We all have big financial goals and milestones that we want to reach. The economy may be tough and your job may not be paying as much as you’d like, but often, our worst financial enemy is ourselves. If you want to reach those goals faster, you need to be critical about the way you’re spending. Here, I’ve listed some common wasteful habits that countless people need to drop.
Staying Loyal to Brand Names
With the sheer amount of advertising that we’re bombarded with, it can be easy to believe that brand name products will always give us more for our money, without counting the cost. This is especially true when it comes to clothes shopping, which is covered more in this Yahoo finance article. The next time you do your regular grocery shop, try substituting a few brand names for more generic, affordable products. Yes, the quality may not always be what you’re used to, but you’d be surprised at some of the hidden gems you’ll find.
Regularly Changing your Oil
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Okay, so staying on top of routine car maintenance is a good habit, and can save you a small fortune by avoiding hefty mechanic’s fees. However, if you’re changing the oil in a modern car for every 3,000 miles it clocks, you could be wasting a lot of money. This is because many of the latest cars to come out can run on synthetic oil, which can be good for 8,000 miles or more. Obviously, you should always do your research, and make sure that your car can run on longer-lasting oils and still perform well.
Drinking Bottled Spring Water
If you always make a point of getting your recommended water intake, then great! However, if you always buy bottled water from a store, rather than simply refilling a bottle with tap water, it could mean the difference between spending a few hundred pounds a year or a couple of quid. I’m pretty lucky in that my area’s tap water tastes crisp and clean. I for one can’t tell the difference between the bottles you find in a store’s fridge and the one that I fill up before I leave the house. However, even if your tap water has a twinge of chlorine to it, simply refrigerating it can make a huge difference.
Eating Out
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I’m not saying you can never set foot in a restaurant again. After a lot of hard work, treating yourself to an exquisite meal at a great restaurant is one luxury that you should really make time for. However, eating out should never be a regular habit. If you get used to eating in your favourite restaurants every few days, it can be very hard to break the habit, and it will keep haemorrhaging money. You may not be an expert chef, but cooking good food can be much easier than you’d expect. Furthermore, when you make this one change in your dining habits, the amount you’ll save will encourage you to spend more time in the kitchen, and less looking at menus!
