What Is A Waste of Money? & How Can We Stop Wasting Money?

Often, we talk of wasting money. We blame others for wasting money, and sometimes we blame ourselves for wasting money. Often, we also blame the government or public officials for the waste of money.

However, what is a waste of money? This is one of the biggest questions. We think that money we spend but doesn’t get us the results we want is a waste of money. We also consider that some large projects that the government or private companies undertake are also a waste of money.

Broadly speaking, all of us have our own definitions of what is a waste of money. And most of us exert extra effort to prevent the waste of money. Despite this, we continue wasting money without even knowing it.

Sadly, we waste money in different ways, but we feel we’re getting value for our spending and don’t know that it’s actually a waste.

Surely, you must be wondering where you’re wasting money, despite trying your best to save. Don’t worry. In this article, I will demonstrate to you all the various ways that most of us waste money without knowing.

That could help you to stop such waste and start saving more for your household.

Therefore, I suggest that you read this article till the end. I am sure that would answer most of your questions.

How Do We Waste Money?

As you would know, we often blame ourselves or others for wasting money. However, this waste of money usually happens because we think that there’s a need for something. To begin with, a waste of money doesn’t occur when we simply meet our needs.

The biggest cause of waste is our wants. That means our desire to own something that we don’t really need. It doesn’t matter whether we have those things or not, but we believe it's necessary for some or another reason.

Therefore, here’re some of the ways by which we waste money. That will prove to you what is a waste of money.

1. Wasting Your Coins

Americans waste about $70 million worth of coins they get as change by tossing them in the garbage, according to various news reports. This happens because nobody wants to keep these small coins, such as Cents, that occupy space in purses and wallets.

This is perhaps the greatest waste of money that most Americans do. Instead, you can simply collect these coins in a jar or a moneybox and exchange them for cash when you have lots of them.

Banks and credit unions across the USA accept these coins and give you Dollar notes for the amount. You can also have the amount credited to your bank account or debit card. There are many other places where you can change your coin for cash for free.

When we ask what a waste of money is, find out if you’re among those persons that throw away their coins instead of collecting them. A lot of people also leave coins at airports, when taking the metal detector check before boarding a flight.

Understandably, coins occupy space in your purse or wallet. Yet, every single coin is worth some amount of money. And you might be wasting this valuable money for which you spend hours working.

2. Neglecting Discount Coupons

What is a waste of money? It’s when you neglect discount coupons for online and offline shopping and instead pay the full price. This waste of money usually happens when we’re lazy to check online for discount coupons and instead go shopping without getting that five per cent or 10 per cent off the tag price that most retailers offer.

Stores give discount coupons to encourage shoppers to buy. When they give these coupons, they’re actually looking at attracting more customers to buy something. Obviously, when you shop for one item, you would also add other stuff to your shopping cart.

In such cases, you don’t lose money and nor is the seller losing anything by giving you some discounts. All of us can find attractive discounts when we look for them and are alert.

All it needs is some extra effort online to look for coupons, discount codes and other such things. The USA has lots of websites that offer coupons for buying almost anything we want.

When we pay the full price instead of taking the discount on offer, we’re wasting money. It is believed that using coupons while shopping can help slice off at least $2,000 every year on your grocery and other shopping.

3. Credit Card Dues

We pay minimum dues to credit cards and then don’t mind paying all the Annual Purchase Rate (APR) that comes with delayed payments. This is also a waste of money. Have you ever imagined that this APR really costs us much more than the cost of the things we have bought?

Having a credit card is not bad. It helps us to build a credit score. However, when we delay repayments, we’ve to pay a stiff APR that can often go as high as 30 percent of the cost of the purchase.

Now, remember, APR works on a compounding principle. The longer you delay, the higher you pay.

Therefore, whenever you buy anything on credit cards, make sure that you settle the dues at the earliest and avoid the high APR. This way, you won't waste money, and you will be building a much healthier credit score than most others.

Also Read: Simple & Easy Ways To Track Your Expenses

More Waste of Money

While top financial advisors say that these are the main ways we waste money, there’re some others too. I will list them below.

• Buying useless stuff: We often do this, don’t we?
• Waste of food: Did you know that we throw away 35 percent of all food that we cook or buy?
• Hoarding: Hoarding things because we fear shortages is another surest way to waste money.
• Spending beyond means: Some of us spend beyond our means and get into debt, either on credit cards or by borrowings.

Also read: Ways To Save Money On Food

In Conclusion

According to various sources, Americans waste about 20 percent of their income in various ways. The same money could be used better if such expenses were curbed. This is possible through some level of financial discipline. It is not hard to stop wasting money once you know what are the main causes.