8 Money Habits We All Quietly Pretend Are Normal, Even Though They're Not
If you're guilty of any of these, it might be time to reevaluate.
mediaphotos | Getty Images Signature | Canva Pro Most of us have been there at one time or another, if not our entire lives: Constantly running out of funds and then wondering, where the heck did all my money go? It would certainly help if we were all paid better, but it's frequently the case that the money habits we all quietly pretend are normal are to blame for our empty wallets, too. In fact, just doing the same old thing with your money without really thinking about why could be a huge part of the problem.
There's a classic "Sex and the City" episode in which Carrie Bradshaw has to come up with a down payment for her apartment and laments that she doesn't have two nickels to rub together. "Where did all my money go? I know I made some," she sighs. The answer, of course, lies in the very setting of the scene: A shoe store, in which Bradshaw suddenly realizes she's spent ten figures on shoes in her life and gasps, "I spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live?!" Most of us aren't THIS extremely bad with money, mainly because most of us could never afford one pair of $400 Manolo Blahniks in the first place, let alone enough to equal a down payment on a Manhattan apartment. Still, it's all too easy for little habits to add up to enormous amounts of money without you even realizing it. A discussion about this was recently sparked on Reddit, and the discourse revealed eight of these insidious habits most of us are falling prey to.
Here are the money habits we all quietly pretend are normal, even though they're not:
1. Saving what's leftover
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For most of us, this is our procedure for saving. We get to the end of the month and put whatever remains into a savings account. Which is all fine and good until the truth hits: There's usually nothing left, which is surely why a 2024 survey found nearly half of all Americans have less than $500 in their savings accounts.
This is why finance experts say to "pay yourself first." That means, automatically saving a chunk of each paycheck, no matter how small, the day you get paid, and working with whatever's left.
Even if it's just $10 a paycheck, $10 bucks a paycheck is 10x more than zero. Or, well, no, it's not, that's not how multiplying by zero works, but you know what I mean!
2. Underestimating upkeep
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It's one thing to be able to buy a house or a car. But that house or car is going to begin falling apart at some point, possibly the day you buy it. And, as a Redditor pointed out, the bigger or more expensive the thing is, the higher the price of upkeep is likely to be, whether it's insurance on a house or parts on a luxury car.
Not factoring this into purchase decisions and budgets is a wallet killer. According to Investopedia, for example, homeowners should set aside a minimum of 1% and up to 4% of their home’s value every year to pay for basic maintenance. That means if your home is valued at $200,000, you would budget $2,000 to $8,000 per year to spend on upkeep.
3. Not leaving a cushion for things to go wrong
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Say it with us: Emergency fund. Financial experts recommend that we ideally have at least three months' worth of expenses on hand before making any other financial decisions. That's a tall order for many of us, but even having a few hundred socked away can be the difference between a financial hardship and a calamity.
Most Americans don't have enough cash to cover a $1000 surprise expense, and more than one-third can't afford a $400 emergency. Having even a small amount in savings can make a huge difference, even if it just keeps you from running up your credit card again.
4. Confusing the ability to pay for something with being able to afford something
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Okay, sorry to call you out like this, but you know this one is the truth. Just because you have $400 on hand for that plane ticket or handbag doesn't mean you can actually SPARE the $400 from your budget. Those are two very different things.
If you can spend the $400 without setting yourself up for trouble down the road, or without using a credit card or dipping into savings, then go for it, splash out! If not? Well, it's probably time to think twice.
5. Keeping up with the Joneses and lifestyle inflation
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This is a no-brainer cliché, but with social media trying to keep up with everyone else, Kardashians or otherwise, has never been a bigger problem.
This mindset keeps you on a hamster wheel of buying things you don't need. It also frequently results in "lifestyle inflation," which is when every pay raise or unexpected windfall results in you upgrading your life to spend the difference. That's a huge missed opportunity for long-term financial success.
6. Food delivery apps
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Sure, sometimes it's necessary or worth the cost, but there is no two ways about it: These apps cost an exorbitant amount of money, as much as 46% more than just going and picking up the food yourself, to say nothing of simply cooking your own meals.
Now think about how commonplace it has become to use these services several times a week. This doesn't mean you can't treat yourself once in a while, just make sure it's a treat and not the only way you feed yourself.
7. Food waste
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And speaking of food, all those online jokes about adding "bag of spinach I will let rot and throw away unopened in a week" to your grocery list speak to yet another bad habit, one likely tied to the DoorDash one above. I grew up poor, which has made food waste one of my pet peeves, and yet even I am continually astonished by how much rotted food I end up throwing away.
By which I mean how much CASH MONEY I end up throwing away. Have you seen grocery prices lately? Put the DoorDash down and go cook those groceries! If you cook, you can reward yourself tomorrow with a $47 Chipotle burrito, wait, never mind, don't do that.
8. Taking out long-term loans because the payments are lower
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This is a common trap, especially given how strapped everyone is these days and how expensive things like cars and houses have become. But especially where cars are concerned, long-term car loans are an absolute scam. A car depreciates every single day, which means not only are you paying tons of extra money to pay it off, but the car isn't going to be worth even a fraction of that amount when you sell it.
For example, if you finance a $10,000 used car for five years at around a 10% interest rate (which is about the average at the moment for a middling credit score), you'll pay about $12,600 for it altogether. Seven-year car loan? About $13,750. Meanwhile, that car is depreciating at a rate of 10-15% every year.
Knock that car loan down to three years, however? You only end up being out about $1,500 in interest, and you own the car outright long before it's likely to start falling apart. If you can't afford the higher payment, getting a cheaper car is a far better financial option than a longer payment, unless throwing money away is your idea of a good time!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
