Daily money traps to avoid

Faced with financial temptations at every turn, your daily habits could be keeping you from reaching the money goals you’ve set to accomplish this year.
Daily money traps to avoid
“There are six to 10 financial decisions that you have to make a day and there are so many traps we fall into,” says Alexa von Tobel, founder and CEO of LearnVest.com.

The key to making better money decisions starts with identifying the most common overspending traps, says von Tobel. Here are four to watch out for.

Money Trap #1: Skipping your morning gym class
Signing up for an unlimited gym membership may sound like a good deal – even if it costs $70 a month on average. But if your three-times-a-week routine turns into 4.3 times per month, as it does for the average consumer, that’s about $17 per visit – not the most efficient way of maximizing your gym dollars.

Money-saving tip: "Take a realistic look at your workout schedule to see how well you’ve kept up with your gym commitment," says von Tobel. If you’re not going as often as initially intended, you’re better off finding a gym package where you can pay per visit. Instead, buying a 10-visit pass for $10 per visit can save up to $600 a year, according to one study about consumers who are paying not to go to the gym.

Money Trap #2: Data overages
Checking Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter on your phone a few times a day can easily put you over your monthly data limit. Von Tobel says if you don’t pay attention to the warning text message from your wireless carrier, they can ding you with an automatic charge of about $15 a month.

Money-saving tip: Take a few minutes to log into your mobile account to check how much data you’re using, or call your carrier’s customer service to explore what other data plan options are available. If you regularly exceed your monthly limit, upgrading your plan can save you more in the long run. You can typically get another gigabyte for $5 more, says von Tobel, saving you up to $10 a month, or $120 for the year.

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Money Trap #3: Flash sale spending
One of the most aggressive marketing tactics comes in the form of that steady stream of emails from retailers announcing their daily deals or special sales. It’s easy to fall for these pushy flash sale emails enticing you to take advantage of “big savings” available for “a limited time” (that is, until the next sale).

Money-saving tip: Be aware that marketers are purposely timing these flash sale emails to your lunch break when you have more time to open them. “You’re likely to spend $200 a pop just because you opened those emails,” says von Tobel. One way to get rid of the temptation: just unsubscribe from the emails. LearnVest also suggests taking the amount you would have spent online and transferring it to a savings account for a big goal you’ve been eyeing. “Try an impulse save, instead of an impulse spend,” says von Tobel.

Money Trap #4: New home syndrome
Home improvement projects can turn into an expensive trap, costing three out of four homeowners an average of $4,000, according to a study by American Express and Echo Research. “And 30% of that is actually going to accessories that tend not to be an investment into the home or the property,” says von Tobel.

Money-saving tip: Identify your must-haves for your home and outline a realistic spending plan to purchase them. “Having it written down means that you’re 80% more likely to stick to and adhere to that budget every single day,” says von Tobel. Yahoo Finance
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