CAN YOU AFFORD THESE BIG MONEY WASTERS?
(a few sobering thoughts from Lee)

When it comes to blowing money, we Americans have no peers. We are the world champions of frivolous spending and we have the record level of personal debt to prove it.

Actually, it's not really the impulse buys -- It's our habitual purchases that undermine our financial well-being.

BE AWARE OF THESE MASSIVE MONEY WASTERS . . .

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING:

It's not what we blow on holiday gifts -- $450 billion last year -- but how thoughtlessly we spend much of that sum that's become a colossal waste. In our rush, hastily buy random items online or elsewhere and resort to impersonal gift cards when we are stuck for ideas. We worry about some perceived obligation to spend a certain amount, rather than putting thought into selecting a present that could bring real joy. Common comment, "I don't have time anymore".

EXTRAVAGANT WEDDINGS:

Americans now spend an average of $20,000 to $30,000 on getting married (the more affluent often shell out six figures). How many parents-of-the-bride still are paying off huge credit-card balances -- for dropping major coin on marriages that ended all too soon? Sadly, the fact is that there's a 50-50 chance that money spent on a wedding will be the biggest waste of money in your life.

"PREMIUM" COFFEE-TO-GO:

It's okay to treat yourself occasionally to take-out coffee; it certainly tastes better than most home or office brew. But how many twentysomethings buy $3 java drinks like it's just milk money -- and then complain THAT Social Security won't be there for them.

HOW'S THIS FOR A WAKE UP ALERT:

The $750 spent in one year to support a $3-a-day, work-week coffee habit would yield almost $300,000 in an IRA growing 8% annually over 40 years!

GAMBLING:

U.S. gambling interests pulled a shrewd one getting the financial media to embrace their ruse of calling their industry "gaming" to sanitize its image.

Sure, we all have a right to throw away our hard-earned dough. But next time you walk into one of those $2 billion casinos, just remember, it wasn't built with cash but with loans that, odds are, you're going to help the owners pay off.

THE ULTIMATE IMPACT ON YOU . . .

What does all this wasteful spending add up to? Drained savings accounts, maxed-out credit cards and ever-present monetary anxiety.

Before you squander your money on one of these huge wastes of money, think about how saving that money might provide a better route to long-term happiness and financial security for you & your loved ones.