10 Things People Waste the Most Money on in 2025
Written by
Jamela Adam
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Wasteful spending is a habit for many Americans, especially among younger generations. According to a recent Motley Fool analysis, Millennials and Gen Z have the highest rates of wasteful spending, and it’s costing them serious money.
Here are the top 10 areas where they spend the most unnecessary money.
1. Eating Out (38%)
Grabbing lunch on your break, meeting friends for dinner or ordering Uber Eats during a busy week might seem harmless in the moment, but it can get pretty expensive over time — especially since you’re often expected to tip 15% to 20% when eating out.
Even if you just spend $20 a day on restaurant meals, it could still add up. For example, if you eat out three times a week, that’s $240 extra a month and almost $3,000 a year.
You don’t have to go cold turkey and stop eating out altogether, but try cutting back to just one restaurant meal a week and meal prep the rest.
2. Impulse Buying Online (34%)
With influencers on Instagram and TikTok constantly bombarding you with new trendy “must-haves,” it can be really hard to resist buying things you didn’t plan for. Amazon’s free two-day shipping doesn’t help either.
One minute you’re just scrolling, the next you’ve got three boxes at your door (and you have no clue why you bought any of it). These spur-of-the-moment purchases can blow up your budget, take up space and often end up collecting dust.
To break this wasteful habit, try waiting 24 to 48 hours before buying anything you didn’t plan for. If you still want it later, go for it. If you realize you don’t actually need it, then congrats. You just saved yourself money.
3. Buying Convenience Foods and Drinks (29%)
Pre-cut fruit, bottled smoothies, frozen meals, and grab-and-go snacks save time, but you’re paying for packaging, not just food. These items often cost much more per serving than if you were to make them at home.
So, unless you absolutely need to, avoid buying convenience foods and drinks. It makes much more financial sense to just buy the ingredients and prep your own snacks in batches. It’s also healthier.
4. Wasting Leftovers or Expired Food (28%)
More than a quarter of Americans admit to throwing away food on a regular basis, whether that’s leftovers that they forgot to eat or fresh produce that spoils before they’re even cooked. A simple way to avoid this is by planning meals around what you already have in the fridge and using a first-in, first-out approach so you remember to cook and eat the older foods before they go bad.
5. Paying for Unused Streaming Services (25%)
Streaming subscriptions are one of the easiest things to overspend on because it’s easy to forget them. If you barely use these streaming services, you’re basically throwing money away. So, make sure to audit your subscriptions every month. Cancel the ones you haven’t opened in weeks and rotate based on what you’re actually watching.
Other Common Things People Waste Money on in 2025
According to the survey, here are the other five things Americans tend to waste their hard-earned money on:
- Buying new clothes even though they already have similar items (23%)
- Spending money on lottery tickets (23%)
- Ordering food delivery (22%)
- Leaving appliances or utilities running (21%)
- Buying coffee instead of making it at home (20%)
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