Tips on controlling overspending

Published: November 19, 2007

1. Get rid of your credit cards, checkbooks and bank debit cards before you go shopping. Use only cash.

2. Never buy something on the spot. Instead, walk away and give yourself a "mandatory waiting period." If you still want the item in a few days, then you can go back and make your thought-out purchase.

3. Write down everything you buy for two weeks: groceries, gas for your car, the electric bill, even that candy bar from the vending machine. You'll become more conscience of where your hard-earned dollars are going.

4. Make a budget and put it on paper. Then, don't allow yourself to buy anything that is not in the budget.

5. If you are overwhelmed with debt, contact a nonprofit credit counseling agency. The agency will help you consolidate your bills into a smaller monthly payment, set up your monthly budget and get in good standing once more.

SOURCE: Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Central Oklahoma.

•Coffee: The average price for a cup of brewed coffee is $1.38, according to the National Coffee Association. That's nearly $360 per year if you buy a cup every weekday morning,

•Cigarettes: Pack-a-day smokers fork out $1,650 a year, according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. In the U.S., the average price for a pack is $4.54.

•Alcohol: Assuming an average of $5 per beer including tip, buying two beers per day adds up to $3,650 per year. Figure twice that for two mixed drinks a day at the local bar.

•Bottled water from convenience stores: A 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina bottled water costs about $1, or $365 a year for one bottle a day.

•Manicures: The average cost of a manicure is $20.53, according to The Day Spa Magazine Price Survey of 2004. A weekly manicure sets you back about $1,068 per year.

•Car washes: The average cost for a basic auto detailing package is $58, according to www.costhelper.com. The tab for getting your car detailed every two months: $348 per year.

•Weekday lunches out: If you buy, rather than pack, a lunch five days a week for one year, you shell out about $2,340.

•Vending-machine snacks: The average vending machine snack costs $1. Buy a pack of cookies every afternoon at work and pay $260 per year.

•Interest charges on credit cards: The median amount of credit card debt carried by Americans is $6,600, according to a recent survey. The average interest rate on a standard card is about 13 percent. Making the minimum payment each month, it will take 250 months (almost 21 years) to pay off the debt and cost $4,868 in interest.

•Unused gym memberships: Costhelper.com reports that the monthly service fee at gyms averages between $35 and $40. At $40 per month, an unused gym membership runs $480 per year.

SOURCE: www.msn.com.

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