A night out drinking with friends, that pack of cigarettes, and those shoes you had to get because they were on sale--these things add up. So how can you transform your frivolous spending and develop good financial habits?
A frivolous spending calculator can help you take a look at your spending habits and see how much you can save on some of your vices. Follow a few simple suggestions outlined below, and you'll find your spending to be much more manageable.
A lot of us live paycheck to paycheck with no reserve. It's a risky way to go, especially if an emergency comes up. Flat tires, a trip to urgent care, a friend's wedding out of town--these things happen.
It's so easy to fall into frivolous spending habits and not even be aware of how much we're spending. It happens to all of us. Many times we choose to ignore it.
But when we force ourselves to take a look at how much is coming in and how much is going out by using a frivolous spending calculator, it can be eye-opening.
Bad habits can be changed. But it takes firm decision making and goal setting. If you read this guide and use this tool to set measurable and realistic goals, you'll save money for the things that matter in no time.
It's really easy to get into the habit of buying lunch at the food truck on campus or grabbing a few items out of the vending machine at work. And what's wrong with getting a quick salad at the cafe?
A $10 lunch every once in a while won't break the bank. But doing it every day adds up. Spending $50 a week comes out to $2,600 a year.
A frivolous spending calculator will tell you that if you only buy lunch three out of 5 days a week, you'll end up saving $1,050 a year.
So, set aside one or two days every week to go out for lunch with friends or colleagues. Then plan meals for the other days that you can prepare in advance.
A big pot of chili or pasta salad can go far, is cheap and easy to make. Another option is to double or triple what you make for dinner. Then you can pack up the leftovers for the next day's lunch.
Dinner is a little trickier. It's hard to say no to friends who want to try out a new restaurant. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is stop at the grocery store, buy ingredients, and then prepare a big meal. It's so much easier to order delivery or just get a pizza.
Not only can that be a huge amount of calories, but it's heavy on your wallet too. Dinners out tend to cost more than lunch, even for the same meal. One look at a frivolous calculator, and you'll see how much that's eating away at your bank account.
As with lunch, try to reserve eating dinner out to once or twice a week. Set aside an evening on the weekend and one during the week when you know you'll need the break from cooking.
Then, like lunch, plan ahead with meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Schedule time to go shopping for the ingredients once a week with your menus in mind. That way you don't have to think about it after work.
After the first beer or cider, it's hard to keep track of the cost. It's easy to fall into a trap of mindless spending on overpriced drinks during a night out with friends.
Add into that the cost of tips, Uber or Lyft, and cover charges and one night out can be a $100 or more.
You want to have fun, and not have to consider the cost. But $100 a week means $5,200 a year. Yikes!
You may not want to hear this, but the only way to spend less on alcohol is to pick your parties more selectively. Invite friends over instead. Buying a bottle of alcohol or even two to share, costs far less.
Or try some other fun activities that don't involve as much alcohol or don't cost as much, like going to an escape room, a pop-up art exhibit, free local happenings, or bowling.
There's nothing better than a great cup of coffee in the morning, or a pumpkin spice latte in the fall. Hey, those things only come around seasonally!
So what's the deal? The problem is, coffee drinks are expensive.
Brewing your own coffee can save you hundreds of dollars a year. If a cup of coffee is around $2.75 and a latte is $5.75, we're looking at a frivolous spending habit that costs in the hundreds. Even using a Keurig costs less.
If you're a coffee snob, as you should be, getting a coffee subscription can inspire you to try some new and exciting coffee brews. Spending $13 per week on a coffee subscription, versus $25 on Starbucks, keeps an extra $675 in your pocket.
We all know that smoking is addictive and harmful. But it's also is a big stress reliever, nice to have after a meal (or after other things), and is often a social activity that goes hand-in-hand with drinking and a night out.
One pack of cigarettes can cost between $6 and $12, depending on where you live. That's an expensive spending habit.
Of course, the best option is to quit. But if you're not ready to do that, at least keep track of how much you're smoking and try to cut down. Also, if you reduce your alcohol intake, you're sure to reduce your cigarette smoking too.
The end result? This depends on your situation. In one year, someone that smokes five packs in a week and spends $300 on alcohol and dining out, can save $6,060 by reducing their frivolous spending by just 33%.
It's easy to get caught up in the latest trends or to spend on new clothes each season. Online clothes shopping has made it too easy to lose track of our spending. You might be shocked to see how much the cost comes to.
Do you really need new clothes every season, or is it a habit? A frivolous calculator might shed some light.
The way to overcome it is to cull your closet every year and get rid of clothes you don't wear that often or at all. You may come to realize that the clothes you're left with truly represent your style.
If you do need new items, plan to do your shopping during sales (i.e. Black Friday) or towards the end of the spring, summer, fall, or winter season.
Since retailers are focused on stocking the upcoming season's trends, you'll save money on the "older" items they need to clear off the shelves.
Hopefully, after reading these tips you'll find that saving isn't too tough with a little bit of planning and forethought. For other great personal finance tools, check out the rest of our savings calculators!