Personal Finance Fails That Drive Me Crazy

The Twitter “Fail Whale”

Subscribing to every TV channel ever invented. Now don’t get me wrong, if TV is your passion, by all means go ahead and sign up for the Sports Channel Package, the Film Channel, or the Unlimited History Documentaries Bundle.  But it’s pretty widely accepted that TV is more of a luxury than a necessity – especially when you already have financial problems.  Side note:  I love me some TV.  I absolutely cannot live without certain TV shows.  BUT when I was paying off my debt, you better believe I did NOT have a cable bill.  And yes, it was torture.

Drowning in debt and thinking it’s okay.  We all know those people that rely on their credit cards to save them.  I used to be one of them.  It would be an understatement to say that being weighed down by credit card debt is uncomfortable.  It’s not fun living month to month wondering if you can pay your bill.  Thanks to my favorite guy, Dave Ramsey, most of us know that:  debt = bad, cash = good.

Buying a brand-new car every other year.  True story:  I had a early ’90s Honda all through high school and college.  Even after college when I started making the big bucks (ha ha), I didn’t buy a new car.  Even when my speedometer stopped working and I had no idea how fast I was going, I didn’t buy a new car (it’s pretty easy to just go with the flow of the rest of the cars).  When my poor little old Honda finally just stopped putting along (literally), then – and only then – did I buy a new car.  Which I plan to drive until the day the engine konks out on me.  I realize this is a little extreme, but let’s face it, cars are a horrible investment and only good for getting you from point A to point B.

Applying for the Bank of Your Best Friend Credit Card.  No.  I get a tiny ulcer everytime Lloyd’s friends go on a group outing.  Guess who always foots the bill and gets IOUs from all his friends?  That would be Lloyd.  Guess what?  In my experience, you very rarely get paid back in full from everyone without pestering them like a whiney kid every five minutes.  Either don’t let friends borrow from you or just expect to be nagging them until you get the cash.

Sporting a Coach bag on Target budget.  I’m not knocking those people that CAN afford a Coach bag, buy one as a reward for a big accomplishment, or get one as a gift.  I’m talking about the people that don’t pay their water bill so they can spend their paycheck on a handbag.  Priorities, people!

What personal finance fails annoy the crap out of you?  Do tell!  I’m sure I’ll have plenty more lists in the future…

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