Money Crashers: Top 5 Things That Are the Biggest Waste of Money

The point of frugality, I've often noted, isn't to avoid spending money; it's to avoid wasting money. Some expenses, even if they're not strictly necessities, are still worth the money. I'm not at all embarrassed about indulging in the occasional Frappuccino, for instance - especially since I use survey credits to reload my Starbucks card. Nor will I apologize for indulging in hot showers and having a large—perhaps even mildly excessive—collection of books. These are luxuries that, for me, provide enough pleasure to justify their rather modest price tags.

The expenses that really bug me are the ones that eat up money and natural resources, and provide nothing of value in return. Expenses like bottled water, for instance, which in many cases is literally nothing but filtered tap water—which you could easily filter yourself at home for much less.

So my latest Money Crashers article is more or less a rant about five of these utterly unnecessary expenses and why people should stop wasting their money on them. In addition to bottled water, I cover K-Cups, microwave popcorn, dryer sheets, and cable TV —explaining why they're unnecessary, what the cheaper alternative is, and how much money you could save by switching.

Read about it at Top 5 Things That Are the Biggest Waste of Money, and feel free to join the ranting in the comments section.