Budget Suckers You Won't Miss

It’s often the innocent small-ticket purchases that end up wreaking the most havoc on your bank account. To put the most cash back in your pocketbook with the least amount of deprivation, we went to Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese, money experts and authors of the upcoming book, Feed the Monkey, which outlines savvy financial strategies for freelancers.  They say the most sinister budget suckers fall into two main categories: habits, those items you always buy without thinking, simply because “it’s just what I do,” such as appetizers, movie popcorn or the morning paper; and impulses, those items you don’t technically need, but when the urge strikes, you gotta have it (think chapstick, breath mints or your 17th pair of black strappy sandals).

Here, they’ve ID'd the top bad habits and impulses, plus their costs to you.

Habit: The Good-For-You Green Drink
Sure, it’s good for you, will likely ward off several major diseases and boosts your energy, but at $3.50 a pop, can’t you just pop a daily multivitamin? Your yearly savings: $875.

Habit: Junk Snacks
Chips and soda at work, candy in front of the TV, a hot cookie because you’re at the mall and that’s what happens when you’re at the mall: These small two- or three-buck habits add up. “If you want to save money immediately,” D’Agnese says, “resolve to never spend another dime on soft drinks again. You’ll feel healthier physically and financially.” He points to Sharon’s Muffin Calculator, an online resource that points out if you invested the money used for your thrice-weekly $2.75 muffin habit, you'd have enough for a new computer at the end of the year.  Kiernan points out that a muffin mix (for the same price of one gi-normous baked good) will get you 10 homemade muffins and feed your habit for two weeks.

Habit: Luxury Coffee
Yes, you work hard. Yes, you deserve to reward yourself with something small like a cup of coffee. But switching from the gourmet variety to the deli brand will save you a few bucks a day.  Even better? Use the coffee maker at work and you save five big ones each morning.

To stop bad spending habits in their tracks, start by taking stock of your spends. Then consider that you’re not breaking habits, you’re creating new ones, D’Agnese and Kiernan suggest. This way, it’s not about depriving yourself, but about making smarter choices. Then tweak your purchases—if you eat out five days a week, cut that number in half.  And if you’re big on the “I deserve” language, switch from “I deserve a $5 coffee” to “I deserve to pay off my debt,” they advise. “It’s more financially empowering and you’re making choices that support your bigger goals."