Money & Career
5 seemingly small things that are wasting your money
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Money & Career
5 seemingly small things that are wasting your money
You probably don't even know you're doing it
You're not buying yachts. You're not dropping thousands on designer shoes. And you're certainly not eating out every night at Michelin starred restaurants. And yet, somehow, it feels impossible to put anything aside at the end of the month. What gives?
While the easiest way to save more money is to make more money, there are a few small ways you might be leaving money on the table without realising it—and put together, these changes might add up.
#1: Not doing it yourself
It's a fact of modern life that we've gotten pretty good at outsourcing, well, everything. Need pants hemmed? Take them to the tailor. Broken your phone screen? Off to that kiosk in the mall. Toilet running? Call the plumber...and pay $200 before they've even touched a leaking valve. And while the convenience factor is priceless, there are lots of simple tasks that you are more than capable of figuring out for yourself—and saving major $$$ along the way. Youtube is filled with a tutorial for pretty much everything, from the basic to the advanced.
#2: Playing the lottery
We get it: Should you ever win the lottery, all of your financial woes will vanish with the arrival of that sixth matching number. But we've got some hard news for you. The odds of you hitting that literal jackpot are loooooooong. In fact, you're more likely to give birth to identical quintuplets naturally than you are to cash in on that 649. It's just not going to happen. Instead, take that weekly $2, $20 or more and put it in a savings account where it will actually work for you.
#3: Driving around on badly inflated tires
This is a super specific one, but the numbers were too compelling to leave out. Not only is it bad for the environment and unsafe for you, but driving a car with tires that have low pressure costs you lots of money. Over a year, a car that drives 12,000 miles on underinflated tires burns up to 545 litres of gas more than if the tires were properly inflated. At today's gas prices (around $1 as of December 2018), that equals $545 that could have been in your pocket.
#4: Not carrying a reusable coffee cup
In a world waking up the realities of what our plastic addiction has done to our planet, this makes sense purely from a Think Of The Children perspective. Luckily for your wallet, carrying your own mug or flask also has financial benefits. Many coffee shops offer a discount when you BYO cup. That 10 cents a day adds up over a year!
#5: Using paper towels
In a similar vein, ditching the kitchen roll will not only do Mother Earth a solid, it will save you many loonies when you sub in a few fabric tea towels or cloths instead. If you're feeling particularly inspired, you can even make those resuable cloths out of old clothes or bigger towels you've cut up (and yes, there's a Youtube tutorial for that too).
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