Budget Busters That Wreak Havoc On Your Finances: How To Control Your Spending

A Budget buster can ruin your finances. A Budget buster may not be recognizable because they are a part of our daily habit.

Daily Coffee is a Budget Buster

Buying coffee everyday does not appear to be a Budget Buster until you realize that your coffee habit costs you $3 a day, $15 a week, $60 a month and $720 a year.  Your daily coffee habit could also be a budget buster if you are using your credit card to make these purchases. If you use your credit card to buy coffee you probably buy lunch and dinner busting your budget even more.

I lived in Philadelphia and spent $600 a month on take out for me and my daughter. That $600 was definitely a budget buster.

Failure to Stick to Your Budget is a Budget Buster

If you do not stick to your budget you are a budget buster. You have no way of knowing how much money you are spending. The little purchases you make on coffee, lunch and dinner seem small because you do not realize how much you are spending.

Your failure to stick to your budget also may mean you are increasing your debt. You also may be late on payments and paying late payment fees which will bust your budget. The average bounced check fee is $30.47. https://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/bounced-check-fees-rise-again.aspx 

Similarly, the average overdraft fee is $36. https://www.mybanktracker.com/news/overdraft-fees-comparison-at-top-10-us-banks

I have bounced checks and had insufficient funds to cover automatic debits. Banks will make a couple of attempts to get the money and each time you are charged the fee. In one instance, I was charged $130 in insufficient fees. When you already have nothing in your account, that extra amount owed matters.

Failure to Have Savings is a Budget Buster

Failing to have any savings is a budget buster. If you have no savings you probably have to rely on your credit card or high interest loans to get you out a bind. Having an emergency fund would help you ensure that you would not have to go into credit card debt.

Failing to Terminate Memberships is a Budget Buster

I am notorious for joining gyms and not terminating my memberships. The average gym membership is between $40 to $50 monthly. The average annual membership is $800. https://www.cnbc.com/id/26663228/

I have also been my own victim in signing up for spa memberships that I never used. One spa closed and owed me $700 in services. I never got the money or the services. Now I am ultra careful about joining anything that requires automatic debits from my debit card or checking account.

The fifth and final daily budget buster is your daily utility costs. As an adult, I make sure not to leave lights and my air conditioning on when I can help it. I carefully monitor how much money is spent from month to month on all my utilities and take the necessary steps to cut back.

This is not an all-inclusive list of daily budget busters but it is something that you should be aware of in thinking of how to save money.