Don't waste your money!
How to not waste your money
Do you feel that all your money goes to waste? Well, try to follow some of these ideas to waste less of your money.
Here is a list of things you should NOT DO with your money:
Do NOT buy a car off the lot.
Buying a car off the lot is the most expensive way to buy a car, because you are paying the salesman and all of the other overhead. Always negotiate and buy a car online. This is How to buy a car online.
DO NOT assume the price tag is the final price.
ALWAYS negotiate in stores. Garage sales are not the only place you can negotiate. If you go into a furniture store or other specialty store where you plan to spend hundreds of dollars, ALWAYS ask for 10-20 percent discount. The sales manager is not going to let you just walk out of there if you were planning on spending a lot of money. It works! Try it! Do NOT pay full price for high-ticket items.
DO NOT hire a tax accountant to file your 1040.
If you have average income and average intelligence, with a regular W-2 and no special circumstances, then there is no reason to pay a tax accountant. An inexpensive, easy to use tax software package can easily do the job.
DO NOT pay for long distance.
If you still have a landline, do not waste the extra money on long distance. There are a lot of free alternatives out there like Google Voice. Furthermore, your cell phone probably has unlimited long distance.
DO NOT shop at the mall.
Always shop online instead of at the mall. Do you know how much the stores pay for rent at those big malls? Do you know who indirectly pays that rent? You are correct - you and the other shoppers going there pay it. Most items are available online now. Shop online instead of going to the mall. We found Amazon to be a great place for great prices.
DO NOT buy Kids Life Insurance.
Why on earth would you need life insurance on your kids? They do not produce revenue and to be brutally honest, you would actually have fewer expenses if the worst-case scenario happened with your child. Furthermore, to receive money because something happened to your child just feels VERY wrong. Your kid's loss should not be your gain.
DO NOT play the lottery.
It seems the less people make, the more people spend on the lottery. The odds of winning are ridiculously low and you are just wasting the little money you have if you play lottery. If this concept is lost on you, probably all the other items on this page are lost too. Go here to Generate Lottery Numbers.
DO NOT get a Payday loan.
Payday loans are legalized shark loans. The interest rate is super high and you are just postponing your financial troubles. In fact, you are making your financial troubles worse! Live within your means and do not take out loans for spending.
DO NOT buy Insurance for small items.
The math on insurance for small items, such as cell phones, just does not add up. Usually, you pay a huge monthly percentage, the deducible is huge, and all this while your item is depreciating in value and becoming less important to you. What a waste! Just deal with small losses by paying for them instead of paying tons of not-so-little insurance.
See our article on iPhone Insurance
DO NOT rent.
People rent everything from furniture to apartments. With today's low mortgage rate, the math is almost always in favor of buying instead of renting. Before looking into any rental agreement, compare it with what it would cost to buy. Check out our Mortgage Calculator.
DO NOT keep a credit card balance.
Credit card interest is very high and paying interest on a credit card balance is a waste of money. The easiest way to do this is to NOT charge your credit card if you don't have the money to pay it off in full. Live within your means.
DO NOT Buy extended warranty.
The factory warranty is sufficient in most cases. By the time the factory warranty expires, you probably don't even need the item. If you were to buy the extended warranty on everything you buy at appliance stores, computer stores, TV stores etc., it would amount to a small fortune. Chances are, very few would ever be needed. Instead of buying all theses extended warranties, just put the money in a savings account for a rainy day when one of these items may fail.
After reading this, did you get the point? Live within your means, don't spend money when you don't have to, don't spend money to get money, keep a rainy day fund instead of paying ridiculous insurances and warranties, negotiate, own instead of renting and research alternatives before you buy. It is that easy!