The 5 Habits That Are Keeping You Broke

Habit #1 – Not paying attention to your subscriptions.

In this list of expenses that can get away from you very quickly, subscriptions got to be close to the top of the list. $2.99 here and .99 cents there can add up very quickly – especially if you have kids who are constantly purchasing phone apps.

Take a moment every month to go through your bank account and look at all of your auto drafts. Make sure that you recognize everything coming out of your account and ensure that you are still using all of your subscriptions.

84% of Americans completely underestimate how much they spend in a month and that’s mostly because they forget about these random little expenses that add up. So take the time to review and cancel anything you aren’t using.

Habit #2 – Using Store Credit Cards

Retail stores are notorious for offering a discount on an initial purchase if you sign up for the store card. Don’t do it. Although that 20 percent discount might sound sweet when you are standing in the checkout line, they know that the average person will not pay off the card and they will make up the discount and more in interest payments.

Habit #3 – Keeping Your Gym Membership That You Don’t Use

Your unused gym membership that you are keeping with the hopes that you will magically start using it – is not a good deal. Attracting members who won’t actually come work out is a strategic move by many gym owners.

Most Planet Fitness gyms can hold about 300 people, but the average location has 6,000 members and they never have to worry about being overcrowded because they know that only a small fraction of members use the gym on a regular basis.

The secret here is to know yourself. If you know you aren’t going to work out, don’t waste money on gym payments. You will save a lot of money by pushing yourself to workout at home.

Habit #4 – Disregarding Change

On this channel, we are big on promoting using cash whenever we can, and if you follow this philosophy then you can receive a nice amount of change on a daily basis. Don’t ignore or disregard your coins. Instead, save them in a jar and bring them into your bank for a deposit. Pick up change if you see it.

You will be so surprised at how much you can actually save.

Habit #5 – Leasing Your Car

The overall cost of leasing a car can be almost $10,000 more than the cost of buying a similar car used. Most people opt for the lease option because the monthly payments are lower and they get the option of having a new care every couple of years.

But leases have mileage limits where you are penalized if you drive over the set amount and you would have to pay for that, you also have to pay if the dealer feels like the wear and tear on the car is too much.

You will save so much more in the long run if you purchase a used car that you will own in a couple of years instead of basically renting it to turn back in and pay additional fees.