Have you ever had that at the end of the month you asked yourself “how did I lose my money”? I feel you. 😭 You have no idea how many times I was saying “I spent this much and I didn’t even buy anything”. Well I was wrong. I bought something. In fact I was buying many things but usually I didn’t even pay attention to them.

And I decided that this has to stop. That is why budgeting is important. It helps you track your expenses and realize where your money went.

Here are some examples where your money goes when you don’t even notice it.

1. TAKE-OUT FOOD

Take-out food can ruin your savings – trust me on that. We usually order meals when we don’t know what to cook or we don’t have any ingredients at home and we end up loosing money.

So a good idea to avoid that would be to start making meal-plans and grocery lists. Thanks to that you won’t have excuses why you are not making your own food and you will be able to avoid ordering it. 

Also it will help you to stop buying lunch at work so often.

2. SOFT DRINKS

You may not even realize that but buying soft drinks often takes away lots of your money. Not only because soft drinks are expensive but also because it is not good for your health so you end up spending money on that and also on dentists or other doctors. Switching to water will benefit you in many aspects.

3. ALCOHOL

Keep a record of how much you spend on alcohol each month. Seeing the actual numbers can be eye-opening and motivate you to reduce it. 

If you know you’ll be going to events or gatherings where alcohol will be served, set a spending limit beforehand and stick to it. Consider bringing your own drinks to save money on expensive bar tabs or restaurant markups.

4. CIGARETTES

Determine how much you spend on cigarettes each month and multiply it by 12 to see your annual spending. This realization can be a powerful motivator to quit.

Quitting smoking not only improves your health but also saves you a significant amount of money. Consider the long-term savings from reduced medical expenses and potential insurance premiums.

5. UBER DRIVE TOO OFTEN

Uber driving is great, really. I love using it when I really need it and it is cheaper than a normal taxi. But getting too comfortable with uber drive or bolt any other driving services can ruin your savings. 

So if you can walk or can take a bus, tram or maybe bike somewhere – do it. If there is any cheaper alternative, try to use it and see the difference in your savings.

6. CREDIT CARD OR OTHER BANK’S FEES

Using credit cards is not always a bad thing and sometimes it can help you to improve your credit score. The thing is to use it wisely tho. 

So read carefully the terms and conditions of your credit card or bank account. Identify any fees associated with services you rarely or never use, and consider switching to a more cost-effective option. And always pay it off on time so you avoid paying interest.

7. BRANDED CLOTHES

You want to look good and you want to present yourself well. I get it. We have all been there. But have you ever checked the quality of branded clothes? Because I did. 

I bought a branded coat and I was so happy about it. I thought that I will have it for years! I knew nothing about reading labels then and I didn’t even check what material it is made of. And it was 100% polyester. After a year of using it it didn’t look well. It looked worned-up. 

So this was when I realized that by buying branded clothes I am not paying for the quality, I am paying for the brand and for their marketing. I started learning about labels and materials and now I know that I can spend less money on better quality clothes. 

And the truth is that to look good you don’t need branded clothes. You need to find your own style and create a capsule wardrobe, which will allow you to dress nicely with fewer clothes

8. PRE-MADE FOOD

Pre-made food, whether it’s frozen meals, takeout, or ready-to-eat options, tends to be more expensive than preparing meals at home from scratch. The convenience factor often comes with a premium price tag, which can eat into your budget over time.

So first of all, try meal planning and making grocery lists. This will help you to always be prepared and know what to cook. You can also consider cooking in larger quantities and storing leftovers for future meals. This saves both time and money, as you can utilize the ingredients you already have and reduce food waste.

9. BOTTLED WATER

Instead of buying bottled water all the time try to use a filter. Filtering your own water can save you money in the long run. 

And also always have your own reusable bottle with you so you want to buy water when you are outside.

10. COFFEE-TO-GO

Have you ever heard of the latte effect? It is a theory about how small expenses add up to a big sum of money. 

When you buy a coffee you think it’s not that much money. But when you check how often you buy it and how much you spend on it monthly and then yearly, you will see what a latte effect is. 

Of course there is nothing wrong with buying coffee from time to time. But if you want to boost your savings you may want to consider limiting it.

11. OVERPRICED PHONE

The producers are trying to convince us that we need the newest model of the phone. The brands are paying lots of money for marketing, including hiring influencers or other famous people, which are trying to convince us that we need it. 

The truth is that we don’t need the newest iPhone or Samsung. For daily use a cheaper one will be more than enough. Once you realize that a new phone is not a need but just something that you want, you will be able to resist buying it

12. NEW COSMETICS ALL THE TIME

When it comes to cosmetics we tend to buy new ones all the time, even when we didn’t even finish the ones that we already have. 

And the worst thing is that we want to try them immediately so we don’t wait until the cosmetics are finished and they usually go to waste. What may help and what actually helped me was creating a skin care plan and sticking to it. 

I have been using my plan for 3 years now and I am buying only those cosmetics which I really need and use. Not only my savings increased but also my skin got better.

Of course there are many more things that we spend our money on without even noticing. To find out where your money goes exactly you need to start budgeting and tracking your expenses. You can try a zero-based budget, envelope system or 50/30/20 budget. Pick the one that works for you best and good luck with saving money! 🙂