George Kamel - 12 Money Leaks Draining Your Bank Account

Episode Date: February 12, 2024

💵 EveryDollar budget deal: I’ll hook you up with a 14-day free trial and $15 off your first year of the premium version of EveryDollar. I want to talk about something sneaky that could be hurting your finances. No, not the library late fee you owe for your overdue copy of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I’m talking about money leaks—the nonessential expenses we pay for over and over without even thinking. Today, I’m going to share 12 money leaks that could be draining your bank account so you can fix them, save more of your money, and reach your goals faster. Next Steps 📗 Order George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke.   Offers from Today's Sponsors This episode is also sponsored by DeleteMe. Remove your personal information from the web at https://www.joindeleteme.com/George George for 20% off. 🙌   🎙️ The Ramsey Show   🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💼 The Ken Coleman Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy https://www.ramseysolutions.com/company/policies/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up, guys, George Camel here. And today, I want to talk about something that could be slowly draining your bank account without you even realizing it. And no, I'm not talking about the library late fees. Although, to be honest, I've had an overdue copy of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, since 1999. If they come after me, I'm 7 grand in the hole. I'm sorry, these books are a little overdue.

Now, I'm talking about modern-day money leaks, non-essential expenses we pay for over and over without even thinking twice about it. And sometimes they're baking. into our daily habits and routines, and sometimes there are automatic charges slowly siphoning that scrylla from our savings. Too much alliteration? Deal with it. Sunglasses come down. People are cheering. That's for the editors. Don't put that in post. So today I'm going to share 12 money leaks that could be draining your bank account so you can cut them out, save money, and reach your goals faster. And speaking of goals, please help me reach my goal of 200,000

subscribers just by hitting those like, subscribe, and share buttons. We're so close to you guys. We'll have a pizza party maybe. Who knows? Pizza time. All right, first thing on our list of money leaks is Unnecessary subscriptions. Now, this is a big one, because they're automatically coming out of your account,

and they're easy to forget about if you're not paying attention. And there are so many things you can have a subscription for these days. Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and that's just streaming TV. There's also Spotify, Apple, Apple, Cloud, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Home Chef, Birch Box, Barkbox, Dropbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Xbox, Game Pass, Stitch Fix, Dollar Shave Club, Peloton, and probably just a matter of time before someone offers a Star Trek T-shirt subscription.

What's that? Oh, that already exists. Good, good. We're doing great as a society, guys. We're doing great. My disappointment is immeasurable. What I'm getting at here is that you could be spending a lot of money on subscriptions without even realizing it.

Now, some of these may not seem expensive on their own, but they can add up faster than your Weight Watchers points at a Krispy cream. That donut shake chocolate cake for 44 points? You can't have your cake and drink it too, Brenda. I'm sorry. Back at it again at Krispy Kreme. Number two, gym memberships. Now hang on, before your CrossFit Bros stop mid-Wod to bash me in the comments,

hear me out. If you have a gym membership and you're not using it, like, at all, you should definitely cancel it. If you have a gym membership you are using, good for you. I'm jealous. But if you're really trying to save money right now to reach a financial goal, like paying off debt or saving up an emergency fund, you may want to consider an alternative option.

Is it possible for you to get the same exercise at home? Would it make sense to purchase some inexpensive home equipment that could save you money in the long run? Now, I want to be clear here, I'm not saying neglect your physical health. It's super important. And maybe a gym membership is something you keep if you're that guy or gal who never skips leg day.

Now, I always skip leg day, and it's the only reason I can fit into skinny jeans. Do you know you're supposed to work out your lower body, too? I'm just saying, be open to other ways of staying. in shape that may cost you less money. Number three on the list? Bottled water. Okay, look, is bottled water generally an unnecessary purchase that could be cut?

Yes. Do I buy it? Also, yes. Lay off of me, it's a personal decision for my family. But seriously, I know what it costs, and I'm willing to pay for it and budget for it. Specifically, a half a cent per ounce for a 40-pack of Kirkland's signature purified bottled water. Now, a lot of you can drink tap water, and if the kind of water you drink is not important

to you, but you're always buying bottled water out of convenient. or habit, then this is something you can cut to save a few bucks. Number four, overdraft fees. This is the fee the bank charges you when you spend more than you actually have in your checking account. At a lot of banks, an overdraft fee can run upwards of $35, so even just one overdraft a month can start to add up. In fact, the average consumer pays over $250 annually on overdraft fees.

That sucks. Number five, new books. Now, let me be clear here. I'm not saying don't read books. I'm not even saying don't buy books. But the next time you're about to pull the trigger on that brand new hardback copy of whatever Oprah's favorite B-treat is, just check to see if you can buy it used elsewhere for a lower price. Except my book, of course.

Link in description below. But really, it's new, so you're probably not going to find it at Goodwill used yet. It'll get there, don't worry. They always do. Goodwill always comes for us. It comes for us all. That was terrifying. And also, don't forget about your good old local library.

This can be a nice little money-saving hack. especially if you have kids. And bonus hack, check out one of my favorite apps called Libby, which connects to your library card and allows you to rent e-books and audiobooks completely free. Number six, overpriced movie snacks.

Or you could just say movie snacks. I mean, have you seen what they're charging for this stuff? It's absurd. According to an article from The Hustle, the typical price of a medium popcorn at the movie theater is $7.99. But it only costs the theater around 90 cents to produce a whole bag of popcorn.

That is a 788% markup. So if you go to the theater, the movies a lot, you always buy popcorn, candy, and a 73-ounce pib extra, you're not doing any favors for your bank account, or your body, truthfully. How is this a child-sized soda? Well, it's roughly the size of a two-year-old child. Listen, I'm not saying you should sneak in candy. But don't be a goober and go into debt for a box of whoppers, okay?

And that brings me to the next thing on the list, which I'll get to as soon as I give some love to the sponsor of today's episode. You know what I just realized? The internet is a lot like a waffle house, okay? Both are great most of the time, but they can become a big risk, especially after midnight. And one of the risks with the internet is identity theft. Okay, I data broker sells your information, bada bina bada boom,

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All right, next on the list, the movies. Yeah, just the movies in general, so expensive. I just checked the ticket prices at my local theater. Check this out, 2379 for one adult ticket after fees. Now, if you look closely, why am I buying tickets to Mean Girls the Musical? I'm asking you, what's wrong with me? That's really weird. Yeah, it's a cool experience, and I love seeing a good,

movie with other people in a theater, but I also enjoy watching movies at home. It's cheaper, a lot more comfortable, and I don't have to wear a trench coat just to hide my Sour Patch kids. And these days, you usually don't have to wait that long for a new release to be available on a streaming platform. Sometimes they're even available on the same day. Next on the list, number eight, name brand medication. If you're buying name brand meds every month, prescription, or over-the-counter, you might want to take a look at how much money it could save you to switch to generic. They have the same active ingredients as their name-brand counterparts. They have to go through the same rigorous FDA approval process, and they're usually way more affordable.

So ask your doctor or pharmacist if generic is right for you. Corporate needs you to find the differences between this picture and this picture. They're the same picture. Number nine, daily lunch is out. Now this may come as a shock to you, but food costs more at a restaurant versus at home. These restaurants mark up their food by 300% to stay in business. And lunch is a daily thing. You've got to eat it like every day.

So think about how much you could save if you adjusted your habits and you started bringing your lunch to work or eating at home every day. Even if you only save a couple of bucks per meal, that's going to add up over 30 days, over 365 days. Number 10, alcohol at restaurants and bars. There's typically a huge markup on alcoholic drinks at restaurants, especially liquor. I mean, the standard liquor markup in bars can be as much as 400 to 500 percent. I mean, here in Tennessee alone, we have a 15% liquor tax on top of the price. Chances are you can find your favorite drinks at the stores, and you can make your favorite cocktails at home,

and it's going to cost you way less per drink than it will at your local red lobster. No hate, love a good lobsterita, especially with the cheddar bay biscuits. Dip it and rip it, my friends. That's disgusting. Number 11, fancy lattes. If stopping at Starbucks for a venty, extra hot,

no-foam vanilla latte with whip, two packets of splendor and a sprinkle of cinnamon as part of your daily routine, fine, you do you. Just make sure you know what this is. habit is costing you, and that's all I'm going to say about it, okay? I'm not mad at lattes, but I'm mad if you're complaining that you're broke while getting an $8 latte every day on the way to work. And finally, number 12, appetizers. Here's my hot take. Appetizers are a scam.

Gasp! A little dramatic, I know, but personally, I think they're a rip-off. There are already so many calories in your entree. Why do you need a meal before the meal? If someone's like, hey, do you want to get five pieces of string cheese, you'd be like, no way, man, I'm about to eat a meal. where you're like, what if we deep fried it and you could dip it in marinera before the meal? You're like, sign me up. Let's get some mozzarella sticks. And you're telling me, I'm going to pay $10 for an onion

just because it's fried and shaped like a flour? No thanks, Tom Hanks. All right, I know by now some of you are chomping at the bit to jump in the comments like, dude, these are small expenses. It's not even going to make a difference if you cut these things out. But hold your horses negative, Nancy, and sell the horse while you're at it.

Before you embarrass yourself in front of the internet, let's add them up, shall we? Play this out with me. Let's say you've got subscribers, to Netflix, YouTube TV, and Apple TV Plus. But you haven't clicked that Apple icon in like five months because you lost interest in Ted Lassow halfway through season three before it got good again.

Yeah, it's horrible. No, thank you. Now, if you cut that subscription, that's an extra $10 a month you get to keep in your bank account. Now, let's say you tried CrossFit for a hot minute back in 2022, but you never canceled the membership because you had to write a physical letter and give it to the gym owner in person, and as an Eniogram 9, you'd much rather just curl up under a blanket

and keep paying $140 a month to avoid the conflict. Now, if you put on your big boy bridges and you cancel the membership, that brings our monthly savings to $150 a month. Now let's talk overdraft fees. If you typically overdrafts around once a month

and you develop some good money habits to put an end to the overdrafts, this could save you around $35 a month, bringing the monthly savings total to $185. And if you're someone who overdrafts a lot, here's what you need to do. Download the every dollar budgeting app and start making a plan for your money.

I know you don't want to hear that, but trust me, your wallet and bank account we'll thank you later. All right, back to savings. Let's say you discover there's a generic version of your medication, and you make that switch. More than half of all patients switching from brand name to generic,

save more than 50 bucks a month. Now, this brings our savings total to $235 every single month. Now let's say you take a good look at what you spend on food every month, and it's way too high, because you are just addicted to those cheddar bay biscuits dipped into lobsterita. So you decide to start packing a lunch instead of eating out every day. You also stop getting appetizers

and stop getting drinks at restaurants, and bars, and you swap your latte for a drip coffee, and you stop buying bottled water and switch to tap water and filtered water from work instead. Add all that up, and you could be saving, get this, an extra $460 every single month, just by cutting out some of these unnecessary expenses. And that's without even giving up the overpriced bunch of crunch at the movie theater. But they got Butterfinger Beebees and paying full retail price. Those things are fire.

Get in my belly! Now I know this example is hypothetical, and not everyone's going to have all of these experiences but I wanted to put some numbers to it to show you how much of a difference it can make when you plug these money leaks. So take a look at your monthly expenses and re-evaluate your essential items. If you know there are some things you need to cut but it feels too hard to do it all at once, try cutting one thing every week to ease into it. And remember, you get to choose what you cut and what you keep paying for. If it's something you love but it's costing too much, maybe you can find a cheaper alternative.

And if you want more where that came from, I've got a ton of ideas on how to spend less and make more in my new book called Breaking Free from Broke, specifically in the chapter called Margin is Breathing Room. I'll drop a link in the description below if you want to pick up a copy. As always, make sure to like, subscribe, and share this with your friends who are currently jonesin' for a lobsterita. They truly need more help than this video can provide, but it's a start. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.