Where Has All The Money Gone?

Most of us work hard and long hours from Mondays to Fridays and sometimes weekends too. We wake up early, drive through maddening traffic every day, rush through lunch, battle the same maddening traffic to get home.

We start thinking ..."When can I finally have enough money to afford my retirement ? or to buy a house ? or to bring my whole family for a vacation to Disneyland ? WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO EVERY MONTH?

Sounds familiar? In fact people who earn a decent living and still have problems making ends meet are probably in the majority in today's society.

Let us look at some of the Biggest Monetary Waste and these are places where most of our hard-earned money has gone to.

Monetary Waste #1 : EXTRAVAGANT DINING. People naturally just love to eat and especially in the Asian culture where eating can sometimes be a past-time hobby. As more families are becoming more affluent and more air-conditioned high-class and stunning environment food outlets are opened, eating out becomes a social norm and we spend so much more in restaurants for the settings and environment of the place.

Monetary Waste #2 : GAMBLING. I read an interesting fact once and it says that the chances of striking it rich with lottery winnings was slimmer than being hit by terrorist. In another report I read, it states that gambling can easily be more addictive than smoking or drinking and is potentially a silent but quick robber of our savings. I noticed that lots of people tend to want to try their luck in lottery, horse-race betting and even casino. Small times of betting on 4D numbers also contribute to gambling as well. That's the main reason why illegal money lenders or so called "Ah Longs" sprouting all over especially in the Asia region.

Monetary Waste #3 : PREMIUM COFFEES. It's okay to treat yourself occasionally with a premium coffeehouse blend ( eg. Coffeebean, Starbucks San Francisco Coffee, and etc ). But, if going there is part of your routine every other day, then the caffeine from these coffee outlets are going to drain your savings away just like how you drink them down.

Monetary Waste #4 : PAYING TOO MUCH INTEREST. Do you routinely pay your credit card balances promptly and in full ? Those who carry unpaid balances over from month to month may find that you are on your credit card company's list of super customers. These are small amounts on a monthly basis that actually adds-up to be a huge amount if the balances are kept on from month to month. When you don't pay promptly and in full, you will be charged for the interest and also charged for late payment charges, where these are all unseen money going out of your savings every month multiple by the number of credit cards you have.

Monetary Waste #5 : COMPULSIVE SHOPPING. Do you come across people who will go to the mall every weekend and every time they visit the mall they will come back out with a few shopping bags in their hands. It becomes worse especially for those who are brand-conscious and everything they wear on them has to be branded (eg. Guess, D&G, Armani, and etc ). These premium brands simply cost 5 to 10 times more than just any other local brand-names. And, if a person frequents the shopping mall on a weekly basis and they are also the brand-conscious type, imagine where would all their money gone to ?