How Much We Actually Spend a Year On 11 Products That We Could Easily Give Up

People spend about $230 a year on decorations during the winter holidays, even though these decorations are taken off once the celebrations are over. To cut on this expense, we can always re-use past decorations or create something new with the things we already own. This is only one of the many things that put a hole in our pockets every year, even though they’re not something we really need.

We at Bright Side decided to take a look at the prices of the things we buy during the year, and came up with ideas to reduce our expenses.

1. Netflix subscription ($100 — $200)

Netflix streaming plans cost around $9 to $18 per month, which makes our total spending per year more than $100 to $200. People who only get to watch movies every once in a while can totally do away with the subscription and just stream free movies on legal sites like IMDB.TV and Crackle.

2. Bottled water ($100)

In 2019, the average person spent about $100 on bottled water. Instead of spending so much on water, we can always switch to drinking tap water and bring our own reusable tumbler everywhere. After all, bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water.

3. Fancy lingerie ($100)

A poll showed that most Americans spend less than $100 on lingerie during the year, but some spend up to $500 on these intimate items every year. Unlike underwear which is a necessity, we can definitely do without lingerie.

4. Multivitamins ($123)

More than 170 billion people take vitamin supplements and in total, they spend around $21 billion every year. This means that an average person spends about $123 a year on multivitamins, which don’t really have much of an effect on the body. It is recommended to follow a healthy diet instead.

5. In-app purchases ($100)

iPhone users splurged on about $100 worth of in-app purchases in 2019. Most of them were on games. This is one of the first expenses we can cut down on if we want or need to.

6. Air fresheners ($72)

Assuming that an air freshener costs about $3, and that it lasts for about 2 weeks on the highest setting, we could be spending $72 a year on just home perfume. We could just open the windows or get rid of odors with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil.

7. Gym membership ($1,345)

A survey reported that people spent about $112 per month in 2018, which adds up to a whopping $1,345 per year. We can always exercise without a gym or classes, especially since we can use our own body to work out and exercise routines are available for free on Youtube.

8. Fabric softener ($27)

The average American family washes about 300 loads of laundry per year. Assuming that the typical bottle of fabric softener costs around $3 and can do up to 34 loads, a household spends about $27 a year on fabric softener. Simply add a baking soda to the washer before starting the cycle to keep your clothes soft.

9. Active sportswear ($200)

Almost 20% of 860 people claimed to have spent up to $200 on athletic apparel in a year. We can simply slash our expenses by only spending money on sneakers that provide good support, a cotton T-shirt, socks, and pants.

10. ATM fees ($445)

Withdrawing money from an ATM can easily cost us a staggering $445 a year if we visit the ATM 8 times a month and the fee is $4.64. We can cut this expense down by planning ahead and withdrawing less frequently.

11. Makeup ($3,000)

A survey reported that an average woman spends almost $250 a month on makeup. This means in a year, the spending adds up to the massive amount of $3,000! Even if we don’t want to part with our makeup products, we can save some money by going barefaced instead.

Can you think of other things you buy but don’t actually need? How much do you spend on them per year?