The author didn't say or insinuate "OMGZ OVERVOLT UR SOO STUPID IF U EVAR SPEND MONEY ON THESE THINGS", she points out areas where Americans spend a lot money that doesn't need to be spent. You can enjoy some of those things and therefore spend your money there anyway, but if you were going bankrupt but refused to stop smoking and drinking, well, your bankruptcy is as much your fault as the economy's, which is the premise of the article.

Then again you were butthutt earlier that coffee wasn't on the list, when the answer to that is simple - one could argue that coffee makes you more productive and as such pays for itself, without the negative effects of other caffeinated beverages. It is arguable, yes, but coffee is certainly not in the same category of "wasted money" as an unused gift card or a cigarette.

You also made a failed attempt to say the author is claiming no one should learn how to drive a car - did you even read the article, or just glance at the headlines? How does learning how to drive a car in the parking lot have anything to do with her suggestions to use a programmable thermostat or cold water for laundry? Same thing with cooking - did you honestly think the author was referring to learning how to cook, and not throwing away leftovers?

Try again. This isn't hard to understand. The author isn't claiming every American is guilty of all of these, or that if you've ever spent money on any of them you are a horrible person that doesn't understand finance. It was a simple list showing unessential items on which Americans spend a lot of money. That's all. You can call the author an idiot if you can prove that you are a bending robot from the year 3,000 and require alcohol to live, or perhaps you work for Chase bank and ATM fees pay your salary, but otherwise, settle down, sport.
 
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What about Cable TV?
Coffee
Birthday Cards
Flowers
Wrapping Paper
Vacation
Gasoline
Diamonds/jewelry
 
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Deeko said:
.....what? You aren't making sense. The author is an idiot for pointing out areas where Americans spend a lot of money frivolously? Are you attempting to say someone should go through a phase of wasting a lot of money on ATM fees before realizing its wasted, and it is "idiotic" to point those wastes out?

The author didn't say or insinuate "OMGZ OVERVOLT UR SOO STUPID IF U EVAR SPEND MONEY ON THESE THINGS", she points out areas where Americans spend a lot money that doesn't need to be spent. You can enjoy some of those things and therefore spend your money there anyway, but if you were going bankrupt but refused to stop smoking and drinking, well, your bankruptcy is as much your fault as the economy's, which is the premise of the article.

Then again you were butthutt earlier that coffee wasn't on the list, when the answer to that is simple - one could argue that coffee makes you more productive and as such pays for itself, without the negative effects of other caffeinated beverages. It is arguable, yes, but coffee is certainly not in the same category of "wasted money" as an unused gift card or a cigarette.

You also made a failed attempt to say the author is claiming no one should learn how to drive a car - did you even read the article, or just glance at the headlines? How does learning how to drive a car in the parking lot have anything to do with her suggestions to use a programmable thermostat or cold water for laundry? Same thing with cooking - did you honestly think the author was referring to learning how to cook, and not throwing away leftovers?

Try again. This isn't hard to understand. The author isn't claiming every American is guilty of all of these, or that if you've ever spent money on any of them you are a horrible person that doesn't understand finance. It was a simple list showing unessential items on which Americans spend a lot of money. That's all. You can call the author an idiot if you can prove that you are a bending robot from the year 3,000 and require alcohol to live, or perhaps you work for Chase bank and ATM fees pay your salary, but otherwise, settle down, sport.
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Bankruptcy isn't mentioned anywhere in that article. I think the point many critics of this article are making is that a lot of stuff mentioned is simply a personal choice. Anything spent on something for immediate pleasure is only a waste if it will lead you to a position of net loss of happiness in the future. I agree that ATM fees and such are a total waste, and that people making mistakes being a part of learning has nothing to do with the article, but the list is still subjective and a bit silly regardless.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people smoke in stressful situations to calm their nerves and help them focus on whatever it is they want/need to do, btw.
 
HamburgerBoy said:
Bankruptcy isn't mentioned anywhere in that article. I think the point many critics of this article are making is that a lot of stuff mentioned is simply a personal choice. Anything spent on something for immediate pleasure is only a waste if it will lead you to a position of net loss of happiness in the future. I agree that ATM fees and such are a total waste, and that people making mistakes being a part of learning has nothing to do with the article, but the list is still subjective and a bit silly regardless.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people smoke in stressful situations to calm their nerves and help them focus on whatever it is they want/need to do, btw.
Click to expand...

No, the world "bankruptcy" is not mentioned, but similar enough concept is in the opening line:

Blame the government or blame the economy, but Americans should also blame themselves for their declining net worth.
Click to expand...

I imagine most people (including the poster to which I was replying) did not read the article, they just read the list in the OP, and threw a fit if something they enjoy was on the list.

The point of the list is simple. It was showing the vast sums that Americans spend on fairly frivolous things. It isn't insulting you if you dare indulge in candy or soda.
 
1. Unused gift cards
Nope

2. ATM fees
Don't withdraw that much from ATM's and usually at my own bank where I won't incur fees.


3. Traffic tickets
Never got a ticket

4. Candies
I used to love candy but I haven't bought any in quite a while

5. Lottery tickets
Spent $10 total last year and that was when the Mega Millions hit some crazy number.

6. Tobacco
Don't Smoke

7. Alcohol
Social Drinker, I do admit I used to spend hundreds of dollars at the bar / karaoke on weekends during my college days.

8. CC interest
None

9. Casino
Haven't been to Vegas or Atlantic City in years

10. Soda
Don't drink

11. Wasted energy
Energy efficient bulbs installed and I try to be cheap on various things.

12. Wasted foods
Did throw out food like milk & chicken but rarely. I eat out / go to the restaurant way too much though, I need to cut down on that.

13. Bad health
Last checkup was told I was in superb health.

I guess some money that could be considered a waste is purchasing new smartphones when I don't really need to upgrade. I used to upgrade my computer all the time to get the latest & greatest graphic card / cpu but I haven't upgraded in 2 years now. Pay for HBO & Sunday Ticket on DirecTV (DirecTV itself could be considered a waste as well).
 
$120 ticket for not wearing seatbelt
$160 for having expired inspection
Yeah, wasted money for me last two years
 
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