Each of us has those "little money leaks" in one way or another. As I was reading this article, in my head I was shaking my finger at all of you who let the small things eat up your savings; then I looked in the mirror...

I spend hundreds of dollars monthly on eating out! I'm guilty of the "money leaks" too.

Lately, however, we've attempted to be more wise about the way we spend money on groceries, enabling us to have good food to take to work and school. We religiously pack lunches late at night, so when that temptation to go out to eat arises, we really don't have a reason. Packing a lunch (something so SIMPLE!) can end up saving us literally thousands of dollars a year! And it has!

Here are some of our families grocery shopping saving tactics: www.financialnut.com/how_to_prepare_a_grocery_shopping_budget

Yes, the opportunity costs of those small purchases can add up quickly, and it's difficult to remember that when considering that small purchase.  However, the long-term comparison would be more fair if the author used an APY more realistic than the "realistic 8% annual rate."  I don't know anyone who would say 8% is realistic right now.  

I agree with Jennifer that 8% is not realistic.  The other unrealistic number is the cost of cigarettes.  If anyone smokes, they probably buy closer to a pack a day than one per week.

I definitely have the money leak when it comes to eating out.  My goal for the next few months is to not get my daily large iced tea, which adds up to $2 per day.  I easily spend $30 a month on just take-out drinks, surely more when I add up the drink I get for my daughter when she is with me.

Is the salon nail fee supposedly per month?  I don't know anyone who spends $500 on fake nails per month!  Maybe $150-$175 for initial set and weekly upkeep, max!  Still a money leak, but I think the chart is a bit high.

hi folks, this is my first post [please be kind]. from jan 1, 1997 to dec 31, 2007 the s&p 500 returned and avg of 7.79% [not including dividend reinvesting]. i understand that right now, getting 8% is hard, but over a 10 year period seems possible. what i've done for a couple months is use a spreadsheet to track all of my expenditures. talk about shock. it's amazing to see where it all goes. also one of the things that i do is if i am able to "consistently" save money / reduce cost in an area / expenditure [i.e. utilities, insurance, etc...], i "automatically" allocate that amount of money saved into a separate fund.

8% is very realistic - remember the example assumes a long-term horizon (generally characterized as 10 or more years).  Although the financial markets are not experiencing attractive returns at the moment, over the next 10 years an 8% average annualized return is very reasonable.  

What is UNrealistic is the amount one could save, $175.994.  No one in real life spends the amounts daily on all items.  It does drive home a point. But I think most people with daily habits cut corners in other areas in order to support them.  smokers do not spend a buck per day on gum 365 days per year. I know of no one that does those money drains to the frequency projected.  

That's like me saying since I don't rob banks x times per year, I am saving x years of jail time.  Might work on paper but not in real life (lofty projections of money drains)  Also one can't cherry pick market returns by select 10 year periods.  I have been putting 5% of my income in my 401K (vanguard institutional index) it is worth less than invested these past 5 years.

JCig, you cherry picked the 10 years with the largest rate of return of the stock market.  A more realistic is the historical average since the early 20th century (pre depression) to present.  That is what most non salesmen professional evaluators pick for rate of return.

in spite of some quibbling over rates of returns the point is valid. Those little things add up. For me it was Service charges, over the last while I've really made the point of making sure all my payments were on time, keeping my minimum balance high enough to get free checking etc. All those amounts add up over time. I don't know how much I might make if I invested it all but I do know that I'm keeping more of my pay cheque than I was before!

almost there, it wasn't my intention to cherry pick [although it does look that way]. from jan 1, 2000 to dec 31, 2007 the s&p 500 returned and avg of 1.06% [not including dividend reinvesting]. it was definitely the first 3 years of [1997-1999] that held up the avg. however i did go back to the '50's [that's as far as i was able to go] and from jan 1, 1950 to dec 31, 2007 the s&p 500 returned and avg of 8.66% [not including dividend reinvesting]. i hope this helps. however what's most important [to me] is cost control. i always try to put into perspective that just about everything i purchase is with after-tax dollars.