Stupid Spending Mistakes
We've all got them. Even those who are smart with their money, or perhaps especially those who are smart with money. Most people know how galling it is to fruitlessly waste your hard-earned cash. For me these money mistakes have shaped my spending habits in the present and how I think about money in the future.
Whether big or small. There's lessons in these stupid spending mistakes.
Stupid Money Mistakes
Not cancelling subscriptions - Checking for unused subscriptions is a common money advice tip. For me it was shelling out £50 a month for graphical editing software; even whilst I had a company account, for over a year. That is a whole hunk of money. In fairness I did make some use of said software, but there were alternatives to consider, or cheaper plans. Because I thought I was so great at saving money, I overlooked that there were some expenses I never stopped to question.
High-top trainers - This one is going back a few years, but during university I spent far too much on trainers. Just before I went to uni I purchased a set of Etnies, high-top trainers. I remember getting a lot of looks and compliments, they were quite loud shoes and I really loved them. But by the end of university I must have owned about 9 pairs of various hi-tops. I got myself to the point where I bought trainers for the sake of doing so, not out of need or even intense desire. In those years I must have spent nearly £500+ on trainers, and I didn't really get a great return on that. Some of them didn't last, some of them I got bored off...a stupid money mistake.
Ill-fitting shirts - This is another one harking back to uni. I'm a tall chap, but for some reason it's taken me a long while to understand that. During my Uni years I purchased a dozen or so shirts. I suppose that's the lure of shopping, you feel like you've failed if you don't buy something. I love a nice shirt, but unfortunately I managed to purchase a number that were ill fitting or I grew bored of them. In contrast when I'm shopping now I consider it a victory if I buy nothing at all.
My do anything tablet - Once upon a time I spent £450 on a Dell windows tablet; it ran ‘proper’ windows 8 and could run photoshop (badly). What a dud. This was back in 2014 when 2-in-1's weren't a thing and windows tablets weren't common. I remember being obsessed about the specification of the machine, and what it could do in theory that I completely ignored what I would probably use it for. It was a waste of money. I barely used it. I don’t think it was particularly well designed. I ought to have known better and bought a tablet half the price. Le sigh.
If I spend X, then I will do X - I'm a big believer in that you need to create a habit before you invest in that habit. The common one is that by paying for a gym membership, you are encouraged to use it. Rubbish. For me, I bought into an online software/course package, which promises to provide me with access to all the courses, software and misc created by two entrepreneurs for the rest of their lives. My inclination was that this would energise my creative life and help me shape myself into a freelancer/creator. The reality is that I'm yet to make use of it in any meaningful sense; that is fully my fault, it's not the product that is bad. For now, that £2000 is a huge money mistake. I got caught up in the idea of what could be. My advice to others would be to find a much cheaper ‘entry point’ into whatever field you’re wanting to learn about.
Arcades...
A few years ago I bought a motorcycle, which I love and has totally changed my life in some ways. I often ride out to seaside resorts, or inland spa towns such as Matlock (which has an unusual seaside vibe). The roads to and from such places are usually a treat, they have great fish and chips, lots of rides and arcades. But last year I had a bit of a thing for arcades. Particularly the grabber machines. I become convinced that I wanted the entire plush toy set for Guardians of the Galaxy (in the end I got Drax, Rocket and two Peter Quills). It was fun, but it's a risk. If I see something cool that I want, I get quite a thrill trying to get it and can easily lose £10 (or sometimes more). This doesn't happen often, but the eagerness at which I'll drop another coin into a machine worries me sometimes. There’s worse ways to gamble - but this is still gambling and the amount spent can be hard to track.
My Lessons Learnt
- When buying clothes, make sure you really like them and that they really fit (and allow for a bit of shrinkage)
- Not buying something is a victory and not a failure. It’s not going anywhere anyway.
- Make sure you're buying the experience you'll enjoy, and not the one you think you should have.
- Find a cheap way into a new hobbies or activity. Spend big when your current assets are actually holding you back
- When going out only take a set amount of cash knowing you can't spend more.
- Spending money on the bike is always worth it, because it's the means by which I explore new places and have adventures.
Looking back I don't think some of these money mistakes are all that bad, at least because I learned from that dissatisfaction and now they money mistakes I make a far smaller in scale. I know from speaking to friends that they have very different money mistakes than mine, but I think the whole point is to get to know yourself in relation to money.
Have you got any awful money mistakes?
