Diana Clement: Plenty of ways to burn through your cash

Most money-wasters eat a few dollars at a time but it adds up. Photo / NZ Herald

Is your hard-earned money vanishing before your eyes? Those evil marketers who part man from money have a lot of tricks to get us to fritter our cash. And we fall for them.

Some of the biggest money-wasting gotchas chew through currency faster than the goat in Taika Waititi's film Boy. Here are some of my top money-wasters:

Eating out: I love eating out. That is, except when I remember that a meal for two at an average restaurant eats up the equivalent of half a week's groceries for the entire family. That's an expensive way to eat if it's not a special treat.

Books: The vast majority of books bought are never read more than once. It's a joy to own books, but it's not necessary to buy every book you read. Auckland Libraries can get you almost every book you'd want - including new releases. Or if that doesn't work for you, try charitable book sales. You might even pick up an out-of-print gem.

Gifts: How often are you given something you simply don't want? Even worse, how often do you buy a generic "gift" for someone which will never be used or appreciated? It's best to just give a card or something small and edible rather than throw money down the drain.

Fines: Fines are avoidable. They're designed to modify your behaviour and if you do just that, you'll pay nothing. You don't need to speed, run red lights, or change lanes without indicating. I gave up speeding after getting a fine from a smirking traffic officer on my 19th birthday - many moons ago.

Likewise library fines, video shop fines, and any other late return fines are avoidable by using a diary, or putting a reminder on your smartphone. It's all about organisation.

Bank fees: Rip-off bank fees are like fines. Avoidable. I was astounded when told by a leading bank that some people spend hundreds of dollars a month on fees. A modest $20 or $30 a month is too much for the convenience of using your accounts without forethought. It's possible to avoid all bank charges on current accounts. Just ask your bank how.

Brand names: Where brand names aren't better - such as with many grocery goods - then you're paying for your ego not to be dented by buying the expensive brands.

Is Champion-brand flour, for example, better than Pams or Home Brand? They probably come from the same factory or packing house. Likewise, a Dell or HP computer contains exactly the same quality of parts as an un-branded equivalent.

Flash cars: Needing a nice car in keeping with your status or the status you aspire to is a huge drain on money. The belief that upgrading your car every two years will save you money is a fallacy. That's especially the case if you have to borrow money to buy it and pay interest for your ego trip.

Vitamin pills and supplements: Since when did human beings need a daily vitamin supplement, acai berry juice or other magic potion? Even worse, doctors aren't the ones recommending that Mr or Mrs Joe Average spend hundreds of dollars a month on expensive supplements from American multi-level marketing companies such as Usana.

Every household is different of course and some of the money-wasters on my list are acceptable if included in a sensible budget. I once blogged on the subject of money-wasters, also including: pets, cigarettes, alcohol, private schooling, and mag wheels - all of which outraged some readers.

The pet one was a bit tongue-in-cheek because pets are part of the family. Nonetheless, some of the costs involved shock me.

Two years ago my moggy got in a fight on Christmas night, tearing his eyelid. The Boxing Day emergency vet bill to fix him up was $500. Soon afterwards he developed an allergy to flea bites (not a good condition for a cat), which added another $100 to the local vet's coffers. Children are cheaper to treat.

On the subject of children, a reader suggested that children are the biggest money-waster of all time. I've got two, who are well trained in the art of living economically. He might have had a point, albeit tongue-in-cheek.

Less humorous is the question of cigarettes, which cost $30 a week or so to give you cancer. People give up smoking. It's not impossible. While you're at it, booze is a huge money-waster.

Other writers have suggested getting cheaper haircuts, not buying soft drinks, bottled water, DVDs that you can hire, subscriptions that you never read, extended warranties on electronics, car washes and much more.

Of course, one man's meat is another man's poison when it comes to money-wasters.

I cancelled my Sky TV subscription a few years back because I decided it wasted money. I don't, however, dream of criticising others with Sky TV if their amusement is sitting in front of the box. Sky TV is cheap entertainment compared with going to the movies, pub or dinner.

Likewise the classic old complaint of "solo mums" using their DPB money to catch taxis doesn't wash with me either. Someone who doesn't own a car and catches taxis once a week or fortnight with a bundle of shopping bags is more economically sensible than a car owner who must pay to buy the car, fill it with petrol, register, maintain and WOF it.

Most of these money-wasters eat up a few dollars at a time. Yet it adds up. I'm sure everyone reading this article knows of the Latte Factor.

That $4.50 on the daily latte adds up to $1642.50 a year, or over 20 years at 5 per cent interest, you lose $48,075. That's based on investing the money annually, not monthly, earning 5 per cent interest, and being taxed at a 30 per cent marginal rate.

The biggest money-wasters, however, aren't "things". They are attitudes to money and spending. "I deserve it", "it's only a few dollars", "it's on special", and so on are the sort of excuses I mentioned in last week's article about warped financial expectations. Here are a few:

Spending before you think: Sometimes you don't even realise you're spending money - such as when you're using your mobile phone or, like me, jumping in the car to do a trip that could be done by foot or bicycle.

Justifying your spending/ways: It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to to justify outrageous spending or other silly financial behaviour. Recently I had a reader respond to an article about the evils of hire purchase by thanking Q-Card for enabling him to buy things.

Buying out of habit: Habitual spending is about uncontrollable urges that return again and again - much like an addiction. That habitual spending may be at the local cafe. It may be downloading tunes on iTunes, or buying magazines. Just because you've always done it doesn't mean it has to play a part in your future if it's a money-waster.

Convenience or guilt buys: You're feeling guilty and you buy a bottle of wine or chocolates for someone, or you need X, Y or Z for dinner tonight. You nip to the nearest shop and throw money at the problem and your bank balance is whittled away.

Whatever you view as essentials, make sure you cherish the money you earn. Money doesn't come easy for most people and a bit of hard personal questioning can have beneficial financial consequences.