If you’ve already bombed on your New Year’s resolutions, don’t feel bad. Thirty-two percent of people who make resolutions drop out before the two-week mark.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you should give up altogether on creating a healthier, wealthier you. Getting rid of certain bad habits can help you to whip yourself into shape physically and financially. We tapped LendingTree’s Bad Habit Calculator to show you just how much fat you can trim from your budget while you’re whittling down your waistline.
1. Smoking
Smoking can be a major killer to your budget, not to mention the toll it can take on your body. Regularly lighting up increases your risk of heart disease, lung cancer and stroke and cigarettes are linked to 480,000 deaths each year. Smoking can also cause cancer in other parts of your body, affect your vision and lead to rheumatoid arthritis.
Besides the physical impact, smoking can affect your bottom line in more ways than one. If you’re suffering from smoking-related health issues, odds are good you’re going to pay more for medical care. There’s also the day to day cost. If you spend $5.50 a day on a pack of cigarettes, that’s over $2,000 a year that you could be saving instead. That’s 2,000 good reasons to cut smoking out of your routine.
2. Eating fast food
Fast food is cheap and convenient but there’s a hidden cost that goes along to grabbing lunch at the drive-thru. When you’re eating on the fly, it’s easy to underestimate the number of calories you’re consuming. Fast food also tends to have higher concentrations of salt, cholesterol and fat, which isn’t doing your body any favors.
Indulging in a regular fast food habit can add up to a serious amount of cash. If you normally spend $10 per meal at your favorite fast food joint three times a week, cutting that out could put an extra $1,560 back in your pocket.
3. Drinking alcohol
Unwinding with a glass of wine at the end of the day or hitting the bar with friends on the weekend may seem harmless but having some perspective could change your mind. On the health front, drinking alcohol regularly could lead to serious medical conditions, including high blood pressure, liver disease, cancer, digestive problems and heart disease. According to the CDC, drinking also increases your risk for accidental injuries.
On the financial side, alcohol can eat up a good chunk of your cash, depending on how often you drink. If you’re spending $50 a week, for example, that’s $2,600 a year that isn’t going into savings.
4. Being too lazy to walk
If you’re used to getting behind the wheel every time you want to go somewhere, you may want to think about walking once in awhile instead. Getting out and stretching your legs can help improve your cardiovascular health and shed pounds. Walking can also help to stave off high blood pressure and heart disease, boost your mood and strengthen bones and muscles.
Walking’s also a cheaper way to get around since it doesn’t require you to fill up the gas tank as often. If you’re normally spending $45 a week on gas, cutting your drive time in half could save you around $1,200 a year. .
5. Guzzling soda
Soda is one of those bad habits that can be hard to break but it’s one to put at the top of the list if you’re focused on improving your health. People who drink one to two sodas a day have a 26 percent higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and there’s a link between higher soda consumption and heart disease. Drinking too much soda can also be damaging to your bone health.
One of the things that makes saying no to soda so difficult is the fact that it’s so cheap. If you’re drinking a couple of sodas per day and each one costs $1.50, you may not notice just how much you’re spending over time. When it’s all said and done, your soda habit could be costing you $780 each year.
6. Skipping health check-ups
If you don’t have health insurance or you have a high co-pay, it’s tempting to dodge going to the doctor or the dentist for routine check-ups. The problem is, you could be hurting your health–and your finances–by trying to be a cheapskate.
When you don’t see the doctor or the dentist regularly, it’s easier for a health issue to go undetected. Something that starts off as relatively minor could develop into a major medical problem. Letting a toothache go for too long, for example, means you could end up needing a root canal, which can run several hundred or several thousand dollars, depending on how serious it is.
In that scenario, neglecting your health to try and save just ends up costing you more. Making a point to schedule preventive care visits may mean shelling out a few bucks for the co-pay but your health and your finances will thank you in the long run.
Consider eliminating other bad financial habits as well
Taking better care of your health can pay off if it means feeling better and having more money to spare. If you want to give yourself even more of a makeover in the new year, there are some other bad habits to think about saying goodbye to.
For example, paying your credit card bill late can sting in more ways than one. Not only are you stuck paying a late fee but you may be hurting your credit score when you don’t pay on time. The lower your score goes, the higher your interest rates climb when you borrow.
Carrying balances on your credit cards when you have a high annual percentage rate (APR) is another habit to rethink. Paying the minimums may be easier on your budget but you’re paying more in interest over the long run. Making debt payoff a priority can free up even more cash to save towards your other financial goals.
How do YOU trim the fat in your budget? What was your hardest–and most expensive– habit to break? Share your tips with other readers below!
