How Being Lazy Costs You Money

Have you ever thought about how being lazy costs you money? I was looking at my bank statement the other day and without fail, there’s always a few line items that I tend to flinch at.

While I’ve been pretty good at keeping a budget and controlling my expenses, there were a couple purchases that caused me to have an inner debate with myself.

• Why did I order a pizza when I just went grocery shopping?

• Did I seriously just go to Starbucks since I’m out of creamer?

I very well could have made myself something to eat with all the food I had from grocery shopping but didn’t feel like cooking. And while I enjoyed my Starbucks, I was still out of creamer and back in the same predicament when I got home!

Even though I am budget conscious and have the best intentions, I find myself occasionally getting lazy and opting for the easy way out. Unfortunately, my laziness costs money that could be better saved or spent elsewhere!

Do you experience the same thing? We all have our moments, but if you want to be more conscious with your money and go after some serious goals, here are a few things you might want to avoid spending money on due to laziness.

Related reading:

• 7 Ways to Save $500 Right Now
• 17 Painless Ways to Save Over $300 in 30 Days
• How to Track Your Expenses
• Tips for a No Spend Day or Week or Month
• How to Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons

How being lazy costs you money

Gym memberships

If you aren’t really going to the gym, this is a total money waster. A better option would be exercising outside or from the comfort of your home.

Magazine subscriptions

Magazine subscriptions are cheap, but if you’re not using them you’re still wasting money that can add up to larger sum over time. If you get magazines in the mail and don’t read them, make sure you cancel your subscription and it doesn’t automatically renew.

Not using rebates

If you purchase something that comes with a rebate, use it! It only takes a few minutes to fill out a form and mail in a receipt. That’s guaranteed money back in your pocket!

Also, you want to take advantage of Ibotta. It’s another free cell phone app. You use it after you go grocery shopping and use your receipt. It’s basically a rebate app, so you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $5 off everything you buy.

My favorite part about this app is that it’s not always brand specific, like a lot of coupons are. So you’ll be able to scan “any brand of bread” for 50 cents off, etc.

If you do coupon – you can STILL use Ibotta and get a rebate. For the diehard couponers out there, this will often result in getting an item for FREE. Crazy, right?

If you want to grab the Ibotta app and start making money off your grocery receipts, click here to get started. You will receive a cash bonus of $10 when you scan your first item!

Bank Fees

Some banks will charge unnecessary fees which can eat away at your money. The good news is that most of those fees can be avoided. If you’re getting charged monthly for not having at least one direct deposit going into your account, set it up.

If you need to meet a minimum balance requirement, get back on a budget and make sure you can avoid those pesky fees.

Want a free account that you can access easily? Check out Qapital.

Auto Shipments

It is easy to get sucked into auto-shipments. They are supposed to simplify the reordering process but can do more damage than good. If not careful, you can end up with more products than you need! Make sure you space out your auto shipment dates that work best for you.

Not Insulating Your Home

It’s important to do what you can to make your home energy efficient in order to help the environment and lower your utility bills. Insulating your home can sound like a huge feat but it can be a weekend project you set up and you’ll only have to worry about it once.

You can also hire someone to insulate your home and reap the benefits from the energy savings in the future.

Being Disorganized

You don’t have to be the most organized person known to man, but it does make a huge difference to have some organization in your life.

Being organized can help you keep track of when bills are due to avoid late fees and also keep up with important documents and financial information so that filing taxes will be a breeze.

Don’t want to forget to cancel that free trial before it expires? Get organized and put it on your calendar.

To help me stay organized, I love using the Simplified Planner. While I love the flexibility of working from home and creating my own blogging schedule, it’s really important for me to have a routine. For the last 5 years, this planner has helped me with that.

Check out the Simplified Planner and learn more here.

Not Eating Through Your Cabinets

After a long day, the thought of cooking and preparing a meal can seem exhausting.

While I’m not a fan of cooking every single day, I realized that the process can be streamlined so that I don’t have to produce so much food waste.

If you often find yourself ordering food when you have plenty of food in your fridge and pantry, try to start eating through your cabinets first before you spend the money.

For example, tons of us have things like pasta, rice, and frozen vegetables packed away somewhere.

Instead of buying food when you feel lazy, take 10 minutes to whip up a quick dish using things you already have. You can even prep your meals for the week and freeze some of them so everything will be ready to go when you’re hungry.

I use the $5 Meal Plan to help me come up with quick and healthy meals I can prepare each week. If you eat food, the $5 Meal Plan will help you by sending you weekly meal ideas and shopping lists based on your dietary needs and preferences.

Check out the $5 Meal Plan here and get 2 weeks free!

And when you do eat out, do so responsibly! You can still save money by eating out or ordering in, just take advantage of deals and coupons where you can.

Not price shopping

Not shopping around for better prices is a prime example of how being lazy costs you money. Before making a purchase, do a quick online search to make sure you are getting the best deal. Most places offer coupons, discount codes and free shipping.

Throwing Away Old Stuff Before Selling It

Whoever came up with the idea of thrift stores including Goodwill and The Salvation Army were smart people. They knew that one person’s trash could be another person’s treasure.

While it may seem tempting to just dump your old items in the trash just to get rid of them, consider selling some of that stuff instead. If you have furniture, electronics, clothes, toys, etc. see if you can sell some items on eBay or Amazon.

You can also upload your items to the Facebook Marketplace in minutes to sell them locally.

Waiting Until the Last Minute to Order Gifts

If you need to purchase gifts for special occasions, it’s best not to wait around until the last minute unless you know there will be some good sales like after-Christmas for example.

When you procrastinate on buying a gift, you’ll feel rushed and pressured to buy the first thing you see when you do actually take action. This prevents you from having the time and motivation to shop around and compare prices.

Plus, if you were hoping to DIY a gift or order some discounted items online, you won’t have time to do it if you wait too long.

Waiting to Pay For Tickets and Bills

Paying for parking/violation tickets sucks almost as much as it does to receive a ton of bills in the mail. However, getting a grip on things and paying up those bills on time can save you money and help you avoid late fees.

Assuming the worst

Just because something breaks, don’t assume you need to go out and replace it. Look on youtube or search online to see if other people had the same issue.

It’s amazing how much free help is available online. This can be one of the most expensive ways not doing your research costs money, so try the DIY route first.

Overall, I need to continue to work smarter with my money. While I don’t mind spending money on ordering a pizza or going to Starbucks now and then, doing dumb things costs money!

Ignoring Your Budget

Your budget is there as a safeguard to help you manage where your money is going. If you’re too lazy to budget, you’re going to waste a ton of money because you’ll likely have no idea as to what’s going on with your finances.

Setting up a budget and sticking to it gets easier after a while and you just need to take it step by step. If you’ve never budgeted before or failed multiple times with budgeting, I’d recommend checking out a course called Love Your Budget.

The course will teach you how to change your mindset, organize your finances, and create a winning budget that allows you to live the life you love.

Learn more about the Love Your Budget course here.

Avoiding Side Hustles

It’s no secret that I love side hustles. I believe that everyone has the potential to earn more money. By being lazy and not acting on that potential, you’ll lose out on the opportunity to increase your income.

If you have the time to work on a side hustle and just choose not to, you could be leaving a ton of money on the table. It’s unfortunate because there are so many cool and unique side hustle opportunities out there.

You can choose to do something low-effort and part-time and still earn a few hundred dollars each month.

If you’re looking to make even more money on the side, you can consider trying out one of my favorite options and becoming a Facebook ads virtual assistant. The best part is that you can make thousands each month by only putting in part-time hours.

Make a Change

Now that you know how being lazy costs you money, I encourage you to start taking action and taking back some of your money.

The good news is that you have full control over your laziness and can start to take small steps to fix the areas of your life that you’re overspending in.

Start slow and take a few minutes per day. Cancel old subscriptions, create your meal plan once a week during downtime, take the first step to establishing a side hustle, or call your bank and discuss how you can avoid some of the fees you’ve been charged.

You’ll soon see that a little effort can go a long way.