Dumb Stuff I Used to Buy and My Debt Free Action Plan

The dumb stuff I bought last year.

The only way to get out of debt and cut spending is to get organized.

Looking at my credit card statements was the only way to analyze how much I was spending from online shopping.   So, it was time to look at the VISA, MasterCard and American Express bills.

• *Disclosure: My aim is to recommend products that will truly benefit you.    I believe in transparency and want to disclose that I’ve included certain products and links to those products on this page that I will earn an affiliate commission for any purchases you make.

Going through my year-end credit card statements is like a compendium of all the dumb stuff I used to do:

• Online shopping- Yes.
• Food delivery-Yes.
• Bored shopping- Yes.
• Online shopping- Yes.
• Restocking fees- Yes.
• Storage Fees- Yes

I paid $100 as a restocking fee on a chair I bought and didn’t like.  It was a chair for my balcony and I regretted it after I ordered it.  I thought I needed furniture on my balcony.  Because if you have a balcony, you Need furniture on it.  Right?  Wrong.

It was an online purchase.  And an impulse buy.  I didn’t even realize there would be such a large restocking fee.

I paid $100 for a chair I don’t even have.  That’s pretty dumb.

 

I was smart enough to get cash back from Ebates, which is a great resource for discounts and cash back. They get a commission from stores that you shop at and they Share the commission with you. Its a great way to save money.  (More on Ebates here.)

 

Just because I have a balcony doesn’t mean I need to buy furniture for it.  This is a topic covered very well by the minimalists who have an interesting podcast I recommend.

 

 

 

Online Food delivery:   I spent $769 on the  food delivery service Postmates.   That’s like $70 a month for online restaurant delivery:  alcohol, burgers, Chinese, and pizza delivery.  It’s like a lazy tax.  I was tired and hungry and didn’t feel like getting in the car.  What a waste of money!

Related articles:

11 Ways to Earn More Money in 2018

Luckily, I now realize how dumb this spending is.  Also, I quit drinking about 6 months ago, so there will be fewer (hopefully no) future alcohol deliveries.

 

Charity

The one thing I didn’t spend enough on is charity.  There are some token charges here and there, but clearly it wasn’t a priority last year. And I’m going to change that.

I’m a big fan of Donors choose and a few other worthy charities.  I’m hoping to budget and give regularly next year.

 

In order to become debt free I needed to make major changes.  I had to create a plan.  Here are the steps I took to become debt free.  No more dumb shopping.  No more waste.  Just action.

 

 

2018 Goals:  Less stuff.  Fewer online purchases.  Pay off my car.  More charitable giving.

 

1.  Get organized:   Its nearly impossible to stay in debt if you’re organized.  For most people this means opening the credit card statements that are unopened in a box or drawer somewhere.  You can no longer hide in denial about the credit card debt or student debt that has accumulated.  By getting organized, you will be able to Take Charge of your personal finances.  You wont need a personal loan or any debt relief.

Right now, I’m reviewing my year end credit card statements from last year and i see so many charges that I have now cut out.  And I feel great about all the money I am not wasting.  But part of me is calculating how many thousands of dollars of money that just spilled out of my life simply by not paying attention.  Read more about the dumb stuff I bought last year.

 

2.  Create a Budget:

It doesn’t have to be fancy.  On one side is all the income you have coming in.  And on the other side is ALL the expenses you have going out.  Every dime!  Which means you must open the credit card statements and really understand where your money has been going.  One of the advantages of this exercise is that it allows you to find your areas of wasteful spending.

 

Relevant Articles:

The Best Personal Finance Books

44 Ways to Create Extra Income

It’s not about the Money.  It’s about Taking Charge.

 

3. Eliminate wasteful spending.

The most obvious wasteful spending for me was a storage locker I was paying nearly $100 a month for.  It made me so angry that I eventually began this journey and started writing this personal finance blog.  Use the old maxim, A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.” and realize when you go through your bills that every wasteful thing that you have spent money on in the past that you don’t really enjoy, is earned money.  Don’t dwell on the money that you have wasted in the past.  Focus on your debt free future.  I was paying for auto renew memberships that I didn’t even remember.  Never again.

I began to explore our current consumer culture and why we buy what we buy.  This helped me explore why I was spending so much money shopping.  More on Consumer Culture here.

 

4. Negotiate Discounts:

For those services and memberships that you like but would like to pay less for, you need to contact the merchants and ask for a discount.  Yes, you can do it.  And yes they will give you discounts on your memberships:  Cell phone carrier, cable company, Satellite radio etc…  I have written a whole post about How to negotiate Discounts.

 

5.  Create an Emergency Fund: 

It’s easy to fall into debt when unplanned emergencies happen.  Unfortunately, life is full of unplanned emergencies.  That is why you need to set aside an emergency fund of at least $1,000 to start.  I have written an article on why and emergency fund is so important,  An Emergency fund is an umbrella for your life.

 

6. Increase Income:  Depending on how much leverage you want to achieve or how much credit card debt and student loans you have, it may be time to increase your income.  When I got really motivated to pay down my debt, I wrote financial articles for a financial blog and created this blog.  You may want to find a side hustle or side income.  I have written a number of posts about the best ways to increase income.  45 Ways to Boost your Income is one example.

 

7. Stay Motivated:  I found reading the book, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey to be incredibly helpful.  Yes, it lays out the framework he used to be become debt free.  But, the big benefit of the book is it gets you fired up to get out of debt.  It is very motivational.  And that is really helpful on the debt free journey.   Don’t take my word for it.  Read the Amazon reviews.

 

Conclusion:

It’s embarrassing to look back and admit all the careless and wasteful spending I was doing.  I wasn’t even consciously aware of most of it.  The great thing about this process is it allows you to take charge of your money.  And your life.

Upward and onward this year!

What about you?  What are some of your purchases that you regret?  Post them in the comments.

 

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