How NOT To Save Your Hard-Earned Money, By Wasting It Away on Useless Stuff

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It’s typical to hear of all the ways one can save.  Let’s have some fun this time and look at some ways NOT to save.  Yes, with our economy the way it has been lately, maybe this isn’t the smartest of approaches to dealing with our current financial woes – but hey, there is something to be said about having a good time, right?  So if you can ignore the potential negative and long-term impact of constantly and regularly socking away unnecessary expenditures on things that you can do without, have fun!

Contribute to the View That America’s the World’s Fattest Nation 

That’s right.  The rest of the world looks at us, wide with wonder, at just how BIG we are.  And why should we stop there?  By constantly eating out, not only will you be able to throw away all that extra cash of yours for no reason at all, but you’d also be upholding the supersize reputation that we as a nation have worked so hard to build.
Amount Wasted Each Year:  About $2500

Put Up a Health Front – So What If It’s Not Real?

So if you eat out, you have to at least pretend that you work out, right?  What better way to throw away perfectly good large bills than to get a gym membership that you don’t plan on using?  The monthly fees will automatically be deducted so you can sit back and worry not about your cash going to the “right” hands.
Amount Drained:  As much as $900 each year

Spend Lots on Lotteries – Wishing For Those Pipe Dreams to Come True

If Bob from upstate won $360 million on the Super Lotto, you can too.  Never mind the months and years of lottery tickets you’ll need to buy for half a chance at even winning a thousand bucks, let alone a cool million.   The point is, why not blow several hundreds bucks each year on this endeavor so at least people know you have pipe dreams? What’s the most that can happen? By the time you’re balding and can barely drive you just might be able to afford that Porsche after all.  Not too bad.
Total Frivolous Spending:  $500-$1000 a year

Worry More About Social Symbolism Rather Than Actual Social Status

Go ahead and smoke cigarettes like a chimney – they’re cool right?  And do it while sipping on the most expensive of gourmet coffees that cost more than most people’s lunch costs.  Though some people will be able to see through the superficial-ness of the whole thing, the rest will think you’re a cool cat.
Money That You Don’t End Up Saving:  A whole HECK of a lot

Convenience is Cool But [Spending] Cash Is King

Why bother driving down two extra blocks when you can access your bank account through some other, out-of-state bank and be done with it in ten minutes less?  Another great way to sock away those unnecessary fees is by using ATMs that are not of your own bank or the ones that are set up in a way that make you spend $5 for each transaction, within the transaction.
How This Stacks Up: $500 per year

Pay For More Than What You Need

There are couples with no kids who have bought mini-vans, couch potatoes with memberships at the ‘Y’ and non-sports junkies who hold season tickets for the best seats in the house.  Bundled communication packages are the same too where you pay for your Internet, cable TV and phone all in one but you don’t really need all that they give you.  Why not join the bandwagon, go ahead and purchase those all-important but totally useless packages that yield you a whole lot more bang for your buck but for stuff that you just have no need for.
If you go for the communication package, Expected Out-of-Pocket: Over $1200 or more annually

Find Stuff To Fill Up Your Storage Space With

Having a ton of stuff is a good thing.  No one likes to see empty storage spaces – those look best with boxes and boxes of piled up stuff that you’ve bought on impulse and used maybe once or twice in this lifetime.  What kind of stuff are we talking about here?  That super duper blender that looked five times bigger on TV than in real life but once you got it at home you realized all you can really blend in it is maybe a HALF a smoothie.  The pair of must-have shoes that “instantly” make you 6-feet tall without looking like you’re wearing heels.  The magic piece of cloth that fixes everything and anything and absorbs 20 gallons of water in 20 seconds.  (Okay, slight exaggeration there).  ALL home-based exercise equipment.  But the point is that if you really want to waste good money, this is the best way to do it.  Engage in a phone call with one of those “operators standing by”, rattle off your credit card number and they’ll even charge you for shipping and handling too.
Total Amount In the Hole:  Limitless
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So, while most people who make the effort NOT to waste extra cash here and there are able to manage summer vacations, buying that second car or extra computer, or putting a way a chunk of funds for their kids’ college, you will be the better for it – because you had a good time.  Never mind that you wasted thousands in the process.  It goes with the territory, right?

Now, seriously though, for tips on how to not waste money and beat inflation, look for future blog posts where I’ll tackle the subject again and provide some great (realistic) ideas on how to be more consumer-savvy and cost-conscious.