Everyone thinks that they can get out of debt sooner than what is possible, I was one of those people. I scrimped and saved, and a few months later, just burnt out. I made quite a few personal finance mistakes along the way and am learning from it. made my budget too constrictive at the beginning and I slowly started to rebel against it. Part of my goals for this month was to read 2 or more books non- fiction books.
So far I have read The Wealthy Barber and The Four Hour Work Week, and I am reenergized by them. It is not so much what is in the book, but the concept of financial independence is my ultimate goal and the reason that I started to blog. I am finding that when I am not on here and blogging about my spending habits I allow myself to slack a lot more than I should.
Clearly in order for me to be debt free I need to watch what I spend and where I spend it and keep track of everything carefully. I see friends making the rashest decisions when it comes to finances and part of me wants to tell them what they are doing wrong, but the other part of me feels like it is not my place. The best I can do is provide guidance, and hope for the best.
Some of the most common money mistakes that I have either committed or seen recently are ridiculous;
1. Not wanting to walk an extra block to a free parking spot and paying $15.00 for the luxury of closer parking.
2.Paying 3x as much for a “name brand” hoodie when a generic would suffice.
3. Getting a manicure every week when it is clearly not needed.
4. Paying for a gym membership (month to month) and going once a month. This really bothers me.
5 Paying chequing fees. Really? Why do people still do this? I sound like a commercial here.
6. Offering to pay for lunch every time you go out with friends. I am guilty of this constantly, but I recently had friends offer to treat me in turns.
7.Not going over your bills for over payment or extra charges. Things have a way of creeping up and without checking, things slip by.
8. Paying any type of interest that is not required. Example, knowing that department store credit cards have ridiculous interest rates and carrying a balance on it anyway.
9. Buying multiple of any item because there was a “deal”. Every item, perhaps excluding Groupon deals, is on a cycle, usually between 3-4 months. So only buy what you need, as it will go back on sale somewhere else sooner rather than later. Don’t turn into the crazy extreme couponing lady/man.
10. Eating out- everyday. I am so guilty of this. I did cut back on my daily Starbucks, but I still have a long way to go.
I know there are a few more things that may be more pressing, but these are common sense things that need to addressed asap. Its my money and every dollar not spent can go towards my student debt. It can use all the help it can get.