7 useless things you're spending your money on.

‘Stop spending money’, I told myself on January 1, 2017.

To be fair, I’ve told myself that same phrase every day for possibly the last year-and-a-half. But, on January 1, it felt like a more important promise. Under the name of resolutions and ‘goals’ for the year ahead.

All very hopeful, except for the fact it hasn’t made once iota of difference. I’m still spending money. I’m still making myself promises. I still have zero savings.

To help people like me, certified financial planner Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz has spoken to CNBC about the importance of “mindful spending”… That sounds promising because, come to think of it, there is nothing ‘mindful’ about waking up on Wednesday morning, deciding I want a hair cut, and then getting up and going to get said hair cut without any consideration for financial planning.

The first step in becoming a more ‘mindful’ spender, Schwab-Pomerantz (even the name sounds important and very financially-stable) explains, is to identify the places you’re wasting money. (hmm hair cuts and croissants).

Here are 10, easy-to-cull, money wasters:

ATM fees

This is $2-$4 dollars of inexcusable expense. It’s inexcusable because it’s completely unnecessary.

Schwab-Pomerantz suggests a simpler, more direct, New Years Resolution could be: If your bank’s logo isn’t on the ATM, don’t use it.

Point taken.

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Late payment fees

It’s a good idea to set up automatic transfers to pay your bank repayments, phone bills and electricity bills.

By doing this, you’re not only saving money in late fees. You’re also helping to improve your credit score. This will make it easier to borrow money for a house or car loan in the future.

Under-used subscriptions

Was ‘the gym’ another of your New Years Resolutions? It might be direct-debiting from your bank account but are you getting your money’s worth?

If not the gym, think magazines, software, wellness plans, online services. Comb through your bank account statements and look for any reoccurring payments that are eating away at your bank balance.

“Millions of people sign up for 30-day free trials of things, intending to cancel within 30 days — and then they forget. Or they sign up for certain services but have long since stopped using them.” Yahoo tech columnist David Pogue wrote in his 2016 book, Pogue’s Basics: Money.

Buying lunch everyday

It’s one of the simplest ways to cut back on spending. Instead of paying $10 for a sandwich every day, spend $20 on a Sunday afternoon and prep your meals for the week. Think easy-to-store, easy-to-reheat meals such as chilli con carne, curry, pasta sauce, or meat and vegetables.

The more food you prepare at home, the more money you will have to spend on lunches-and-dinners-out when you really want to enjoy yourself, as opposed to sitting at your desk and replying to emails between bites.

Bottled water

No. Just… no.

There are things called taps. And, if that’s not to your liking, invest in a filter. Bottled water is bad of the environment and – at a couple of dollars per litre – it’s also bad for your savings goals.

Both Schwab-Pomerantz and Pogue agree bottled water is an unhealthy money waster.

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Extra phone data

“The cell phone carriers hope you’ll go over your monthly allotment [of data],” Pogue explains. “If you do, they slap absurd overage charges onto your bill.”

It’s a good idea to install a “gauge” app, that helps monitor the data you’re using and warn you if you’re approaching your monthly limit. As well as this, identify that apps that are using the most amount of data, and stop them from operating constantly in the background.

Remember, when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, you’re not using any of your plan-included data. Hook up to a network as often as you can.

Impulse buys

This is where those Wednesday haircuts come in. But it’s not just “treat yo’self” moments of weakness that you need to look out for.

Retailers are experts at tricking you into spending money. Those packets of gum and chocolates and (you guessed it!) bottled water, by the checkout in supermarkets are strategically placed to encourage you to spend money impulsively.

You’ve got your grocery list, you’ve stuck to your grocery list because you’re determined to make those money-saving packed lunches and, next minute, you’ve spent $8 on peppermint gum and a Cherry Ripe. 

It’s a better idea to take that $5-$10 and put it in a money-box. Collect the small notes and, one day, they’ll accumulate into a substantial amount that can go towards a savings account or retirement fund.