Silent Money Wasters You Might Not Notice

When people who have accrued large amounts of money in their savings are asked how they did it, they will respond a couple of ways. Some will tell you the sacrifices that they had to make early in their lives in order to save as much money as they had. Others will tell you that investing your money wisely can pay off nicely down the road. All of these people will also tell you one thing; saving money is in the details that one might not notice. This will go over the specific details that one has to look at and fix in order to save the maximum amount of money.

Electricity

The amount of electricity that is wasted every year in people’s homes is astonishing. Many people do not realize the overall costs of leaving a couple lights on and the air conditioning on for the entire day when not home. It is estimated that leaving the lights on can cost around $75 dollars a year in extra electric bills. Leaving the air conditioning running can cost around $200 a year depending on the size of the home. Leaving an old stereo in standby mode can cost nearly $70 a year extra. A computer monitor left on can cost around $200 a year as well. All of this combined over the course of 15 to 20 years can add up to between $6,000 and $10,000 which is nothing to shrug off when a walkthrough of the house would take no more than a minute.

Being an Early Adopter

Buying the newest phone or computer can cost a person big time! Waiting a couple months to a year can save you thousands of dollars. The 3D TV when it first came out cost around $3,000 for a 50 inch. A couple of years later they could be found online and used for around $300 dollars. The 3D TV didn’t wow people the way it was supposed to so the demand went down. Let the public be the product testers and give the verdict rather than exposing your wallet to financial abuse while looking for the hottest tech product. Used tech shops will have the latest model not too long after release if you still want it so resist the urge to splurge on new tech.

Spending Money On Risky Rewards

Buying scratch off tickets or lottery tickets every week can slowly bleed a bank account. Sure, the purchaser will win from time to time but the lottery commission makes a lot of money so coming out ahead is daunting. The state lotteries make billions per year and donate it to a good cause but wouldn’t a person rather have the couple hundred dollars a year back in their pocket? The answer is yes and spending money on investments with a low return is not a good way to save for financial stability.

Cable

Cable is something that many believe is becoming obsolete with all of the new websites and apps that have TV shows readily available. Many people use their Netflix or Hulu accounts more than their cable television. Not having cable can save around $1000 a year as some providers charge quite a lot for their step above basic coverage. The $20 a month that is spent on subscriptions that have no commitment are well worth it. There will always be a friend who has cable if the big game is one so there is nothing to worry about there! Turning that $1000 into traveling money or investment money is a quick way to see a return and it just came from cutting off the cable.

There are thousands of dollars per year and tens of thousands of dollars to saved in a lifetime just by using good habits. These will take no time to get used to but getting used to the savings will be a bit easier. Happy saving! Are there any tips that make saving money easy for any of you readers?