Welcome to the rat race, where we perpetually complain about how little we earn, yet blow it on useless junk as soon as we get paid. Whether you agree with this statement or not, the free market does not lie and the plethora of useless crap being sold proves that people just love wasting their money.
In case you are curious about the best ways to waste your paycheck, for whatever bizarre reason, check out the list below.
Top 10 Ways to Waste Your Hard-Earned Paycheck
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10 – Buy Groceries When You’re Hungry
Seems obvious, but nothing motivates you to drive to the store more than an empty stomach. If you go starving you are more likely to buy snacks you don’t need instead of real food, or buy a double portion of something from the ready-made section. Either way you are more likely to overspend and thus overeat. Fun fact, obesity and poverty have been proven to be linked so it’s best to avoid this whole scenario.
9 – Buy Coffee for No Good Reason
Yes, drinking out of a Starbucks cup on the way to your office (which has free coffee by the way) is trendy but not doing anything good for your wallet. Try to avoid buying coffee by the cup as a habit and you are sure to save money.
8 – Get a 1 Year Gym Membership and Never Go
So, your grandma squeezed your love handle after Christmas dinner and out of a mix of post-holiday feasting shame and New Year’s motivation you signed up for a 1 year gym membership. After three weeks of showing up to check your Facebook while doing awkward leg presses you stop going. Do yourself a favour, don’t opt for the yearly contracts even if they seem cheaper; they aren’t if you don’t go! Start with a month to month plan until you are sure that you have the willpower to stick to it (maybe next year?).
7 – Buy a New Car
Thanks to depreciation, the moment you buy a brand-new car the price drops by about 20%. Getting a car that is used and only a few years older dramatically reduces the price while giving you a relatively new vehicle.
6 – Throw Away Food Once It Passes the Sell-by Date
Just because your grocery store needs to throw away food by a certain time doesn’t mean you do! In fact, sell by dates for certain products (beer for example) are totally unnecessary. Depending on the label next to the date, you can save some cash by consuming what you already have in your fridge. As usual, WebMD can explain away some of the confusion regarding different date labels on food products.
5 – Buy Snacks at the Movies
A cinema experience isn’t complete without popcorn… but why? Popcorn, and all drinks and snacks, are the primary source of income for most cinema chains. That should explain why a handful of corn kernels can cost you up to $8. Maybe hiding some snacks in your purse or pockets is worth considering if you can’t bear the idea of going through a movie snack free.
4 – Get Drunk at a Casino
Getting drunk period is a great way to waste money thanks to the sudden bravery and generosity alcohol induces. Getting drunk at a casino, whether physical or virtual, where there are tons of shiny opportunities to spend recklessly, is a great way to lose even more money. Going sober and with the right strategy when you play online casino slot games, on the other hand, can be a recipe for earning some serious cash. As you can see, saving money is tough enough, so you can imagine that earning it will involve some sacrifices – starting with your favorite cocktails.
3 – Leave Your Tires Half Pumped
Driving around with semi-flat tires is a fantastic way to waste gas and overwork your car’s engine. Frequently check the pressure on your tires and watch as fuel costs drop.
2 – Use Cable or Digital TV
It’s 2016, go with a web-based provider like Netflix and save tons of money every month.
1 – Drink Bottled Water
Buy a filtered bottle and just refill from your tap (depending of course on where you are living and if local water is drinkable). Not only will you same some extra cash over time, but you are also helping the environment.