The Biggest Waste of Money - Suze Ormn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even take out from chik Fila, California tortilla, or the neighborhood chinese restaurant can cost you $50 for a family of four. Do it a couple of times a week you can easily spend $400 to 500 per month eating out. That's enough to fund an IRA. Most Americans shouldn't be spending that much eating out. The UMC of DCUM can decide whether it is worth it to them. Don't forget how unhealthy it is too.

+1. God some Dave's Hot Chicken to go this weekend for 4 of us. $57.

I got my 2 kids chick fil a and it was $40. Unreal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That might be click bait overstatement, but she had a point. Eating out is a waste of money, but not the biggest.

I agree. It is a clickbait, and no one got rich from just saving on eating out. All these people make money by getting your attention. Use your own brain. Personally, we almost never go out to eat, because it is healthier to eat at home and we also don't have a big income to support this lifestyle. We make our own coffee, tea at home. But when we travel, sure, we love going out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even take out from chik Fila, California tortilla, or the neighborhood chinese restaurant can cost you $50 for a family of four. Do it a couple of times a week you can easily spend $400 to 500 per month eating out. That's enough to fund an IRA. Most Americans shouldn't be spending that much eating out. The UMC of DCUM can decide whether it is worth it to them. Don't forget how unhealthy it is too.

Agree. It is unhealthy, as most of those places use unhealthy oils to cook/fry foods in them. Then, you get charged for drinks ( the best would be plain water anyway), then you have add tips etc. Best to buy healthy ingredients on sale in the grocery store and cook food yourself as often as you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That might be click bait overstatement, but she had a point. Eating out is a waste of money, but not the biggest.

I agree. It is a clickbait, and no one got rich from just saving on eating out. All these people make money by getting your attention. Use your own brain. Personally, we almost never go out to eat, because it is healthier to eat at home and we also don't have a big income to support this lifestyle. We make our own coffee, tea at home. But when we travel, sure, we love going out.

No one gets rich from just not eating out. But it's a mentality of "paying yourself first", understanding where your money is going (when it does not have to go there) and eating out is one of those areas. Someone who complains "we cannot save enough for college for our kids" yet is spending $800/month on eating out/coffee/etc is someone who Could be saving more if it mattered to them. Life is all about choices, and choosing to spend $800/month on eating out is not the wisest choice if you are not "fully saving for life events" yet. So save $400 more per month and only spend $400/month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kevin O'Leary from the TV show "Shark Tank" who is supposedly worth $400m seems to agree with Suze. In this article he says that there are two ways that people waste money.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/kevin-o-leary-reveals-two-190017308.html

One way is "First, he said, stop buying coffee for exorbitant prices. This is something he has reiterated in countless videos and articles, arguing that it costs 20 cents to make it at home and he “invests the rest.”

The second is “You go to work, you spend $15 on a sandwich… what are you, an idiot? It costs you 99 cents to make a sandwich at home and bring it with you.”

Both of them think that spending money on take out coffee is a waste.

This guy also thinks the ingredients in a sandwich cost less than a dollar and your time is free.

I know quite a few recent college graduates, and they’re all very clear on what eating out or buying premade food costs. That doesn’t mean they never do it.

No, time is not free. But neither is the time it takes to drive to a deli or sandwich shop, stand in line to place your order, wait for order to be prepared, pay for it and leave. Even if you call or order online, time is still involved.

You seem determined to find the worst examples of buying rather than bringing. If someone else is making my lunch, they're doing it at a place close to my downtown office. I walk in, I pick up a readymade salad, I pay, I leave.

You're supposed to leave your office occasionally. You're supposed to be in the office so you can bond with your coworkers by, for example, walking to Pret for a sandwich.

And if you're about to talk about how expensive Pret is, let me stop you: I do my best to spend my money at ethical businesses. I pay more, society pays less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually agree. So many 20yo’s using Ubereats because they are too lazy to cook.

I was just about to write this. The kids that come hang out with my kids at my house order themselves and my kids Uber eats. Such a waste. They are so generous with their parents money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually agree. So many 20yo’s using Ubereats because they are too lazy to cook.

I was just about to write this. The kids that come hang out with my kids at my house order themselves and my kids Uber eats. Such a waste. They are so generous with their parents money.

I used to be shocked that parents gave their kids their credit card to shop but some parents can't be bothered shopping and cooking for their kids any more.

[Anonymous]

She's right for once.
I don't drink coffee so I have never bought one. I do make my husband coffee at home. He never buys it out. As for eating out ? Gave that up years ago. The filth those kitchens hold made me cook my own food. I don't eat fast food either. Don't drink wine. Don't even eat at anyone's house. But that's just me so don't get all huffy.

[Anonymous]

One useful aspect of only using my Amazon card is I get an annual report that shows how much I spend by category. Quickly learned that I ate out a lot more than I thought I did. I cut back a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's right for once.
I don't drink coffee so I have never bought one. I do make my husband coffee at home. He never buys it out. As for eating out ? Gave that up years ago. The filth those kitchens hold made me cook my own food. I don't eat fast food either. Don't drink wine. Don't even eat at anyone's house. But that's just me so don't get all huffy.

That sounds miserable. You sound miserable, actually.

[Anonymous]

Eating out does cost ALOT.

Even if you just eat at Chipotle. That's about $15 for a bowl. If you eat at a nice restaurant, that's about $30 an entree. Can't drink anything other than water.

[Anonymous]

Restaurants have long covid. They never got back to normal. I only go to restaurants on travel, and even them I attempt to avoid it by eating in airport lounges or making pit stop at grocery stores. I used to love them and now I can't stand them. And the coffee is crappy compared to what I can make at home.

I do like meal kits though. They add interest and variety.

[Anonymous]

I've been playing around with retirement calculators and monthly spend has a big impact on your overall retirement savings. I was surprised that a few hundred extra a month really impacts the longevity of your nest egg. I am not a big spender so I haven't really done a budget per say but I do try to be mindful of eating out. It really does add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That might be click bait overstatement, but she had a point. Eating out is a waste of money, but not the biggest.

You need to eat. How is it a waste of money to eat food made by someone else sometimes? You're obviously paying for more than just the ingredients.

Suze doesn’t eat out because she has a live-in chef. She gets restaurant quality food at home.

Or, I guess, to put it differently - what beyond the barest essentials isn't a waste of money, in that case? Only things that you can sell if you need the money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been playing around with retirement calculators and monthly spend has a big impact on your overall retirement savings. I was surprised that a few hundred extra a month really impacts the longevity of your nest egg. I am not a big spender so I haven't really done a budget per say but I do try to be mindful of eating out. It really does add up.

+1

It does really add up, especially when younger. An extra $200 monthly saved in your 20s can mean an extra $1M+ in retirement. It doesn't mean you cannot enjoy your 20s. It means you should learn to budget, pay yourself first, and understand that savings should be important and is a $8 Starbucks special daily really worth it when you only make $65K/year. Treat yourself 1-2x/week and save the rest. Same for dining out/other splurges. DOn't have to deny yourself...but also don't have to get takeout/dine out 5+ times per week.