{"id":3799,"date":"2024-07-11T23:51:49","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T06:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/?p=3799"},"modified":"2024-07-15T23:53:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T06:53:10","slug":"i-think-we-can-all-agree-that-these-18-small-things-are-actually-costing-us-waaay-too-much-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/i-think-we-can-all-agree-that-these-18-small-things-are-actually-costing-us-waaay-too-much-money\/","title":{"rendered":"I Think We Can All Agree That These 18 Small Things Are Actually Costing Us Waaay Too Much Money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recently, I asked the people to tell me the small things they realized were actually costing them soooo much money. The replies were frustratingly relatable, but I did feel a little less alone and learned a thing or two about how to save on the small stuff. So, let’s get into it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. “I was raised pretty frugally where we always ate off the dollar menu, or if we did go out to eat, it was always with a coupon or a deal. While I highly recommend NOT doing that, there were some truths I did eventually realize. Appetizers, drinks, and dessert are all ways a restaurant gets you to spend more money. Even just one of these things can make an outing cost $10\u2013$15 more than what you were expecting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/TacticalToots \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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2. “Credit card debt. If you have a balance of $10,000 on your credit card with an APR of 18%, that card is costing you $1,800 a year in interest alone ($10,000 x .18 = $1,800). This comes out to $150.00 per month or $5.00 per day. You are actually losing $5.00 a day carrying that balance. You are better off skipping the coffee or buying lunch and put that $5.00 towards paying down your credit card balance in addition to your monthly minimum payment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peacock \/ Via <\/em>giphy.com<\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

3. “Definitely buying coffee and a snack at work every day. Where I previously worked, they had a cafe downstairs and every day I would go down and get a coffee first thing before I started, and again on my lunch break. Each coffee was \u00a32.50, and I would sometimes get a cake for about \u00a32, normally about 3 times per week. So about \u00a331 per week. Which in a 4-week month worked out to be \u00a3124 per month and a 5-week month \u00a3155. Once I figured that out I couldn\u2019t justify it anymore, brought my own coffee and snacks in for the rest of the time I worked there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/ZoNeS_v2 \/ Via <\/em>giphy.com<\/mark>
\u2014u\/RP050810<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

4. “A decent spice rack. I know you can buy starter spice racks, but even so, those aren\u2019t cheap. My spice cabinet was an investment that I did not know I had to plan for when moving out.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/SmokeHappyTrees \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/mark>
\u2014u\/2dabdeb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

5. “Towels. Literally no one told me that cheap, full sized towels are still $10\u2013$15 each.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fotofrog \/ Getty Images<\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/staceyl4c2be94ab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

6. “We\u2019re moving right now and EVERYTHING moving related is so much more expensive than I remember it being during our last move six years ago. Boxes are ridiculously expensive! Garbage bags, hangers, tape, movers. We also need a new sofa because ours is not worth transporting to our new home. They are ASTRONOMICAL! I\u2019ve been scoping out Facebook marketplace for any and every affordable used option. But when it\u2019s all said and done, we\u2019ll be out at least $2,000 just for moving and supplies alone. No furniture, deposits, etc.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/ExpressionFirm8251 \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/CRichardson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“We cruise the back of big box stores and restaurants for boxes. We got a sweet pile of unused boxes behind a McDonald\u2019s and they\u2019ve been with us through two moves.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014u\/Putzik47<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You can also see if there is a Buy Nothing group in your area where people post items they have to give or post in search of items. I\u2019m in one where I live and people are always giving moving supplies.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014u\/Katiepotato<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

7. “Uber Eats. I LITERALLY have to set filters to find restaurants with the lowest delivery fees and it still hurts my wallet so bad to where I haven\u2019t ordered in over a month.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/yaboylukas \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/Kayla Lugo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

8. “Honestly? Spending money on video or app games on my phone. $1.99 for no ads? Yes, please. $4.99 for tons of extras to help me get ahead? Certainly! Don\u2019t ask me to look at how much I\u2019ve spent on random useless games.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/rjc2k2 \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/ellave<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

9. “Having periods. Pads cost a lot. Especially the heavy-duty stuff I have to use :-(. I didn’t even realize how much it adds up to until I moved out. Mine are irregular as hell so I might get them twice a month \u2014 add having to change frequently and you spend a *lot* on something single-use.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/astronaut_daddy \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/sperkeles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“I second this. I\u2019ve been on the pill for about a decade now and I skip the placebos so I only have a ‘period’ 3x a year now when I refill. I didn\u2019t even notice how much I was having to spend just dealing with a normal female function until I no longer had to deal with it. I didn\u2019t ask to have to spend money on pads, plus more money on TP since it usually came with stomach upsets too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014u\/A_Panda<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

10. “Cleaning supplies! You budget $50 for household misc., but then you need trash bags, paper towels, detergent, and toilet cleaner all at once.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/IT_Chef3 \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

11. “Setting up a house. We just moved from an apartment to our first house, and I swear every time we turn around, it’s another $300 Costco or Home Depot trip. Lawn equipment, cleaning supplies, step ladder, real ladder (why are they SO EXPENSIVE???), power tools, etc. Not to mention all the moving costs, the utility set-up fees, home insurance, etc. At least most of the expenses are one-time fees, but I had no idea how much rugs cost, how much blinds cost, how much lawn tools cost!!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/KPexEA \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/ladypalutena<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“We spent lots of money at Lowes the first few years we lived in our house buying all sorts of things. One big saver for us was when you forward your mail, USPS sends you a ton of coupons for places. We had about a half dozen 20% off your entire order coupons for Lowes that went to good use.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014u\/robert_dunder<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

12. “Goddamn trash cans! A good one is $60\u2013100!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Anonymous<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

13. “Getting cash from a bank I don’t have an account at. Sometimes it costs me $5 just to get $20 to pay a friend. I have to drive to the far side of town now because my bank closed all their other ATMs during COVID. Just one of the million things that the pandemic is still costing us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/[deleted] \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/mark>
\u2014u\/hopping_tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

14. “Rugs! Why TF are they so much money just for me to walk on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/whomannoonan \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

15. “Okay, coffee. I figured out I spent over $2000 at Dunkin’ in a year. I really need to cut back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/Beijana \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/mark><\/mark>
\u2014u\/lumpyflamingo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

16. “Brand name products! They\u2019re often the exact same product with different packaging. You can save so much by buying store brand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/IWillRegretThat \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/mark><\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Buying the store brand or off-brand that can be up to half the price of brand items. And a lot of the time I find that the food tastes the same and the product\/clothing item is of similar quality. My husband tried looking up manufacturers of items he likes and found that they make off-brand versions of the exact same item and sell it for a fraction of the price. Don’t get suckered into having the brand that everyone has! I know this isn’t ‘new’ advice but one that I’ve found to be consistently true.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014u\/sd2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

17. “Subscriptions all add up. All kinds of subscriptions. I’m not just talking about streaming options.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alana Valko’s iPhone<\/em><\/mark><\/mark>
\u2014Anonymous<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

18. “Uber and Lyft rides. I’ve been having knee pain and walking to the bus stop blocks away hurts. I started taking an Uber every day, and realized I was spending roughly $250 a week. Switching to taking the Uber to the transit center took the cost down to $150 a week, which is still too much. I’m only taking an Uber now if the pain is above a four on the 1-10 pain scale, or if I’d be late to work because of transit issues.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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u\/CaseyJones7 \/ Via <\/em>reddit.com<\/em><\/mark><\/mark>
\u2014u\/LadiCair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I waste my money on silly things, like constantly needing a little treat ALL. So tell me, if it’s not already listed, what’s the small thing that’s actually costing you so much money?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recently, I asked the people to tell me the small things they realized were actually costing them soooo much money. The replies were frustratingly relatable, but I did feel a little less alone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge"],"views":914,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3799"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3915,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3799\/revisions\/3915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decortoday.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}