There’s a Hole in Your Budget

10:00 a.m. Here come the stomach growls, time for a mid-morning snack.

Today it’s a bag of chips and a diet soda. Total cost: $1.75. That won’t break the bank … but how about your budget? Have you ever thought about how all those easily forgettable little expenses can add up? Let’s take a look at just a few you may view as trivial at the time of purchase. You’ll soon see they add up to very real amounts over the course of a year.

Vending Machines—$195
Chips. Snack cakes. Candy bars. Let’s say the average cost is 75 cents to hold off your hunger until lunch. A vending machine visit just five times per week (once a day), would cost you $3.75. Not bad, right? But over the course of 52 work weeks (260 days), that amount adds up to $195. Yep, almost $200 in vending goods for the year.

Fountain Drinks—$260
Large beverage cups almost seem to be a fashion accessory these days. Do you make a stop at the local convenience mart on your way into work each morning? It’s only a dollar, right? Well, it’s costing you $260 a year for your daily fix of Code Red Mountain Dew.

Lottery Tickets—$260
Powerball. Lotto. Pick 3. So many ways to win! Instant retirement! Let’s say you invest in this retirement plan to the tune of $5 a week. That’s $260 a year you’re socking away. Well, you’re not really socking anything away. The chance of you winning the lottery is about 18 million to 1 if you play the Missouri or Illinois lotteries. Play a multi-state lottery, and your chances fall to 120 million to 1. According to Savingadvice.com, conservatively speaking, you’re six times more likely to die from a lightning strike than you are to win the lottery.

Alcohol—$624
Many people enjoy a nice, cold beer to wrap up their days. If you stop by the package liquor store to get a cold 12-pack for the week, it’ll run you about $12.00, so if you finish a 12-pack during the week, add $624 to your annual expenses. If you like to hit a happy hour at a local drinking establishment once in awhile, that cost goes up. Dig the club scene and fancy cocktails? Now you’re talking some serious spending.

Stamps—$50
If you haven’t signed up for online bill pay, you’re likely paying close to $50 per year on stamps, and that doesn’t include envelopes.

Fast Food—$1,300
You just don’t feel like packing a lunch for work or cooking dinner when you get home, so you turn to that convenient drive-thru at the local burger joint twice a week (once for lunch, once for dinner). Even with a dollar menu, you can figure on spending about $5 per person per meal. Family of four for dinner and a single for lunch runs you $25 per week for an annual cost of $1,300.

Movies—$420
Who doesn’t like to catch the latest flick on the big screen? It gets you out of the house and offers a picture/sound that’s hard to duplicate at home. If you take in one movie per month for two people, that’s about $20, without food/beverage. Add two sodas and a big tub of popcorn, and you’re talking closer to $35 a month, or $420 per year.

Cigarettes—$1,600
Are you a smoker? At one pack a day, that’s about $30 worth of tobacco up in smoke per week. The habit comes to over $1,600 a year, not counting the cost of lighters.

Credit Card—$360
Do you carry a balance on your credit card? A balance of $2,000 with an 18% interest rate will cost you about $360 a year. Here’s a real eye opener: according to Iowa State University Extension, if you added $360 a year to a retirement account earning a 10% annual return, you’d have over $20,000 after 20 years.


So there you have it. As the old saying goes, it’s the little things. Yes, they do add up. In this case, all the above items would cost you over $5,000 a year. That’s quite a chunk of change. Now, nobody’s saying you should give up all these purchases, but just think, if you gave up just a third of them, or cut back by a third, you’d still be saving over $1,600 a year!

What could you do with that extra money? Don’t forget, Vantage has a number of saving options. Check out some them here and here. Plus, we can also help you with investment advice. Get started on that new budget today!