Americans are often considered to be big money wasters. Between buying large gas guzzling cars, and going out on a regular basis for their morning Starbucks, they are often considered to be the kind of people who are wasteful spendthrifts. While there are an ever increasing number of Americans that are actually learning to save their money, there are still many wasteful habits that they must overcome. Here are some of the more common ways that Americans have been known to waste money.
*Going out to eat
Whether it’s fast food nearly every night, or going out weekly to nice restaurants. This is one of the biggest money wasters. The fast food is more often a weakness than the nice restaurants. It is easier to pick up fast food than it is to fix a nice dinner any night, but this wastes money as well as having the possibility of causing health problems.
*Gas guzzling cars and trucks
Although Americans are starting to move away from the very worst gas guzzlers, there are still many trucks and other cars on the road that get very poor gas mileage. Those cars and trucks tend to cost a great deal of money to keep running. There are more and more cars on the road that are hybrids, but America really is behind many other countries when it comes to saving fuel.
*Credit cards
Credit cards are one of the biggest weaknesses that many people have. Using a credit card is not in itself a waste of money. However, when you add interest charges, late charges and the occasional over limit fee, they get expensive fast. One good side effect that has come from the recent recession is that Americans are less reliant on credit cards than they once were.
*Not recycling
Many people buy things in plastic bottles or aluminum cans that never get recycled. There are several places that will pay for these things, but many people just throw them in the trash because they do not want to be bothered. This wastes tons of money as well as natural resources every single year.
These are just a few of the things that the average American tends to waste their money on. There are also many other things that can be a waste of money. Many people like to go out for their morning coffee on the way to work. This can add up fast. Even not waiting for things to go on sale can be a waste of money. Not all Americans waste money this way, but there are many that do, at least enough that people notice.