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MSN had an article on the 10 Things people waste money on daily. Their list is:
1. Lottery tickets
2. Expensive coffee drinks
3. Newsstand Magazines
4. Dry cleaning
5. Premium gasoline
6. Movie concessions
7. Workday lunches
8. Professional Manicures and Pedicures
9. High-Priced Grooming Products
10. premium cable channels
I am doing alright in most of the categories. I don’t buy lottery tickets (it’s a voluntary tax). I only buy magazines when I’m flying somewhere. It’s sort of a treat I allow myself at the airport. My car takes regular gas so I’m good there. I almost always bring my lunch to work. I buy all of our grooming products as cheaply as possible at CVS and we don’t subscribe to premium cable channels.
There are areas in which I could improve. I make my coffee at home with my cappuccino machine most days but I do occasionally give in to the urge to patronize Starbucks. Luckily, my students help subsidize this habit with giftcards. I have about 5 clothing items that require dry cleaning. I put it off as long as possible and hand wash everything I can. My cashmere sweaters are the one item I really worry about so I do take them to the cleaners. That being said, I have yet to pay the $150 to have my wedding dress cleaned and we are quickly approaching our 3 year anniversary (I really need to get this done…). I don’t attend the movies often, but when I do I am a sucker for overpriced movie popcorn. I try to economize this by buying the $5 kid pack that includes a small soda and candy in addition to the popcorn. I love pedicures but only get them about twice a year because of the expense. I should probably cut them out altogether but you have to indulge once in awhile I suppose.
So, how do you stack up against the list? Are you guilty of any of these frugal infractions?
GULITY on #'s: 6 & 7 🙂 I'll work on it! You wouldn't *believe* how much money people spend on dry-cleaning/laundering work clothes. The average bill at Delken when I worked there in '05 (and prices have gone up dramatically) was about $50.00/pick-up. That's usually about 2-3 weeks of dry-cleaning but do the math and it's about $1,000.00 PER YEAR. OUCH! That's a vacation right there!
Great post! XOXO -Aims