It’s no secret that some people make really bad financial decisions. Often, this results in throwing away money, ending up deep in debt, or worse. Some actions are just so obvious that the person who made them is a person who makes terrible financial decisions.
The ability to spot these people is a useful skill to avoid getting financially entangled with them or being placed in awkward spots.
Friends Who Ask for Money
You’ve probably known someone like this. They’re always strapped for cash. They always have a compelling story. They always promise to pay you back. And they rarely do.
Falling For Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
Gullibility isn’t the only reason people fall for these schemes. Buying into them shows a lack of seriousness and commitment to dedicating oneself to a good job and hard work.
Leading Lavish Lifestyles With No Savings
There are people, and it’s not just young adults, who think there will always be time to save later or that their incomes will take care of them for retirement. With that mindset, they spend all their money on material possessions, expensive trips, etc.
Really Young Adults Driving Expensive Cars
Of course, that young person might actually be making a great salary and can afford that car. More often, though, it’s a sign of someone with their first job in adult life overspending on flashy things. It often doesn’t turn out well.
Knowing the Monthly Payment but Not the Total Cost
Believe it or not, there really are people like this. They base buying decisions on whether they can make the monthly payments, not on what the total cost will be and how long they’ll be paying it.
Impulsive Spending Right After Getting Paid
Unfortunately, a lot of people run out and spend wildly right after they get a paycheck. Often, they wind up coming up short on rent and paying bills. And forget about savings.
Complaining About Money but Turning Down Work
This is another type of person you’ve probably known. They’re always complaining about their bills and not having enough money, yet when they have an opportunity to earn some, they’ve got better things to do. There’s a lot of overlap between this group and the people who ask friends for money.
Being Behind on Rent but Never Missing Happy Hour
An unfortunate reality is that many working people struggle to keep up with rent and other expenses, and it’s easy to feel for them. When someone like that always seems to have money to go out and have fun, though, it’s not that easy.
Shabby Apartment Complex but Nice Furniture and Car
This is a sign of someone too hooked on material possessions. It’s also a sign of someone living beyond their means and likely racking up a lot of credit card debt.
Bald Tires on an Expensive Car
Here’s a giveaway that someone is paying too much for a car. When you have to skip basic and critical maintenance and repairs because all your money is going to a car payment, that’s a problem.
Making Risky Financial Moves Based on Future Expectations
Making goals based on future hopes and expectations is fine. Risky financial moves and commitments aren’t. You should make those decisions based on your present situation, not where you think you’ll be several years down the road.
Carrying Long-Term Credit Card Balances
Many people, probably most, will carry a credit card balance over from time to time and have to pay interest. Doing that chronically is one of the worst ways to manage money because you’re throwing away so much money to interest and getting crushed by debt.
Renting Furniture
There are times when renting furniture makes sense, such as when you know you’ll be living somewhere for just a short time. As a long-term strategy, though, it’s a bad move. Over time, you’ll pay way more than you would have by buying.
Buying Designer Baby Clothes
Here’s a sign of a wasteful spender. They’re baby clothes! They’re going to get gross and stained, babies outgrow them quickly, and the clothes don’t “work” any better than regular clothes do.
Declining the 401K and Matching Contributions
A 401K is one of the best ways for working Americans to build funds for retirement. Contributions are automatic and come out of pre-tax earnings; the funds grow over time, and employers often match contributions up to a certain amount. Not taking advantage of one of these plans so you have more money now is a huge red flag.
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Is Poorly Educated
We all like to think we are always acting at our most intelligent and rational. Yet, ignorance from a lack of education can sneak up on us or be on full display in others.
Awareness is key to preventing and correcting some of our worst ideas and behavior. Here are 15 signs of ignorance and poor education to look out for.
15 Behaviors That Are a Dead Giveaways Someone Is Poorly Educated
15 Things People Mistakenly Think Are Real but Aren’t
People believe all kinds of ridiculous things, and they believe some true-sounding things that are actually false as well. Some of these things have been repeated for ages and will probably never go away.
Others have sprung up more recently and spread fast, thanks to the internet. While you probably can’t convince the people who repeat such misinformation that they’re wrong, you can at least know the truth when they try to push it on you!
15 Things People Mistakenly Think Are Real but Aren’t
The 20 Most Successful Singers Of All Time
It’s easy to judge the success of an artist based on how many Grammys they’ve won or by how much money they’ve made. A better look at success, however, is to see how many singles they’ve released relative to the number of Grammys they’ve won.
According to BonusInsider, these artists are the most successful based on these metrics.