Dave Ramsey lists the top 10 things Americans wasted money on in 2016 as follows:
1. Student loans.
2. Smartphone apps.
3. Gym memberships.
4. Daily coffee trips.
5. Car payments.
6. Car leases.
7. Car wash upgrades.
8. Lottery tickets.
9. Timeshares.
10. Shipping charges.
Here's where I net out on these:
1. I borrowed $5k from my grandmother which got me all the way through to my MBA. I paid it off a couple years after I graduated. My kids won't have debt at all given the college incentive we've set up.
2. I buy maybe two or three apps a year. Aren't many of the good ones free?
3. I do spend a good amount on a gym membership, but I USE it. I hit the gym five or six times per week and it's made a dramatic improvement in my quality of life.
4. Yes, I've battled the coffee demons and have (finally) won. I now make my own lattes for around 30 cents each.
5. We buy cars new and drive them forever. And we get great deals on cars by using my tried and true formula for saving on a new car. Here's an example.
6. No. We do NOT lease cars.
7. Ha! I hardly ever wash my car. :)
8. Nope, we don't buy lottery tickets.
9. Yikes! I'm surprised timeshares aren't higher up on the list. They are HUGE money sucks!
10. I don't pay to have things over-nighted to me. If I need it that quickly I can run to a local store. I do have Amazon Prime ($100 a year), so I pay my shipping upfront, but the time savings is well worth it to me.
So that's my list. How do you stack up against these?
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