Welcome sweet friends to the blog! In this article. we’re sharing 7 money-wasting habits that could be keeping you POOR, literally WASTING your money! We’ll talk about these 7 habits and show you what to do INSTEAD.
We’re also going to share a recipe for something I don’t think we’ve EVER cooked on this channel before (and that’s saying something – we have LITERALLY hundreds of cooking videos)!
So sit back, relax, and first thing I want you to think about is some of the upcoming FINANCIAL GOALS you may have in your life. Are you saving for a new car that you may need? Paying down your mortgage? Paying off credit card debt? Maybe a special family vacation?
Whatever it is, we ALWAYS have to keep that goal in the forefront of our mind so as we go about our day-to-day living, we are NOT throwing money that could be used towards that goal out the window or LITERALLY in the garbage!
Habit #1: Not Shopping Your Own Home
Some people are still not grasping: take it from THERE and use it over HERE!
What am I talking about? Our homes are FILLED with decorations, knickknacks, quilts, curtains, blankets, pillows, small pieces of furniture, lamps – SO MANY things that accent our home. What we need to grasp and really implement is taking those items from one place and moving them somewhere else to refresh your look or decorate for holidays!
Going out and buying new seasonal decor EVERY SEASON is just a REAL waste of money!
Let me give you a couple examples of how I do this within our home. It’s springtime and I wanted to decorate for Easter. So what did I do? I used what I ALREADY HAD! I used my vintage Pyrex in springtime colors. This candy tree took me through Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and now Easter! And that little beehive in the corner are actually vintage measuring cups.
In another corner, we’re using some of Paul’s guitars as decor. I’m using my vintage egg holder as a seasonal decoration along with some ceramic little bunnies, Paul’s grandmother’s vintage lamp, and a flameless candle. These are all items we’ve had, and they just brighten up this corner!
So as you can see, using pieces in your home for different seasons, switching out pillows, moving small end tables – just to accent your look and upgrade it – SAVES YOU A LOT OF MONEY! Remember: take from here and use it there!
Habit #2: Not Being Proactive With Bills
The second money-wasting habit is not being proactive when it comes to reviewing your bills and increases that you’re seeing!
Let me give you an example. I noticed the other day that our FiOS bill for home internet had jumped to $66 – it jumped like $10 in two months! I could have just looked at it and said, “You know what? It’s inflation. Everything is going up.” But INSTEAD, I said, “NO! I’m gonna call them! I want to know what’s going on. WHY is it jumping like this?”
So I got on the phone with Verizon FiOS. Lo and behold, they said that I had an older FiOS internet plan, and OH MY GOODNESS, they could bring me down to $49.99 for the SAME SPEED coming into the house – no lowering of my internet speed! Everything stays the same, but I was going to drop almost $20!
Now they had this new plan, and it locked me in for 2 years at that $49 with NO CONTRACT, meaning I could stop it at any time. Then at 2 years’ time, we would renegotiate and see what the price was.
I just saved ourselves almost $20 a month! Now that may not seem a lot to you, but think about it – when it comes to food right now, I could take that $20 and buy some good, healthy food with it.
BE PROACTIVE! Don’t just accept, “Oh well, everything is going up, so I’m just going to ignore this price increase here.” Be proactive with those incoming bills!
Habit #3: Living Above Your Means
Another behavior that you REALLY have to try to curb is living above your means. We talk about living BELOW your means here all the time, but what do I mean by stop living ABOVE your means?
Buying things you know you CANNOT afford and saying to yourself, “I’ll deal with that later” or “Oh, I’m sure I’ll have the money when those bills come in.” NO, YOU WON’T!
Unless you get a HUGE raise at work or you win the lottery or you stop paying one credit card to pay another, you CANNOT live above your means. You cannot spend more than you take in and say to yourself, “I’ll just worry about it later.” That is LITERALLY putting yourself into deeper debt, and you’re throwing away money!
How are you throwing away money? Your interest charges on paying the bare minimum on your credit cards every month is just WASTED MONEY! Buy what you can afford and pay it off at the end of the month. Or better yet, PAY CASH FOR IT!
Habit #4: Using Shopping As a Hobby
Please stop using shopping as a HOBBY! Shopping is NOT a recreational sport!
Spending money on things you don’t need is NOT a really good way to spend your time. I want you to stop a minute and think back – shopping back in the day was for NECESSITIES. They were for things that you ACTUALLY NEEDED.
Now what has happened is society has told you shopping is FUN! It will make you FEEL GOOD! You will get that rush of adrenaline when you bring that new item home!
But guess what? You have to keep feeding that habit CONSTANTLY for that feeling to remain. And that can get VERY VERY expensive. So you need to rethink your shopping habits if you’re using it as a hobby or a pastime.
I notice Amazon is doing something new, too – Amazon is sending me emails saying, “Hey, we found something we think you’re going to like.” And now they’re starting to recommend products to me to buy.
Be careful how you spend your leisure time! Do something FUN! Garden, learn a new hobby – something that is going to keep you HOME and not out spending money!
Habit #5: Buying Just Because It’s On Sale
Now, to go along with that, habit number five is buying things JUST BECAUSE they’re on sale or at a good price.
So you’re out shopping, having a good time, browsing the store. It’s the end of the season, and winter coats are on sale. First of all, you have THREE winter coats already in your closet. Let’s just put that out there!
But you’re going to go and just see what the stores have. You find a new beautiful winter coat and it’s on sale. GREAT PRICE! Well, you think to yourself, “Okay, I’m going to bring this new winter coat home. I’ll just get rid of one of my other ones.”
The PROBLEM with that is, is there anything WRONG with the three winter coats you already have? Even if you get rid of one, you’re STILL spending extra money that you don’t need to spend on something that you don’t really need JUST BECAUSE it’s on sale and it’s a good price!
Please be aware of this habit! Think when that impulse to buy those new items that you KNOW you have at home already takes over. Think of the GOALS you have! Are you saving for a home? Are you saving to pay off your mortgage? Are you wanting to go on a really special vacation this year?
STOP, PAUSE, and THINK! Don’t just buy something because it’s on super-sale and then justify it by saying, “Well, I’ll get rid of something I already have.” Just stop and think before you make that impulse buy on something that you already have!
Habit #6: Paying Others For What You Can Do Yourself
Don’t pay someone for something that you can learn to do yourself! Now, I’m not talking about siding the house or anything like that. I’m talking about even the small things!
Learn to do your own manicures! Learn to make your own coffee and specialty beverages at home! These are really easy things to learn to do and over time will save you a TREMENDOUS amount of money.
What you need to think about: what do you pay someone for on a regular basis that you could possibly learn to do at home? And once you start looking at those activities, I GUARANTEE you, you’ll be like, “I could do that! That’s not that hard!”
Now, you never take a DIY on that you are not certified to do or that is unsafe or will cost you more money in the long run, or of course, nothing that is dangerous. I’m talking about the day-to-day activities.
Instead of going and paying (I don’t even know what a manicure is these days) $25 – how about just getting even a more expensive brand of polish and doing your nails at home? Even that way, over time, you’re going to save a TON of money!
Buy a better quality coffee pot if exotic coffees are your passion and learn how to brew them at home. Over the long run, it’ll save you money! You need to start looking at what you’re paying other people to do for you and think, “Hey, can I learn to do that myself?”
For example, we groom our little dog Dixie Bell ourselves! This may not be for every dog, of course not! We understand this. But this is one thing that we actually CAN do, and it saves us a TREMENDOUS amount of money!
Habit #7: Not Cooking Simple Meals at Home
You’re REALLY losing money if you are not learning how to make inexpensive, easy, quick meals at home. I know I harp on this, but I CANNOT stress this enough!
Boil some pasta, add some butter and cheese and a green salad, and you’re good! Keep jarred sauce on your pantry shelf – boil pasta and have pasta and sauce. Cook some eggs with toast and some veggies on the side. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but learn to make quick and easy meals for your family!
Cut up fresh fruit, crackers, cheese – make a charcuterie with things you have in your refrigerator and pantry. Eating out, even at fast food places, is just SO EXPENSIVE right now.
And I know we’re tired, and I know we don’t feel like cooking some nights. And that’s where my frozen pizza comes in! Remember my tip: ALWAYS keep a frozen pizza in the freezer for nights like this! For $6 for a frozen pizza, you make a salad, and everybody’s happy!
Please get a beginner’s cookbook if you are anxious about learning how to cook – even a children’s cookbook (and I’m not being funny)! If you’re just starting out, there are some easy, great recipes there for nights when you are hurried or you just don’t have the time, or basically, you’re tired. It happens to ALL of us!
So please learn to just make some quick, easy, delicious meals at home using pantry and refrigerator ingredients. Take that money that you would have used to eat out and put it towards your GOAL!
Delicious Cod Recipe (That We’ve Never Made Before!)
Tonight we’re cooking something I’m not sure we’ve ever cooked before – we’re making some cod fillets! We found these at ShopRite. They are wild-caught, boneless, skinless. They come individually vacuum-sealed, which we LOVE, and the only ingredient is Atlantic cod – no added sodium or sulfites or preservatives!
Here are our SUPER SIMPLE ingredients:
- About 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- Four cod fillets
- About 1/4 to 1/2 a sleeve of buttery crackers (any kind you like)
- Fresh lemon wedges
- A little bit of Italian seasoning
That’s how EASY this is!
First, take a little bit of that butter and dribble it into the dish we’re cooking the fish in. Spread it around on the bottom. Of course, you could use olive oil instead of butter, but I think the butter is going to give the fish a WONDERFUL taste!
Set that aside and take the rest of the butter. Crush these buttery crackers right into the butter and coat the crackers with the butter. This will help them stick and give them even more richness.
Cod is a VERY mild fish, so the extra added taste of these buttery crackers, the seasoning, and the lemon is going to be just perfect!
Take the fish and lay it in the pan. Put the lemon right in a juicer and go over that fish with it – that hint of citrus is going to be SO GOOD! Then take the Italian seasoning and go over each fillet.
Finally, take the cracker crumbs and put them on top of each fillet, pressing them down. Cook this for about 20 minutes in a 400° oven or until the internal temperature is at least 145°.
We also made a side dish using our leftover cabbage, potatoes, and rainbow carrots from our corned beef and cabbage dinner. We created a version of colcannon by mashing together the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, adding a bit of butter on top, and baking it alongside the fish for 20 minutes.
We served the cod on a bed of arugula (which has a wonderful peppery taste) with a fresh squeeze of lemon over the top. The vegetables went on the side. This was EASY, DELICIOUS, and we’re using up leftovers – being creative with what we already have in the house!
We are not big fish eaters – we love seafood, but we don’t eat a lot of fish. And I’m not sure why because that cod was SO GOOD! It was very easy and flavorful. If you don’t have buttery cracker crumbs, use breadcrumbs – just use some seasoned breadcrumbs. Be creative and make it your own!
Question of the Day!
What are some of your FINANCIAL GOALS that you are looking to save for? Is there anything in particular that you’re aiming for?
Share it down below with us because sometimes seeing it on paper and looking at it just SOLIDIFIES how much we want it, and it will not only encourage us but our viewers as well!
We thank you as always for spending this time with us today! We hope you enjoyed this post. Be well, be safe, and above all, we wish you BLESSINGS! Until our next post, MAY GOD GREATLY BLESS YOU!