{"id":496,"date":"2020-10-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-top-3-most-common-spending-mistakes-i-see\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T16:28:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:28:15","slug":"the-top-3-most-common-spending-mistakes-i-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-top-3-most-common-spending-mistakes-i-see\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Weirdly Specific Spending Mistakes [2025]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"

Long live the 2010s influencer flat lay.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Let\u2019s clear the air immediately on this one \u2013 I realize there\u2019s an inherently judgmental tone when discussing spending \u201cmistakes.\u201d After all, it\u2019s your money, not mine, so at the end of the day, who am I to call something that you\u2019re doing a mistake? <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why I\u2019m dubbing these decisions \u201cmistakes\u201d \u2013 because I think you\u2019ll agree. There\u2019s a difference between spending decisions that are unorthodox or may seem objectively irrational when compared to the average, but still aren\u2019t mistakes for you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But then there are things that you\u2019d probably stop doing if you knew better; things that don\u2019t serve you in any way beyond stretching you thinner than you\u2019d have to be stretched. <\/p>\n

The genesis of this article was the realization that, for the past year, I\u2019ve seen three extremely common trends in clients \u2013 almost without fail, every person makes at least one<\/em> of these expensive mistakes (and sometimes all three of them). So now you get to benefit from hundreds of hours of consultations #FoFree (should I plug a \u201cSubscribe<\/a>\u201d push here? Why not!). <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve isolated things that aren\u2019t one-off mistakes \u2013 they\u2019re consistent, ongoing choices or habits that will cost you thousands of dollars over just a few years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

#1. Overpaying for car insurance<\/h2>\n

I feel like a Geico commercial right now, but it\u2019s true. When I worked with people 1:1 a few years ago, almost everyone I met was paying through the nose. The majority don\u2019t have any accidents on their record or driving events that would justify $170, $180, sometimes $200\/month for car insurance, but I\u2019m telling you, it\u2019s not necessary. What I\u2019m trying to say is: Your car insurance should not rival your car payment.<\/p>\n

Most of the time when I ask, \u201cHave you shopped around?\u201d like the broken record I am, the answer is no. <\/p>\n

Why? Because it\u2019s one of those adulting phrases that we all throw around like it\u2019s a recipe with a cauliflower substitute but don\u2019t really know what it means. <\/p>\n

Let me tell you, though, \u201cshopping around\u201d for car insurance will save you money, big time. The first time I got car insurance in Dallas, I bought a 12-month policy with Progressive for \u2013 please sit down \u2013 $2,100. I forked over $2,100 in one sitting for car insurance, which is the equivalent of $175\/month. <\/p>\n

When it came time to renew, I simply wasn\u2019t about it. My ticket-less, accident-less driving history didn\u2019t feel like it should cost $1,800 to insure for a single year.<\/p>\n

So I did an experiment: I went into \u201cIncognito\u201d mode in my browser and went through the quote process all over again (it\u2019s easy \u2013 just Google [car insurance company name] quote). They were quoting me $1,800 to renew, and when I went through the process in incognito, they quoted me closer to $1,700. It felt so arbitrary.<\/p>\n

I chatted a specialist and explained I had been given a better quote and I would very much like that one instead, please. <\/p>\n

After another year of this, I got wise and started shopping around in earnest. I finally settled on Geico, where I could buy a six-month premium for $660 ($111 per month). <\/p>\n

The point is, you\u2019re probably overpaying, and by going through a few online quotes (you don\u2019t even need to call anyone!), you can almost definitely lower your rate. By doing so, I\u2019m saving $40\/mo., or $480\/year, but receiving the same level of coverage. <\/p>\n

#2. Having multiple gym memberships that are going mostly unused<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve been surprised by how many ad hoc gym memberships or other subscription-style programs people cobble together on an ongoing monthly basis. <\/p>\n

$100 here, $75 there\u2026 it adds up. And this is usually how the conversation goes:<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, so you\u2019ve got a $150 membership to Insert Boutique Fitness Studio Here<\/em>, but I also see a $75 charge for Insert Drop-In Fitness App Here<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

(long pause)<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, well, I use both because I like to do multiple formats.\u201d<\/p>\n

To which I say \u2013 FAIR<\/em>. I am the last person who would ever tell you to commit to OrangeTheory for the rest of your life and kiss a stationary bike or a pilates reformer goodbye.<\/p>\n

This is where it\u2019s crucial to do the cost analysis of what you\u2019re paying for. When I used to work at Corepower, I never understood why people would pay $100 for a 5-class pack when the unlimited monthly membership was $129. Of course, I was going every single morning, so if I were paying on a per-class basis, it would be intensely expensive. <\/p>\n

That said, you probably don\u2019t need to pay a $150 membership fee for a studio you\u2019re visiting once a week (or even twice a week). Even if you\u2019re going twice per week, you\u2019re paying about $18\/class. That\u2019s obviously better than a drop-in rate, in most cases, but just barely \u2013 I would recommend dropping gym memberships that don\u2019t truly serve the community aspect for you. If you\u2019re popping in once a week, it\u2019s time to cut the permanent ties and use your aforementioned \u201cDrop-In App\u201d of choice to stop in when you feel like it.<\/p>\n

The funny thing about gym memberships is that I\u2019ve found people have a hard time parting with them (even when they\u2019re not using them!) because they represent the type of person you were, at some point, trying to become: the type of person who frequents a boutique fitness studio<\/em>. <\/p>\n

But the sooner you let go of this vision of you that\u2019s simply not working out (maybe you just don\u2019t LIKE CrossFit and \u201cfunctional fitness\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s not a personal failing!), the sooner you\u2019ll free up those #funds to discover that maybe your true fitness muse is actually more of a \u201cheels dance class\u201d fanatic. You gotta let go to grow, my friends.<\/p>\n

Of course, we can apply this principle to a lot of things, but the boutique fitness trend has almost uniformly influenced people into signing up for multiple memberships, and most people don\u2019t need more than one. <\/p>\n

#3. Sleep-walking through impulse purchases<\/h2>\n

This is the point of the article where we\u2019re going to transition into dangerous, line-straddling \u201cjudgment\u201d territory, but stick with me \u2013 the point of this \u201cmistake\u201d is the sleep-walking<\/em> part. <\/p>\n

There is an energetic difference between the way you purchase things you\u2019re obsessed with and that bring you intense and sustained joy, and things you throw in the shopping cart at 11 p.m. on Glossier\u2019s website late Friday night because you\u2019re bored and lonely and that product called \u201cBubblewrap\u201d sounds so enticing and cozy (not a personal example at all!). <\/p>\n

I call these sleep-walk purchases because you\u2019re going through the motions. Something strikes your fancy in a moment of weakness, and before you know it, it\u2019s on your front step three days later, to be toyed with for all of 15 minutes before being relegated to the back of the bathroom drawer, used a handful of times, then never seen again. <\/p>\n

The reason these types of purchases are insidious is because they prevent you from being able to spend on things you actually<\/em> love. <\/p>\n

If you feel yourself often saying, I have no idea where all my money went this month<\/em>, it\u2019s probably stashed in your closet, dresser drawers, kitchen cabinets and bathroom counters, in the millennial pink bottles, oversized cutoff hoodies and S\u2019well water bottles (remember those?) that creepily stalk you around the internet in flashing ad placements. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with buying your fifth oversized cropped sweatshirt or yet another face wash made of the same ingredients as all the other ones sitting in your shower, but if you\u2019re going to do it, do it with eyes wide open \u2013 maybe sit for a second and think, Let\u2019s say I didn\u2019t spend $38 on this right now \u2013 what could I experience tomorrow for $38 instead?<\/em> Drinks and apps with someone I haven\u2019t seen in awhile? Two books I\u2019ve been dying to read that\u2019ll give me hours upon hours of entertainment and knowledge? <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not even necessarily telling you to not spend<\/em> the money and to save<\/em> it, but just to spend on something you\u2019re actually going to derive happiness from. <\/p>\n

On a larger scale, we could dive into the difference between spending $1,000 on a handbag or $1,000 on a trip to Southeast Asia, but we\u2019ll save that esoteric discussion for another day.<\/p>\n

In closing<\/h2>\n

While I (unfortunately) can\u2019t write on a 1:1 basis to address all the unique quirks and spending oddities of each specific individual, I feel confident that these three will cover the majority.<\/p>\n

I challenge you to see just how much fat you can trim from your monthly expenditures without measuredly changing your life (i.e., are you going to feel super deprived because you have a new car insurance policy or because you remove one iffy class per week from your schedule? Probably not). Think about it like buying back your own time and money from places and things that were sneaky budget drains.<\/p>\n

Let me know how much you\u2019re able to trim monthly (then multiply it by 12 to get excited about all the potential you just freed up!).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s clear the air immediately on this one \u2013 I realize there\u2019s an inherently judgmental tone when discussing spending \u201cmistakes.\u201d After all, it\u2019s your money, not mine, so at the end of the day, who am I to call something that you\u2019re doing a mistake? Here\u2019s why I\u2019m dubbing these decisions \u201cmistakes\u201d \u2013 because I think you\u2019ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178814,"featured_media":2396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"si-template-single-post-debt.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[48,45],"class_list":["post-496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spending-and-saving","tag-debt","tag-everyday-spending-and-budgeting"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Weirdly Specific Spending Mistakes [2025] - Money with Katie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/the-top-3-most-common-spending-mistakes-i-see\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Weirdly Specific Spending Mistakes [2025] - Money with Katie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s clear the air immediately on this one \u2013 I realize there\u2019s an inherently judgmental tone when discussing spending \u201cmistakes.\u201d After all, it\u2019s your money, not mine, so at the end of the day, who am I to call something that you\u2019re doing a mistake? 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