Yahoo Finance 
Revealed: 10 biggest money wasters costing you $5,000 A YEAR
Today (October 31) is World Savings Day – and an apt time to take a closer look at the biggest drains on your wallet.
Aussie households could save a massive $5000 a year if they made some simple changes and ditch (avoidable) expenses including nasty bank fees, food wastage, vices like cigarettes (which now cost $35 a pop) and the pokies.
In fact, tobacco emerged as the single biggest money waster for Australians – who cough up $16.3 billion on ciggies every year – or over $1700 per household, research by Mozo found.
Also read: 5 tricks to help you redeem rewards faster
The nation’s second biggest waste of cash is food, with Australians throwing out a whopping $8 billion worth of edible food every year. That equates to almost $1000 per household, on average. Aussies are also dumping half a billion dollars on clothes every year, thanks to the rise in ‘fast fashion’, the Mozo research also shows.
Another vice that is burning a huge hole in Aussie pockets is the pokies – who are spending a shocking $6.7 billion or almost $3,000 each on gambling annually.
Bank charges including ATM fees, credit card debt and bank fees, was also high up on the money wastage list –an expense that is easily avoidable.
Also read: How I’d invest $10,000 today
Staying on top of personal finances and reviewing bank account fees ( check out some of the best here ) and terms and conditions could result in big savings. If your fees are too high – you can simply move to a bank offering a low or fee free account and likewise with credit cards its easy to transfer to another provider offering free balance transfer and pay it off within the interest-free window.
Australia’s 10 biggest money wasters | |||
Item | Total annual spend (billions) | Total spend per household | Total spend per person |
Tobacco | $16.3B | $1,734 | $667 |
Food waste | $8B | $950 | $328 |
Gambling | $6.7B | $796 | $275 |
Credit card interest | $5.5B | $653 | $226 |
Bank fees | $4.3B | $511 | $176 |
Household energy waste | $3.3B | $389 | $135 |
Traffic fines | $1.3B | $154 | $53 |
ATM fees | $0.64B | $76 | $26 |
Clothing | $0.5B | $59 | $21 |
Unused gift cards | $0.36B | $43 | $15 |
TOTAL | $46.9B | $5,365 | $1,922 |
source: Mozo.com.au, September 2017 | |||
“To avoid unnecessary financial waste, take a good look at where your money is going. Review your purchasing habits, take note of food or clothing that you might discard and study your household bills. A few small changes can result in major savings,” says Kirsty Lamont, Mozo Director.
Mozo’s tips and tricks to reducing financial waste:
To combat bank fees, review your bank account terms and conditions to assess where you could be charged unnecessary fees, compare credit cards to ensure you’ve got the best card for your spending habits, and keep extra cash in your wallet to avoid foreign ATM fees.
Take note of expiration dates in your fridge and move older food to the font of your fridge. If you do throw food out keep a list to avoid making the same mistake twice.
Review your energy bill and consider where you can lower cost. Turn off appliances at the outlet when they’re not in use, check appliance energy ratings and only heat/cool rooms that you are inhabiting.
Take note of when gift cards expire and set a reminder in your calendar weeks prior to expiration.
