18 Wasteful Expenses to Avoid

Wasting money on lottery, gambling, convenience stores, taxes, designer baby clothes, unused subscriptions, bank fees, high investment fees, credit card interest, peak travel prices, and inappropriate housing is unwise.

### 18 Expenses That Are a Complete Waste of Money
* 💸 "The number one expense that is a complete waste of your money: lottery tickets. You might have seen the lottery ad, 'You can't win if you don't play.' Some people might say, 'That makes perfect sense. I can't win if I don't play, right?' But you know what I say? **The complete opposite. You win when you don't play.**"
* 💳 "Number two expense that is a complete waste of your money: any money spent on **gambling**. Again, another endeavor where you're **losing**. By playing, the math is crystal clear. When it comes to gambling, the house always has an **advantage** every single time."
* 🏪 "Number three expense that is a complete waste of your money: **regularly shopping at convenience stores**. Think small corner retail stores like 7-Eleven or convenience stores part of a gas station."
* 📊 "Number four expense that is a complete waste of your money: **designer baby clothes**. I made this mistake so many times when my kids were young. Both my wife and I, given we had no experience with young kids, thought that we needed to **get the best for our kids when they were born**."
* 👗 "Number five expense that is a complete waste of your money: **online clothes**. Any clothing items that you're **not in love with**, and this includes **shoes as well as accessories**."
* 🔐 "Number six expense that is a complete waste of your money: **unused or underutilized subscription services**. So many companies operate on a subscription model these days, streaming Entertainment News, household products, etc."
* 🏦 "Number seven expense that is a complete waste of your money: **bank fees, think account fees, ATM fees, overdraft fees, etc.**"
* 📈 "Number eight expense that is a complete waste of your money: **high investment fees**, most common one being **expense ratios**."
* 💳 "Number nine expense that is a complete waste of your money: **credit card interest charges**."
* ✈ "Number 10 expense that is a complete waste of your money: **peak prices for airline tickets and hotels**."
* 📱 "Number 11 expense that is a complete waste of your money: **international phone charges**."
* 🏠 "Number 12 expense that is a complete waste of your money: **a home that does not ideally fit your lifestyle**."
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hi if you're new to the channel my name is T from Financial tortoise. where we learn to grow our wealth slow and steady. the number one expense that is a complete waste of your money lottery tickets. you might have seen the lottery ad you can't win if you don't play. some people might say that's right. that makes perfect sense I can't win if I don't play right. so if I want to win in life I should buy lottery tickets right. but you know what I say the complete opposite you win when you don't play. You're essentially losing by playing because you're wasting your hard-earned dollar and something that gives you pretty much no chance of winning. in the PowerAll Lottery there are more than 35 billion combinations of numbers. three of which are chosen each week. that put your odds of winning at almost nothing like 1 in 300 million. the population of the United States is Slightly North of 330 million people. are you so special and lucky that you can beat out every person in the US

if you want to win, don't buy lottery tickets. Instead, save that money and invest. That is the best formula for winning every time. Number two expense that is a complete waste of your money: any money spent on gambling. Again, another endeavor where you're losing. By playing, the math is crystal clear. When it comes to gambling, the house always has an advantage every single time. Yes, the house advantage varies for each type of game: Blackjack, roulette, poker, slots, etc. However, over time, the casino will not lose to the gambler. The house always wins. Additionally, apart from the mathematical reason why you shouldn't gamble, the stronger argument against it is the mental, emotional, and even relational damage it can cause: greed, addiction, depression, anxiety. It's got it all. Yes, many people only dabble in it here and there, and they don't get sucked into the deep sinkhole. But my thought is this: why even dabble? Why spend your precious money and your precious time on something that bears no positive fruit? There are so much more productive things.

we could be doing with our money, as well as with our time. Number three expense that is a complete waste of your money: regularly shopping at convenience stores. Think small corner retail stores like 7-Eleven or convenience stores part of a gas station. Now, once in a while because you need something urgently is okay. The issue is when we make it a habit to shop at these convenience stores. Pretty much everything in these convenience stores are marked up because, as the name implies, you're paying for the convenience. That convenience of getting a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of chips while you're filling up your gas tank comes with a price. Now, you might think a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of chips are $7, that's not much. But you have to remember you can get the same item from a large grocery store for probably half that price. Also, all convenience stores do not encourage the best shopping habits. Most often they're filled with unhealthy, sugar-filled, or very salty processed food. It will be best not only

for your wallet, but for your waistline as well. To avoid convenience stores as much as possible. In talking about things that are a complete waste of money, do you know what else is a waste? Paying too much in taxes, especially when there are smart ways to reduce how much we pay the government. That's why I'm excited to talk to you about today's video sponsor, Playbook. There are a lot of ways to pay less in taxes and grow your money the smart way, made possible by tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, and Roth IRAs. However, these tax opportunities don't remain open forever; they expire every year. Additionally, understanding what accounts to open and to fill in what order can be tricky because, let's be honest, the US tax code is not the easiest to decipher. Also, everyone's life circumstances are different - your marital status, your income, and what accounts you qualify for. Well, this is where Playbook really shines. Playbook is a step-by-step app for growing your money the smart way. It uses state-of-the-art strategies to find Miss

opportunities. Calculate your optimal tax strategy and accelerate your path to Financial Freedom when you open up an account with Playbook. And input your financial data will automatically calculate your personalized optimal tax strategy. What tax advantage accounts you should fill and in what order. And if you want to take it up a notch, Playbook can even take care of the contribution for you. And unlike high-price financial advisers who will often charge you an arm and a leg for this service, Playbook offers this tax optimization strategy for you starting at only $9 a month. They work to leverage the most advanced tech to bring you this service and do not charge you an AUM fee asset under management fee that most financial advisers are so famous for charging. So if you want to really maximize your tax savings, check out Playbook today by going to my special link hello playbook.com/takim or click the link in the video description below. All right, with that said, let's get back to the video. Number four expense that is a complete waste of your money designer.

baby clothes. I made this mistake so many times when my kids were young. Both my wife and I, given we had no experience with young kids, thought that we needed to get the best for our kids when they were born. So, how don't know what is best? Well, of course, the biggest name brand, right? We spent a lot of money on specialty dresses for our daughter when she was 6 months old, and onesies made of the softest material for our son when he was 3 months old. What we didn't realize was how quickly kids grow, especially when they're in the infant stage. A healthy baby can quickly double in size within a matter of 6 months, and again in another 6 months. And now that expensive dress or the onesie no longer fits, or worse, they never even got a chance to wear it because you were saving it, and now they're too big. This is not to say you should never splurge on your kids, but be thoughtful, do your research if you're buying a nice dress for a once-in

a-lifetime photo shoot. Totally fine. Just don't be surprised when it no longer fits her after 3 months. Number five: expense that is a complete waste of your money in line of clothes. Any clothing items that you're not in love with, and this includes shoes as well as accessories. My general rule of thumb with clothing item is this: if I'm not excited to wear it right away, I should not buy it. If I don't feel the pull to put it on right away, then it's not a good buy. We've all had is feeling at a clothing store. We find a piece we think looks great, but we have some hesitation. Once I lose some weight, this will look great, right? Once the season changes, I could wear it, right? I know it's not ideal right now, but maybe in the near future. I'm sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but the reality is that that day will most likely never come. That piece of clothing will sit in your closet for years waiting for that one day you're

going to put it on, but that day will not come. So, if you feel even an ounce of hesitation, do not buy it. It's much better to spend more for a clothing item you will wear versus a cheaper one you will never wear. Number six, expense that is a complete waste of your money, unused or underutilized subscription services. So many companies operate on a subscription model these days, streaming Entertainment News, household products, etc. You can even get clothes and groceries in a subscription service, a set of clothes or groceries delivered to your door at the same time every week, every month. Now, if you're extracting full value from this service, that is a good use of your money. For example, both my wife and I use a streaming music service, Spotify, pretty much every single day. So, the $17 that we pay monthly is worth every penny. However, the issue is a service we don't fully utilize or worse, that we've forgotten about. In an April 2021 survey, Chase found that nearly two-thirds of consumers forgot at least one recurring payment. That is money

completely wasted. Save these dollars by auditing all your subscriptions: your gym membership, streaming service, grocery delivery, everything, and cut back ruthlessly. If you don't feel like you're getting the maximum value, you can always add them back later, but the dollar that you spent, you will never get back. Number seven: expense that is a complete waste of your money. Bank fees, think account fees, ATM fees, overdraft fees, etc. Do not waste a single penny on these completely avoidable fees. Banks are already making tons of money from you when you house your money there. No need to give them more money. You can easily avoid account fees by holding a certain balance in your bank account or open a bank account that has no account fees. Same with ATM fees. Imagine paying $3 ATM fees to withdraw $20. That equates to a 15% one-time fee. That is ridiculous and completely unnecessary. If you know you need cash, plan ahead and withdraw cash beforehand from an approved ATM. Also, understand that many banks change their policies frequently, so you need to check

your account on a regular basis to make sure you're staying on top of any surprising changes. I had times when I saw a new bank account fee on my parents' account because the bank changed policies. We immediately contacted the bank to have the fee removed from the account and changed to avoid in the future. Bottom Line: Bank fees are completely avoidable if you plan ahead. Number eight expense that is a complete waste of your money: High investment fees, most common one being expense ratios. Too many so-called hot funds charge way too much for people to participate in them. Most actively managed funds typically charge between 0.5% to 1.5% expense ratios, that equates to $50 to $150 for every $10,000 invested with one of these funds. My take: they're a complete waste of money. Instead, opt to invest in a very low-cost broad market index fund that charges anywhere between 0.01% to 0.5% to 0.04%, that equates to $150 to $4 for every $10,000 invested, way better than

the $50 or the $150. Save the difference and spend it on something that you really find value from, or better yet, invest more into the market. Number nine expense that is a complete waste of your money: credit card interest charges. There is never a scenario where you should be paying even a penny in credit card interest. I dislike all debt, but I dislike credit card debt the most because the interest rate is just so ridiculously high. If you're not 100% confident you can pay your credit card in full every single month, do not use a credit card until your finances are in a better position. Use a debit card, or better yet, cash, until you can build up good financial habits. This is what my wife and I did for the first couple of years when we were trying to pay off $15,000 of student debt. Because we didn't have good financial discipline, we followed the envelope system and only used cash for all discretionary spending until all our debt was paid off. Number 10 expense that is a complete waste of

your money. Peak prices for airline tickets and hotels. Airline tickets and hotels operate based on dynamic pricing. When demand is high, they hike up prices to increase profit. When the demand is low, they lower prices to attract customers. If you can, try to avoid traveling in peak seasons or places that are very sensitive to demand. If everyone is going to Cancun in March, no need to follow suit. See if you can find a different place that is just as nice but less popular. If everyone is headed to Italy during the summer, no need to follow the crowd. Find your own unique location to visit. And if you can't avoid peak seasons because of your schedule, at least plan ahead of time. Prices for flights and hotels tend to increase dramatically closer you get to travel date, so the earlier you can plan and book your arrangements, the more you can save. Number 11 expense that's a complete waste of your money, the theme of travel international phone charges. Again, if you plan well, this is something you can completely avoid. There's no reason for

you to pay ridiculous roaming charges while overseas. Most phone companies offer International Services as long as you activate ahead of time. And if you don't want to use your phone company's International offer, there are tons of other services that allow you to avoid international phone charges. For example, the last time my family and I traveled to South Korea, I was able to purchase an affordable SIM card directly at the airport that allowed me to access lightning speed LTE the whole time we were there. Number 12 expense that is a complete waste of your money: a home that does not ideally fit your lifestyle. This could be a home that is too big, too far, or just not structured in a way that is ideal to your lifestyle and life stage. For example, many people buy a large home in the suburbs because they come to believe that that is the American dream - a big home with a white picket fence represents success. However, what if your work is 2 hours away in the city's downtown? Instead of enjoying your home, you're spending the majority of your

time sitting in traffic, all the while paying probably a big size mortgage for that privilege. A better solution might be to buy a smaller home closer to work. Or maybe this might sound as a crazy idea: rent. A quick reminder before we move on to the next point, please make sure to download your free one-page PDF companion guide that goes along with this video. Everything I'm covering here in a simple to digest one-page format. So go to the link I'll have in the description below to grab your free copy. Number 13 expense that is a complete waste of your money: in the theme of homes, high energy bill from energy leakages, most often due to your home not being energy efficient or you have appliances that require a lot of energy. For example, in many homes, apart from Heating and Cooling, refrigerators are one of the biggest consumers of Home energy. If you kept your old refrigerator for many years in the hopes of saving money, you might actually do better financially by replacing it with a new, more energy-efficient one when it comes

to to Heating and Cooling. If you live in an older home, your home might be expending a lot of energy, and thus money, trying to maintain a certain temperature level. You can do a self-audit by using an energy monitor device, or you can get a comprehensive energy audit, which will provide you with a detailed report and recommendations to mitigate energy waste. Number 14 expense that is a complete waste of your money in the theme of energy waste money that is wasted because of water leakages. We once had a broken sprinkler that we were not aware of until the water bill came. I was shocked at how much water a single broken sprinkler could waste and also cost. Most water issues, and thus money wasted, are completely avoidable with good preventable maintenance. Things like drippy faucets, broken sprinklers, or leaky toilet can be fixed pretty easily and money saved as long as we catch them early. Number 15 expense that is a complete waste of your money similar to a theme of a home that does not fit your

lifestyle. A car that does not fit your lifestyle. You spend the majority of your time commuting to downtown, but because you have an idealistic dream of camping every weekend, you buy a large SUV or a truck. A great car for the mountains, but probably not the best for a daily commute. You're spending quite a bit of money on gas, maintenance, and insurance for a car that isn't doing what you hope it will help you do: get you outdoors more often. Instead, you're sitting in traffic the majority of time, burning up gas, and putting your car through unnecessary wear and tear. A better purchase that is more aligned to your lifestyle would be a small, gas-efficient hybrid or a full electric. When my wife and I were spending a good chunk of our time commuting for work, we invested in a small, fully electric Nissan Leaf, and to this day, it is one of our favorite purchases. It's small, so great for city driving. It's fully electric, so no money spent on gas, and we didn't mind all the miles that we're putting on it.

because that was the whole reason why we got the car in the first place. Number 16 expense that is a complete waste of your money buying overpriced soft drinks and alcohol at restaurants. I know this is a sensitive one and you might be saying, What is this guy thinking? I make my way a day to the restaurant and this guy has the audacity to say I shouldn't order drinks. Well, before you click off my Channel, please hear me out. Most regular soft drinks like Coke or Sprite when you order at a restaurant come straight from a fountain machine or if they don't have a fountain machine, a can. A can of soda for the restaurant only cost them 10 to 20 cents because they're buying them in bulk. Now, how much are you paying to drink soda at a restaurant? Way more than that, 10 or 20 times more at times. That is a 1,000 to 2,000% markup. And how about alcohol? Another huge markup. They typically charge between 2 to 3 times

for a bottle of craft beer, and more for imports, and for hard liquor way more than that. So you have to ask the question, are all these drinks worth the crazy markups? I say save that dollar and drink water. Or if you want another appetizer, you're probably getting more from that than a soft drink or a bottle beer. Number 17 expense that is a complete waste of your money: gifts for people who do not know how to appreciate them. We're conditioned to believe that gifts are a natural expression of love and care; however, Gary Chapman talks about in his book The Five Love Languages how we all give and receive love in five different ways, and gift-giving is just one of them, the four others being words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch. So if we genuinely want to express love to our family and friends, it actually serves them better to find out what their love language is, and if gift is not on top of their list, don't waste your money on it; instead, spend it on

something that they would appreciate better: a dinner out, an experience, full trip, or a simple letter of affirmation. Number 18: expense. It is a complete waste of your money. A degree: it could be an associate, Bachelor, or master's degree, but one that does not lead to a good paying job. The primary reason to get a formal education, a degree, is so that you end up with a good paying job, that is it. There are other secondary benefits like finding a Community, learning some interesting things, and growing as a person, but all those other things you can get outside of a formal School environment, and more importantly, doesn't require thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. According to Education data initiative, the average cost of attendance for a student living on campus at a public 4-year in-state institution is $26,000 per year or about $104,000 over 4 years. That is a lot of money if you end up with a degree where you're not able to get a good return on your investment. That, in my book, is a

waste of money. Thank you guys for watching. The theme of wasting. If you want to learn some things that are wasting your time every day, please check out my video here. Until next time, all the best.

18 Things That Are A Complete Waste Of Your Money

Tae Kim - Financial Tortoise

The Top 3 Money-Wasting Expenses to Avoid

Lottery tickets are a waste of money due to extremely low odds of winning, so it's better to invest the money instead.

Gambling is another money-wasting expense, as the house always has the advantage, leading to potential financial and emotional damage.

Regularly shopping at convenience stores is costly, with marked-up prices and unhealthy food options, so it's best to avoid them.

Playbook's Affordable Tax Optimization Strategy

Playbook offers personalized tax strategies based on financial data, starting at $9 a month, without charging an asset under management fee.

The service helps users determine the optimal tax advantage accounts and the best contribution order, aiming to maximize tax savings.

Playbook uses advanced technology to provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional high-price financial advisers.

Audit and cut back on all your subscriptions to save money effectively.

Avoid unnecessary bank fees by planning ahead and staying updated on the bank's policies.

High investment fees can be a waste of money, so consider low-cost index funds as an alternative.

Never pay credit card interest, and focus on building good financial habits to avoid debt.

Smart Ways to Save Money on Travel and Housing

Peak pricing affects airline tickets and hotel costs, so it's best to avoid traveling during high-demand times.

Planning ahead and booking early can help save on travel expenses.

International phone charges can be avoided by activating a phone company's international service or purchasing a local SIM card when traveling.

Choosing a home that fits your lifestyle and is energy-efficient can help avoid wasting money on a property that doesn't meet your needs.

Wasteful Expenses to Avoid for a More Efficient Home and Lifestyle

Older homes can waste energy and money, but a self-audit or comprehensive energy audit can help identify and mitigate energy waste.

Water leakages, such as broken sprinklers, can lead to significant and avoidable expenses, emphasizing the need for good preventative maintenance.

Buying a car that doesn't align with your lifestyle, such as a gas-guzzling vehicle for a daily commute, can result in unnecessary spending on gas, maintenance, and insurance.

It's more cost-effective to choose a vehicle that suits your actual needs, such as a small, gas-efficient hybrid or a fully electric car.

Additionally, purchasing overpriced soft drinks and alcohol at restaurants can lead to significant unnecessary expenses, considering the substantial markup on these items.

Questionable Expenses: What's Really Worth Your Money

Craft beer, imports, and hard liquor are not worth the high markups, suggesting that drinking water may be a better option.

Spending money on gifts for people who don't appreciate them is a waste, and it's more meaningful to consider the recipient's love language.

Investing in a degree that doesn't lead to a well-paying job is a significant waste of money, especially considering the high cost of tuition.