Why I have no money, and how not to be me

Common mistakes made with money (*cough* all my mistakes and bad habits) and how to avoid them.

How to avoid this

Put your money in a savings account and a checking account and leave it. Don't get me wrong, it's good to have both of these types of accounts. But neither of these accounts provide you with any sort of return as their interests rates are typically very low. This statement leads to the question, what else do I do with my money? You should put a portion of your money into higher risk investments like stocks or bonds. An advisable investment would be into money mutual accounts, in these investments you'll give money to a company (such as Vanguard) that will investment your money for you in a diversified fashion. Money mutual accounts will invest in stocks, bonds, and sometimes money markets.

If you walk into any store on a regular basis then you know how easy it is to pick up things you didn't come for or don't need. Flashy signs and good marketing makes it easy to spend money that you shouldn't. That's why making a list is important. Knowing what you're going into a store to buy and having a written list to remind you will help limit compulsive buying.

The gnome makes you "need" the utility gloves.

We all have interests and hobbies, many cost money to keep current or to experience. That's just fine, everyone needs a hobby, but everyone doesn't need many hobbies. Pick a hobby maybe two, and limit your expenditure to said hobby.

Or you end up like me; buried up to your neck with Trading Cards

The small things add up. Keep track of your expenses and you'll start to notice that small expenditures (a soda here, a bag of chips there) add up to a much heftier sum. If you're more aware of these things you are less likely to gut your entire paycheck on little things.