Everyone has habits that they do daily or even weekly that cost you money. In many situations, its small things that you may not even be aware of, such as stopping for your morning cup of coffee or eating out for lunch. But, how much do these small, innocent purchases really cost you over time?
What may seem like only a small amount of money at the time actually turns into a large chunk of cash once these small purchases turn into daily habits? The problem is that when you only do it once a day, you don’t think about how much it adds up.
It is common for people to focus on spending when it comes time to buy big things, but paying attention to the cost of small daily habits can actually save you a lot of money in the long run. Here are three everyday habits that often turn into much bigger costs than you may imagine.
Stopping for Morning Coffee
If you are a regular at the local drive-thru coffee shop, you could be spending way more money than you ever imagined. For example, if you stop every morning for a plain cup of coffee that costs an average of $3.00, it may not sound like a lot but if you stop every morning, five days a week, it adds up to $15.00 a week, $60.00 a month and over a year, you are spending on the average $720.00 a year…on a cup of coffee. This may not be enough money to take that vacation you’re saving for, but it can definitely put a increase your savings.
Eating Lunch and/or Dinner Out
This is a tough one, especially if everyone in the office is sending for or going out to lunch and the occasional lunch out isn’t so bad, but if you do it every day the costs can really add up. Assuming you eat at a fast food place, the average cost is usually about $7.00 per meal, which adds up to $35.00 a week, $140.00 a month and $1680.00 a year. This doesn’t include the cost of going to a place for lunch where your lunch doesn’t come in a paper bag.
Getting lunch from a place other than a fast food restaurant can cost an average of $15 dollars, so just paying this once a week along with 4 days at $7.00 a day will cost you about $43.00 a week, $172 a month and $2064 a year -just for lunch. Dinner out is a completely different story. If you and your spouse eat dinner out just once a week, it can end up costing you about $50.00 per day, $200 a month and $2400 a year.
NEXT: Using Coupons – Breaking It All Down
Susan McCullah is an established writer who has created dozens of informative articles about credit scoring, identity theft, budgeting, taxes, debt, and finance. She has worked in the Credit Reporting industry for 15+ years and is FCRA certified. Susan regularly conducts in-person presentations and webinars on the topics of credit scoring formulation, raising credit scores, and identity theft.
