Top 10 Money Drains

[Liberal_in_LA]

Interesting... I'm guilty of the car wash and weekly lunches. But when you live in an apartment in LA, how the heck are you suppose to wash the car? I am real careful about signing up for memberships because I know how hard it is to terminate memberships. Anyone try to terminate an AOL account? It was a living hell that lasted for months.
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It's easy to fritter away money on daily expenses. If you fall into these money traps, learn to avoid them and pocket the savings.

1. Coffee 6. Car washes
2. Cigarettes 7. Weekday lunches out
3. Alcohol 8. Vending machines snacks
4. Bottled water 9. Interest charges on credit cards
5. Manicures 10. Unused memberships

See the full article for the yearly cost of these money wasters. wow!

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103379/Top-10-Money-Drains

[Sherman A1]

1. Well

It is actually a good idea to wash the car on a regular basis to get all that icky stuff off the surface and protect the finish. As for the rest, well anything in moderation really ain't that big a deal.

[Maq]

2. Dang I am almost perfect

Coffee: this coffeeholic brews his own. Rarely go to the shop.
car wash: my joy for a weekend to do job; wife and my car
Cigarette: miss them but gave up in 2005 cold turkey and a heart bypass. Great motivator.
weekday lunches: brown bagger from way way back like forever.
alcohol: quit cold turkey in 1999. LOL maybe quit premature, got a heart attack anyway.
vending machines: Non around work.
bottled water: Work provides this as I work outside.
interest charges: My wife has a CC. Drives me nuts but it gets paid. Me NONE
manicures: LOL, my male fingers are fine.
Memberships: DAV and AARP gets membership money annually.
-------------close relation: two magazine subscriptions but I save the newstand price.

no cigs or booze makes for a boring life though.

[high density]

3. Yeah, those car washes...

It's much better to not wash your car and let the salt eat through it. I've read that cars last a lot longer after the rust sets in. Oh and I forgot, it also makes your brake lines a lot stronger, too.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

4. Wash your car at a car wash about once a month.

Do the windows more often, the reason for using a car wash is simple, they reuse and filter the water, keeps it out of the storm drain system, and in L A out of the ocean.

[CreekDog]

15. Thanks for pointing this out

When you wash your car in your driveway, the detergents and chemicals/road grime on your car go into the sewer and (probably) untreated into your favorite river/stream/lake/bay/estuary/ocean wherever the final discharge is.

A regular car wash is a better idea.

[deadmessengers]

5. Who the heck is getting a weekly manicure?

I can see getting your nails done once in a while, but WEEKLY? C'mon - are they serious? Are there really women that are THAT high-maintenance?

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. I have friends who get regular manicures. Maybe it's a big city thing to do.

[Bunny]

12. If you have acrylic nails, you need a touch up about every ten days - two weeks.

It can really add up.

[deadmessengers]

18. "Never date a woman who doesn't do her own nails"

One of my single friends goes by that rule - he figures that any woman that spends that much time and money on her nails is far too high-maintenance for him to get along with. Fortunately for me, I'm happily married and don't have to worry about such things. :)

[youthere]

62. Good advice...

my dad's bit of advice to my brothers was "Never date a woman with dirty elbows"...his logic was, if she couldn't keep her elbows clean then she couldn't keep anything else clean either.

[pitohui]

27. in my communitty asian and black women get weekly or biweekly manicures EOM

southeast louisiana and mississippi gulf coast

it is just part of the culture of what is expected of women

[Liberal_in_LA]

35. Yup. fancy southern women.

[Rockholm]

54. Weekly manicures are not uncommon here in Boston.

[Warpy]

6. The worst money drains are the "I need

to feel better NOW" money drains, and that covers junk food, bottled water, coffee, cigs, and any impulse purchase we don't need but fall for because we're hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

Keeping a diary of this stuff is very instructive, just put down what you spent and how you were feeling when you spent it. Ten minutes later, write down whether or not it made you feel better.

The only thing I still do that is listed as a money drain is a car wash, simply because doing it myself adds almost as much to the water bill as a detailing job at Octopus does, plus I'm keeping a bunch of people employed.

I just can't stay away from books or music. Those are my drains.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. Books and music can be a big drain.

addict! :-)

[Iris]

60. Libraries rock! n/t

[valerief]

9. And I thought it was the Pentagon budget! nt

[unhappycamper]

10. You are correct.

31% of the entire, let me repeat that,

entire Federal budget is spent on war aka the Department of 'Defense'.

[Yupster]

69. You're not counting

social security, medicare or medicaid?

I thought they were the biggest slices of the budget.

[taterguy]

11. One man's waste is another man's necessity

I detail my car on rare and special occasions. It costs twenty bucks including tip. They do a much better job than I ever could especially removing all the dog slobber from the windows.

OTOH, our car stays parked the overwhelming majority of the time. My wife walks to work and I bike. That saves us more money than anything listed in that stupid article.

[CreekDog]

13. Disagree on most of these

If your finances are okay, I don't see the problem. Money is after all, a means to many ends, some of those ends are convenience, pleasure, protecting and caring for property you use or enjoy, etc. in addition to food, shelter and healthcare.

That said:

1. coffee...well at starbucks the coffee of the day will cost you less than $2, if you make it at home or get it somewhere else, the savings will be negligible, even annualized. I think the $4+ fraps and specialty coffees are what eat up the money.

6. car washes...go out and get your car washed occasionally, but DO NOT do it yourself. It will protect your car somewhat and the longer you drive your car rather than replacing it, the better for the environment. Also, use a car wash because the water and detergents don't end up in our rivers, bays, oceans without being treated or recycled first. I say this as someone who works in water quality protection.

7. weekday lunches out...yeah, if they are $20, but if they are less than $10 you are realy comparing that amount to what you would spend to bring your lunch, so it's not $10 in your pocket, more like $5 maybe.

[progressoid]

52. The point is that most people's finances aren't ok but they spend like it is.

If you can afford to shell out an few extra thousand a year for convenience, great for you. Most of America can't.

BTW, I can make my lunch for under a couple bucks nearly every day. That alone saves my wife and I at least 2500.00 a year.

[bunkerbuster1]

70. Taking some issue with the numbers...

>1. coffee...well at starbucks the coffee of the day will cost you less than $2,
> if you make it at home or get it somewhere else, the savings will be negligible,
> even annualized.

I don't see how. In my case, a decent quality bag of coffee beans, which lasts about two weeks, runs 8 bucks, around $400/year. This is for two of us. If we were having $2 coffees out instead, that's $1000/year. I don't think 600/year is negligible.

I also don't think most folks who buy coffee at Starbucks pay only $2/pop.

> I think the $4+ fraps and specialty coffees are what eat up the money.

They would, yep.

> 6. car washes...go out and get your car washed occasionally, but DO NOT do it yourself. It will protect your car
> somewhat and the longer you drive your car rather than replacing it, the better for the environment. Also, use a
> car wash because the water and detergents don't end up in our rivers, bays, oceans without being treated or
> recycled first. I say this as someone who works in water quality protection.

I agree with you here. I think people go way overboard in washing their cars, at least in my neck of the woods, but running through a car wash every two months seems prudent.

> 7. weekday lunches out...yeah, if they are $20, but if they are less than $10 you are realy comparing
> that amount to what you would spend to bring your lunch, so it's not $10 in your pocket, more like $5
> maybe.

I look at what I typically bring to work for lunch, and it's almost always purposefully made "leftovers" from the weekend--and the costs are quite reasonable, probably only two bucks, tops, often less for the homemade stuff.

If OTOH you're brown-bagging with deli-purchased sliced meat or some other prepared food, yes, that can become pretty pricey.

[BlooInBloo]

14. Cars.

[deadmessengers]

23. Agreed

People piss away HUGE amounts of money on cars. Not owning them, per se, but buying a LOT more car than they need, paying too much, and replacing them too soon. I've posted this a couple of times before - it's something I wrote a few years back and have tweaked a few times since:

Deadmessenger's rules of car buying and ownership:

1) Don't buy a more expensive car than what you really need. A Corolla/Fit/Civic/(insert small car name here) will get you to work just as well as a Prius will, and costs WAY less, even factoring in gas.
1a) You don't need a Navigator/Aviator/Escalade/Lexus/BMW/Mercedes, unless you can walk in and pay cash for it. Don't have a suitcase full of $100 bills handy? Buy something cheaper - you can't afford a luxury car yet.

2) Haggle like the salesman was trying to take food out of your (kids|mother's|grandmothers) mouth, because he is.
2a) The only number that matters is the bottom line. If the salesman quotes a monthly payment, they're trying to screw you by obfuscating the real price. Give them one chance to fix their mistake, and if they do it again, walk out and don't come back.
2b) Question every line item on the bill. EVERY SINGLE ONE. The question you should be asking is "What am I getting for the (insert BS fee name here) you're charging me $xxx for?" If you don't like the answer you get - tell them you didn't ask for or need that, and to take it off or you're walking.

3) Never, ever, ever lease. Under any circumstances. Leasing cars is financial suicide.

4) Don't finance for longer than four years. If you need to finance for longer than that, buy a cheaper car.
4b) Don't set foot on a car lot without your own financing already in place (through your bank or credit union). If you don't, you're asking to get screwed. This is not to say that dealer financing is always a bad deal - but having your own financing puts the dealer's finance department on notice that they're in a competitive situation, and that they can't charge sky-high rates.

5) Once you buy it, drive it until the wheels fall off - fixing an old car is almost ALWAYS better than buying another one - it VERY seldom makes financial sense to do otherwise.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

30. Another point in the car negotiation game...

*Always* walk out at least once during the negotiations..

Go out, get in your car and drive away if they give you any bs at all (and they will).

They'll be much nicer when, and if, you come back.

Oh.. And the number one rule of car buying.. Never ever buy a brand new car.

You lose thousands the moment you sign the papers, you don't even have to drive it off the lot.

[Liberal_in_LA]

31. I walked out once!

we had made a deal on the amount of credit on my old car. I got my personal stuff out of the car and they parked it in their lot. I had psychology said goodbye to the old clunker. Then they put on a play for me within earshot "We can only give her $200 for that car". Before they even came back to me, I walked to my car, got in it and prepared to drive away. Sleazy sales people ran to the parking lot in stunned amazement. lol.

[deadmessengers]

33. yeah, I've done that too

Not only have I walked out on more than one occasion when a dealership tried to pull a fast one, I was once THROWN out of a dealership - beat that one! :)

[Liberal_in_LA]

38. lol! You must have been really bad to be THROWN out. If you're breathin U R a prospect

[deadmessengers]

32. Never buy a new car? Well... sometimes

It makes more sense to buy a new car if you know that you're committing to owning it until it is no longer fixable. You only actually "lose" those thousands if you resell it, which is generally a bad idea anyway. I tend to shy away from used cars because it's so damn tough to tell if it was driven hard (and not maintained) by a testosterone-crazed teenage moron or not.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

37. That depends a lot on the car...

If you are buying a Mustang GT, there's a good chance it will have been abused.

Ask for maintenance receipts.. And try to buy from an individual.

And you do pay thousands extra whey you buy a brand new car.

Even if you plan on keeping it for ever.

[BlooInBloo]

41. False. Look up what "opportunity cost" means.

[deadmessengers]

43. I know what it means, but I don't see how it applies here?

Where is the foregone opportunity? Are you referring to the opportunity to buy another rapidly depreciating asset? I'll pass on that one, thank you.

[BlooInBloo]

44. Foregone opportunity: buying a car that has already taken the depreciation hit...

... thus saving yourself 1000s of dollars, like the poster you responded to said.

[deadmessengers]

46. ah, but in exchange...

You have the unknown factor of maintenance and previous abuse. Also, if you buy a car, it's going to have a finite lifespan. Let's assume that a car will last 12 years. If you buy new you get all 12 years of practical use out of it. If you buy a 3-year-old used car, you'll get only 9 years - so that initial bargain is somewhat countered by the fact that you'll have to replace it sooner.

[BlooInBloo]

47. Assuming the price difference matched the use-difference. Which it doesn't.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

49. I already pointed out..

To ask for maintenance receipts..

Buy from an individual if at all possible.

It is better to buy a used, high quality car than a new one of lesser quality.

A used Honda versus a new Hyundai..

I know which one I would buy.

[jollyreaper2112]

67. not so on japanese cars

Look at the used prices for Honda, Toyota. You're looking at straight line depreciation vs. the American model of multithousand dollar drop, then return to straight line. So what you are saying is true for American cars. If you are buying Japanese, buy new...but also drive it for 15 years. But also, know when it's time to get out of the car. Drove my last one too long, everything was failing at once and I would be paying more per month on repairs (averaged out) than on a payment for a new Yaris.

All of this can be gamed out on a spreadsheet. The important thing is to go in prepared.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

68. In my experience that is not true..

We have been driving Japanese cars for a long time now.

Toyota, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan and Infiniti.

Toyota and Honda hold their value pretty well but Mazda, Subaru and Nissan/Infiniti not so much.

Check out the price differential between used Lexus (Toyota) and used Infiniti (Nissan), it is quite large.

[youthere]

65. I wholeheartedly agree!

ESPECIALLY NUMBER 5!

My husband's truck had a broken head a few months ago..$500 to repair (it's an older Silverado)...Where in the hell can you buy a new (or even used) pickup that will run well for $500?
I've driven my mercury for 10+ years now. It's not fancy, but it runs well and it's MINE. No car payments.


I would make one small addendum to number 4 though.If you're buying a used car, limit financing to 18 months. No longer. If you can't pay it off in less than that, buy something cheaper. The rate of depreciation on any vehicle is ridiculous, but on used vehicles it's worse. A four year contract on a 3 or 4 year old car will have the car basically worthless within 3 years...so you're still paying on a worthless car for a year, AND you're carrying full coverage insurance on it too.

[skids]

16. Why do people wash their cars so much?

Once in the spring to get the road salt out of the undercarriage. Otherwise I just drive in the rain.

[ThomWV]

21. Exactly!

I go to the quarter-car-wash (which now costs $1.25) and hit the undercarrage during the winter a couple of days after a snowstorm gets the state to salt the roads heavily, but other than that they don't get particularly dirty and even if they did, who cares? Now my motorcycle, that's a different story.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Me too!

I've had possession of my mother's old car since August 2003, and it's had exactly 2 baths, both of them to get rid of winter salt deposits.

I was thinking of taking it for a wash about two weeks ago, and then we had a series of rainy days. Problem solved. :-)

[The Straight Story]

64. well, we have not had rain since May 1st here

Washing the car helps to get the ash off of it from a fire that has been burning for what seems like forever now (2nd largest in CA state history). Living in the desert your car is also a dust magnet.

[Nimrod2005]

17. I am sorry, but COFFEE is NOT a waste of money...I am willing to give up sex

but NEVER EVER COFFEE

[BlooInBloo]

19. Whoa. That's hardcore.

[deadmessengers]

20. I gave up Charbucks years ago.

I buy whole beans from a local roaster and brew my own damn coffee now - much better & much cheaper. It works out to about a quarter a cup.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

48. I work at home, so eventually I get claustrophobic, and that's when it's

great to pack up my laptop, go to the locally-owned coffee shop across the street, and take advantage of their free Wi-Fi.

[LeftyMom]

22. #7 gets me

but I figure if I'm not wasting money on all of the rest I really do need to have some indulgence. And I'm very busy, so DIYing it usually would take time I don't have.

[RB TexLa]

24. Children didn't make the top ten? Real believable list there

:rofl:

[The Vinyl Ripper]

45. Children are an investment in the future...

[JTFrog]

25. Bah.

I am only guilty of buying coffee in bulk once a month and I still don't have anything left over for savings. I honestly don't see how people juggle the rest of those.

[Initech]

26. Well then I guess I'm near perfect.

Only ones I spend money on in those categories is #3 and #7. I use my ATM / debit card whenever possible to avoid interest charges, NEVER go to Starbucks, hardly ever get my car washed, don't do manicures and I don't have any unused memberships. Cool!

[backscatter712]

28. Guilty as charged.

For me, it's coffee, alcohol (I'm a moderate drinker, but damn, alcohol can be ridiculously expensive), car washes and weekday lunches out.

[pitohui]

29. the alcohol is the only one on fhe list that gets us

fortunately we're still under their limit for alcohol spend, whew, i need a drink with *co in office!

:toast:

unused memberships? we don't even have cable, ha!

[cobalt1999]

34. Anyone own a boat?

There is a #1 money drain, probably as much as the top 5 combined.

[Liberal_in_LA]

36. In what way? fuel?

[The Vinyl Ripper]

40. An old, and very wise, definition of the word "boat"..

A boat is a hole in the water, into which you pour money.

A decent boat costs about as much as a car.

And for most people gets used a *lot* less.

Figure it in a dollars per mile sense and the cost is astronomical.

[cobalt1999]

50. In every way.

Initial cost, figure about 3 miles per gallon at marina fuel rates (add about .75 per gallon). Repairs, dockage, storage, maintenance, accessories, trailer, registration, insurance.

I tell my wife not to worry about me having a mistress, I can't afford it as long as I own the boat.

[Midlodemocrat]

51. Our boat is an electric one on the reservoir.

It doesn't cost us anything other than insurance. It's paid for, the marina slip is paid for.

And, it's my husband's delightful indulgence. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I bought it for him and it was the best purchase I ever made.

[Squatch]

59. If it flies, floats, or fucks...you're better off renting.

[bleedingheart]

61. a friend of mine works in banking...told me that boat loans

are a bad risk...because loads of people stop paying on them once the boat stops being any fun...which is rather fast...

dock fees, fuel, overwintering fees...etc

that is why the only ones who can truly afford a boat are the really rich...

Note..I am not talking about a canoe here..or a fishing boat that you row...but a cabin boat...one that you can sleep on...

[bikebloke]

42. Only one of them.

My single beer a week is a treat.

[PunkPop]

53. Credit card interest should be #1 with a bullet

Unfortunately I speak from experience.

[raccoon]

55. Medical expenses, dental expenses, vision care expenses.

Guess I should say :sarcasm:

I know they're all necessary, and they're all big money drains. Unless you're extremely lucky.

[jeffrey_X]

56. $2 / day on coffee is a money drain?????

Luckily coffee and alcohol are the only ones on my list, so I guess I can start drinking more.

[DarkTirade]

58. It adds up after a while.

2*365=a couple of bills.

[DarkTirade]

57. And that's why I've been able to survive on crap wages as long as I have...

I don't spend money on any of those things. I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, I rarely drink, and I've recently started brewing my own alcohal anyway. :) Manicures... yeah, I work in a warehouse. That would be kind of a waste of effort. Car washes... eh. It rains a lot here. Lunches out... nope. Sammiches for me. Just decided to splurge since I spent half the day out looking for a new job, and I bought chinese food for the first time in months. Vending machine snacks... every now and then if I need a bit of sugar at work I'll grab something during break. But I rarely carry cash. Credit cards? Don't have 'em. Made that mistake once, don't intend to do it again. Memberships? Nope. As soon as I get a new job I'll probably get a gym membership, but that's just to keep myself in the same shape I am now when I'm doing manual labor 20-25 hours a week. Only things I pay for on a monthly basis are rent, gas, electricity, phone and internet.

And I don't even have a cel phone, just a cheap land line. (actually it's one of those Vonage internet phones... same cost as a cheap land line, but with all the extra features that only an expensive land line usually gets. :) )

[Xithras]

63. Only 9 & 10 here.

1. Coffee - I don't drink the stuff. On those exceedingly rare occasions when I do get dragged into a Starbucks by a caffeine deficient friend, I order a tea. That happens maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

2. Cigarettes - Nasty habit. Quit 8 years ago.

3. Alcohol - I do drink, but it's pretty rare. My alcohol purchases probably average $10 a month. Sometimes I'll buy a couple of bottles of 2 buck chuck, and other times I'll go months before spending $40-$50 on a quality bottle of wine or hard alcohol.

4. Bottled water - Gave it up. I bought a digital water purity tester (for hiking) and discovered that Dasani is only 2ppm cleaner than my filtered tap water.

5. Manicures - Eh, no. My wife does get her nails done every other month or so, but maintains them herself. I do know women who have them done weekly, but that's not us.

6. Car washes - What's that? Wasn't my car brown from the factory? ;) When my car gets too filthy to ignore any longer, I pull it onto the lawn and wash it myself.

7. Weekday lunches out - I have a cold turkey and jack sandwich that I make myself. Cash lunches add up too quickly.

8. Vending machine snacks - Forget the money, do you know how unhealthy that preservative-laden crap is?!?!

9. Interest charges on credit cards - Guilty on this one. I'm carrying about $30,000 in credit card debt at the moment, so you can imagine what my interest payments run. It's painful.

10. Unused memberships - Guilty again. Columbia House DVD Club, a gym I visit twice a month, AAA...I have quite a few of them.

[LSK]

66. somewhat guilty of 6, 7, 8

But not all the time either.