Small steps to cut unnecessary expenses can add up to big savings
By Maya Dollarhide and Donna Fuscaldo, Updated June 26, 2025 AARP Published October 07, 2021/ Updated June 26, 2025
Bank fees, unused streaming subscriptions and extended warranties are just a few of the unnecessary costs that can pile up and take a big bite out of your wallet.
If you aren’t watching your spending, it can be easy to blow your budget, especially if you’re retired and living on a fixed income.
Get back on track by eliminating these 11 common money wasters.
1. Ghost subscriptions
Subscriptions are easy to get online — and easy to forget. More than 4 out of 5 Americans have at least one paid subscription they don’t use, according to a 2024 survey by financial technology company Self.
Some automatic payments, such as for monthly utility bills, are convenient and can help you avoid late fees. Others can turn into money leaks if you’re not watchful. For example, a subscription to Ancestry.com starts at $25 a month and a cloud storage subscription to Dropbox starts at $12 a month, but if you’re not actively researching your family tree or storing documents on a cloud, canceling these subscriptions before they auto-renew can help you save.
2. Streaming services
U.S. adults with streaming subscriptions spend on average more than $200 a year for services they don’t use, a 2025 CNET survey found. Tess Zigo, a certified financial planner based in Palm Harbor, Florida, recommends thinking critically about your media subscriptions. “Netflix, as an example, has drastically increased prices, like most providers,” she says. “Go through and determine how many streaming services you need. We currently have five and are trying to trim these down to one or two that we really value.”
3. Water leaks
In addition to keeping you up at night, a drip-drip-drip from a leaky faucet, toilet or showerhead can drive up your water bill. A single faucet that leaks at a rate of one drip per second wastes more than 3,000 gallons per year — the equivalent of over 180 showers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
4. Bank fees
The average monthly fee for an interest-bearing checking account is $15.45, or around $185 a year, according to Bankrate.com. But these fees are avoidable.
If your bank doesn’t offer an interest-bearing checking account with no fee, consider opening an account at a credit union. (Credit unions typically have fewer fees than commercial banks.) Or, if you’re willing to give up the brick-and-mortar bank experience, many online-only banks offer no-fee checking accounts.
5. Mutual fund fees
A mutual fund company, like any business, has expenses, including paying its executives, managers, accountants and other employees. As a result, some charge customers hefty fees.
Been a while since you shopped around? Today, the average stock mutual fund charges about 0.4 percent of the fund’s assets a year, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group. That’s well below the average mutual fund fee a few decades ago.
6. Food delivery
Ordering in has never been easier thanks to food delivery apps such as Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash. Americans spend nearly $1,600 a year on food delivery services, according to one survey.
There are a couple simple ways to save when ordering in. Call the restaurant to see if they’ll deliver to you directly — it’s often cheaper than ordering through a delivery app. Also, see if your credit card entitles you to waived fees for certain delivery apps.
7. Heat fiends and cooling devils
You certainly don’t want your home to be sweltering all summer or frigid all winter. But do you really need the house set at 72 degrees when you’re at work? The U.S. Department of Energy says you can save as much as 10 percent a year on heating and cooling by adjusting your thermostat 7 to 10 degrees from its normal setting for eight hours a day.
Get a programmable thermostat and you can have the house cooled or heated to the temperature you prefer when you get home. These devices start at as little as $25 for a basic model. There are also smart thermostats that let you control your home’s heating and cooling system remotely from your phone.
8. Energy vampires
A number of devices, from computers to printers to televisions to coffee makers, quietly consume electricity when you’re not using them. According to one study, such “energy vampires” can consume up to nearly one-fourth of an average household’s electricity use.
Of course, you’re not going to turn off your refrigerator to reduce energy, but there are plenty of devices you can power down when they’re not in use to lower your electric bill.
One easy and effective tactic: Instead of plugging electronics directly into wall outlets, use power strips to provide juice to smaller devices, like laptops and phone chargers, and turn off the power strips before you leave the house.
9. Books
Brace yourself, bibliophiles: A new adult paperback will set you back about $16 to $20, according to Publishers Weekly. A recent hardcover costs about $30.
Generally, you can borrow thousands of free books, e-books and audiobooks through your local public library. (Just make sure to return them on time to avoid late fees.) In addition, Gutenberg.org, a nonprofit and the original purveyor of online books, offers free access to more than 75,000 e-books that are in the public domain.
10. Extended warranties
Many products come with a standard warranty, where the manufacturer guarantees it will fix or replace the item for free if it breaks or is damaged during a specified period. But if you just purchased a new mobile phone, refrigerator or car, chances are the seller offered you an extended warranty for a fee.
Extended warranties, though, often go unused. They also frequently have a number of exclusions where repairs aren’t covered.
“Extended warranties are now a big business. Companies bake in the profits. So it’s not in their interest to live up to all their marketing,” warns Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com. “If you’ve ever struggled to get an insurance company to fulfill its policy, this is no different.”
Tip: Instead of purchasing an extended warranty, see if there are any protections if you pay with your credit card. Many credit card companies will reimburse you or replace the product if it’s damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase. Visa and American Express offer this type of protection. If you have a Mastercard, the length of time varies from 45 to 90 days, depending on the card.
11. Unnecessary groceries
We’ve all been there: We stock up at the supermarket on groceries we plan to eat, but the food sits untouched in our refrigerator until it spoils and we have no choice but to toss it. If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone — the average family of four tosses approximately $3,000 worth of uneaten food into the garbage. At a time when grocery prices are on the rise, reducing how much food you waste can be a big money saver.
A few ways to limit food waste: Store dry goods like rice and flour in airtight containers so they stay fresh longer; freeze certain foods before they expire; and don’t purchase foods in bulk if you’re an empty nester and can’t finish a 12-pack of potato chips before they expire.
Maya Dollarhide is a freelance writer whose work has been published by MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Investopedia and other national publications.
Donna Fuscaldo is a contributing writer and editor focusing on personal finance and health. She has spent over two decades writing and covering news for several national publications including TheWall Street Journal,Forbes,Investopedia and HerMoney.
