How do you leak money?

[Peanut]

Starbucks and lunches at work.

[cupraisedn89]

Lunches is my biggest leak, I spend way to much money eating out

[gladaki]

Let's see
Cable + landline
Home rental insurance, I just got letter from td that they are raising premium due to last year alberta flooding.
personal mobile phone, I also have company phone so can get rid of it.
Bank account fee:
I don't remember any thing for now

[Scrambler]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

Yet another thread that reminds me I really need to quit smoking again.

Or come to Japan, cigs are still WAY too cheap over here.

[Cheerio]

Alcohol

[Sylvanfan]

Photo radar....
Time to give in and make sure I drive like I am 105 years old. Big brother is everywhere and 111km/h on the Anthony Henday is seriously dangerous to society I guess.

[ken0042]

Where I run into trouble is with lunch. I know a few places where I can grab lunch for $5, so I will justify not bringing a $3-4 lunch from home that way. Then I end up going over that $5 amount to $8, or $10. The next day $12. So by the end of the week instead of having spent $20 on lunches, I've spent $60 or $70. That works out to almost $200 per month.

I'm also trying to cut down in how much I spend at the Dome.

[zyzz]

Hooker and blow.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by zyzz

Hooker and blow.

Only one?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Where I run into trouble is with lunch. I know a few places where I can grab lunch for $5, so I will justify not bringing a $3-4 lunch from home that way. Then I end up going over that $5 amount to $8, or $10. The next day $12. So by the end of the week instead of having spent $20 on lunches, I've spent $60 or $70. That works out to almost $200 per month.

I'm also trying to cut down in how much I spend at the Dome.

I had this exact issue with lunches and the same ridiculous justification of "well its only a few more bucks" constantly. For me the only real fix was when I started meticulously tracking everything I ate. I tried other things, like just bringing good lunches or whatever and just couldn't stick to it. I also stopped going to Tims, etc. because of that change. This basically forced me to change my eating habits and as result forced me to eat out much, much less. The added bonus here was that I didn't spend that money!

I read a book last fall called "The Power of Habit", which was extremely interesting and I would recommend it if you are interested in the psychological aspects behind habits, and I realised that my changes worked as the author would expect. Basically everything is a cue->routine->reward cycle in your brain. For me the cue (lunchtime) meant the routine of going for lunch somewhere with my co-workers and the reward was really the socialization and break. Now my cue is still lunchtime, and the routine is going for the walk to get some lunch, but I don't buy anything. Instead I wait until I get back and eat what I brought. I still get the same reward, and eventually broke the habit of just going for lunch with the boys.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by zyzz

Hooker and blow.

This never gets old.

[iggypop]

I'd strongly suggesting setting up an account on Mint.com.
Mint automatically tracks all your spending and sorts it by category.

Setup monthly budgets for each category and you'll quickly find ways to cut frivolous spending.

It does take some leg work initially, but it's well worth the effort to automatically see how much you spend on 'Restaurants', 'Fast Food', 'Entertainment', 'Clothing', etc each month.

Easily the best app/widget I use every single day.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by iggypop

I'd strongly suggesting setting up an account on Mint.com.
Mint automatically tracks all your spending and sorts it by category.

Setup monthly budgets for each category and you'll quickly find ways to cut frivolous spending.

It does take some leg work initially, but it's well worth the effort to automatically see how much you spend on 'Restaurants', 'Fast Food', 'Entertainment', 'Clothing', etc each month.

Easily the best app/widget I use every single day.

Is initially very shocking

[zyzz]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Only one?

Yes we've built quite a nice rapport over the years.

[Simon96Taco]

Netflix (haven't turned it on in 8 months)
Excess cable bill
Unnecessary cell phone plan
Driving to work instead of using my bus pass
Coffee out
Lunch out

Must be thousands a year :/

[WhiteTiger]

Something that may also help is catching a couple episodes of the tv show "Till debt do us part". The concept is a bit hokey, but the advice and concepts picked up can be pretty helpful if you need a hand in figuring out where your money is going, or how much "should" be going places, etc.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Um ya. $300 a month saved or $3600 for the year. It's like getting a huge raise. Guy at work quit and bought a motorcycle. He now goes for rides into the mountains and loves it. Not to mention the health benefits of course to him and his family. Don't ride bikes? Buy a tv and take a yearly trip to mexico courtesy of players light.

Agreed. It really is very noticeable how much you save when you quit. And it really does add up.

The other one for me is for sure lunches. I, too, eat out FAR too much. Seems the only time I bring a lunch was when it was last nights leftover doggy bag.

I lack creativity in making food. I just can't stand the boring brown bag of sandwiches.

On top of quitting smoking, actually bringing a lunch to work would save me a fortune.

[Ahuch]

• Eating out for lunch
• Tim Hortons
• Driving downtown instead of transit (ugh)
• Spending way more on vacations than I should

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Something that may also help is catching a couple episodes of the tv show "Till debt do us part". The concept is a bit hokey, but the advice and concepts picked up can be pretty helpful if you need a hand in figuring out where your money is going, or how much "should" be going places, etc.

I like this show but there was one scene that was absolutely absurd. Basically one of the dumb in debt guys was talking about wanting to have a baby and the lady was like "Yeah -- let's go see how much that would cost". They went to some high end boutique and picked out all brand new stuff -- crib, stroller, car seat, clothes, bottles, food, everything brand new at the highest price point. Rang in at like way over three grand and the guy was devastated.

Good grief, my wife and I are having our first in 6 weeks (or so) and haven't even spent ten percent of that, and we're basically ready to go. The amount of bargain bin/free second hand stuff there is in the world of baby things is enormous.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I like this show but there was one scene that was absolutely absurd. Basically one of the dumb in debt guys was talking about wanting to have a baby and the lady was like "Yeah -- let's go see how much that would cost". They went to some high end boutique and picked out all brand new stuff -- crib, stroller, car seat, clothes, bottles, food, everything brand new at the highest price point. Rang in at like way over three grand and the guy was devastated.

Good grief, my wife and I are having our first in 6 weeks (or so) and haven't even spent ten percent of that, and we're basically ready to go. The amount of bargain bin/free second hand stuff there is in the world of baby things is enormous.

Which is why I said that the concept can be a bit hokey. I get why she does what she does, as she is trying to 'scare' folks into realizing what their spending habits are actually costing them. With some intelligent legwork, you can save a lot of money. Second hand baby stuff is a HUGE one (from what I'm told, no kids here) for instance. Second hand sports equipment is another. There are a ton of ways to save money, to be sure.

I like some of her concepts. Having "allowance jars". Setting up a 1,3 and 5 year plan, etc. Stuff most people should "know", but no one really actually thinks about.

Some of her life coaching stuff...I'll pass, thanks.