12 new 'necessities' that drain your cash |
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Cable TV
Bruce Springsteen described cable TV succinctly in his song "57
Channels (And Nothin' On)." But even if you can't imagine living
without C-SPAN, you can save by dropping premium cable while holding
onto basic service.
Dropping premium channels should save you about $25 to $30 a month, or $300 to $360 a year.
If you're more ambitious, you can save a bundle by dropping premium and basic service. Basic service often
runs about $30 to $35 a month, or $360 to $420 a year. So if you drop cable entirely, you'll save $55 to $65 a month, or $660
to $780 annually.
Manicure/pedicure
Standard manicures average $10 to $15 at nail shops and $20 to $25 at spas and salons. Standard pedicures run $15 to $25 (nail
shops) and $35 to $40 (spas and salons). Acrylic nails run $25 to $35 (nail shops) and $35 to $45 (spas and salons).
If you only skipped one of each per month, you would save $50 to $110 a month, or $600 to $1,200 a year. Just
doing your own weekly manicure will save you $520 to $1,300 annually.
| Many of today's new "necessities" actually are entitlements that leave people deeper in debt. Here are 12 luxuries you might be better off leaving behind. |
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Botox
What, give up Botox? Don't frown. Those treatments -- typically
scheduled every three months -- cost on average between $300 and
$1,200 per visit.
Let nature take its course and save $1,200 to $4,800 a year.
Bottled water
Some people consider bottled water a necessity, even though the perfect low-cost alternative is available from any faucet in
their homes.
"Bottled water drives me crazy," Hunt says. "There are so many studies that show that tap water is better for
our kids because it has fluoride and it's not stripped of all the minerals."
Drink tap water and pocket the $25 to $40 monthly fee for bottled water delivery, based on online averages.
Second car
Hands down, a second car is the highest-ticket "new necessity" in America today. It's so prevalent that Yeager is doing his book
promotion tour by bike just to point up the sheer absurdity of our one-person, one-car paradigm.
Hunt, who routinely leased a new car every three years for 22 years until her finances crashed and burned, tried
carpooling with her husband 10 years ago and never bought another car.
"I said, 'You know what? Oprah has a driver,'" she says. "That was such a wakeup call to me, because a car had
become a necessity of life."
Not only does she not miss the car payment, maintenance,
license, registration, insurance fees and outlay for gas ("We save
at least $1,000 a month," she estimates), but there's that domino
effect: She no longer zooms off to the mall to shop at the hint
of a sale.
Cell phone
Those TV ads that feature parents distraught over their family's cell phone bill may qualify as truth in advertising for once.
"This drives me crazy," Hunt says. "I'm sorry, a 4-year-old does not need a cell phone. I think even a family
with teenagers could get by with one or two prepaid phones that they pass around."
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