Bad Habits to Quit to Save Money
Evaluating and eliminating monthly bills that bring you little value is a great way to save money. Another great idea is to eliminate bad habits that would improve your quality of life and leave more of your hard-earned cash in your wallet. Here are five bad habits to quit to save money.
Smoking
Not only is smoking bad for your health, but it’s expensive. In the United States, the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $6.96. A person who smokes two packs a week will spend $13.92 a week, or $723.84 a year on cigarettes.
Social Drinking
The cost of drinking adult beverages can add up quickly. While the price of a cocktail will vary based on your location, it’s not uncommon to spend $7 – $12 on a mixed drink. A person who has just three drinks twice a month could spend (assuming an average of $9 a drink) $54 a month, or $648 a year. If you cut alcohol out of your life your wallet and your liver will thank you.
Coffee
Coffee lovers claim they just cannot function until they get their daily dose of caffeine. Some drink their coffee at home, but many stop by a Starbucks drive-through for an overpriced, high-calorie specialty drink on their way to work in the morning. Even if you do this only three days a week, and the average cost of your specialty coffee is $5, you’ll spend $15 a week or $780 a year on coffee.
Dining Out
A meal out at a restaurant is a common way to celebrate special events such as birthdays and anniversaries as well as just unwind and relax on days one doesn’t feel like cooking. A meal out can range for $10 at a fast food place to over $100 for a couple celebrating a special night out. Even if a person averages $50 a week dining out, over the course of a year the total restaurant bill would be $2600.
Unused Gym Memberships
A gym membership can cost anywhere from $10 a month for a single person at a low price point gym to nearly $200 for a family membership at a full-service health club. Your health is priceless, making going to the gym a habit well worth the cost if you use it. However, if you can count your gym visits in the last year on your fingers, your lack of good exercise habits is costing you hundreds if not thousands each year.
Dumping the above bad habits will save you money, and in some cases may even improve your health. How about you, Clever Friends, how many of these bad habits to quit to save money do you have?
Read More
Check out these additional Clever Articles:
- Bad Driving Habits That Increase Your Repair Bill and Cost You Money
- Are Your Laundry Habits Making You Stink?
- 5 Great Money Habits to Start Building in Your 30s
Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.