Dumb and dumber: How to avoid wasteful spending
Posted By: Matt in Frugality on 07/16/2018 at 07:50:45
Some would say that saving money is easy and follow one simple mantra in order to buff up their bank account and have a sense of financial security.
The less you spend, the more you save.
And while that sounds simple, it's effective particularly if you're someone who watches not only what they spend but if the actual purchases are, quite frankly, dumb and tremendously ill advised.
The key to saving might not be just not spending at all but also in addition to that not overspending, either. Far too often, the all or nothing approach leaves you feeling as though you're being cheated out of something you want, but the real issue simply is overspending and not thinking through the notion that a comparable, lesser alternative might be available.
Case in point, what about your education, specifically the notion that college tuition is on the rise and yet jobs aren't exactly booming· Overspending on education is commonplace because we've been told and reassured that you need a college education, at minimum, to be successful and while that is true to some extend, you might want to consider a vocational or trade school first (less expensive, certainly) or maybe a satellite or branch campus for a few years to get your mainstay courses done and completed for a lesser price tag.
Another place overspending runs rampant is for new parents, specifically ones that feel as though they have to have the best of everything. And while that is true from a safety standpoint for a lot of items (strollers, car seats, etc)., you might want to rethink buying the most expensive clothes, shoes or outfits you can find. The serious thinking that should permeate through your mind is that the kids are going to grow out of those hundreds and hundreds of dollar pieces of clothing and thus the clothes are rendered obsolete (unless you are saving them for baby number 2). For kids and as quickly as they grow out of things, you might want to strongly consider lesser priced, yet still quality, items from clothes to shoes and even accessories and baby related items. The most expensive crib isn't always the one that is the safest, either.
Wasting money is something that is easily avoidable if you exercise patient in purchasing and truly understanding that the highest price tag isn't always the path you should follow.
The truth is you can save more if you spend less, or at least spend a little smarter.
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