Frugal Living » There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza

There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza

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There’s a hole in the bucket, dear liza, dear liza, there’s a hole in the bucket dear liza, a hole!

I recently discovered an article at Bankrate.com that estimated that consumers will pay More than 4.4 BILLION dollars in ATM fee’s this year.
I can practically hear you ask, “Why are people being charged an exorbitant amount of money?”

Well, for 1 dirty little word, Convenience. 

The average foreign ATM surcharge fee (and by foreign, I mean simply banking at any other bank besides your own), has risen to $3.03 per transaction.

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Well wait a minute you say, “It usually says $1.50 or $2.00”. Well, friend, the fee that you pay at the Foreign ATM (on average) is $1.78, in addition to that fee, Your own bank assesses a fee of $1.25 (on average) for a grand total of $3.03 per transaction. If you take money out of an ATM just twice per week, you’ve spent over $315 in one year just for the “Convenience” of having instant money at your fingertips.
It’s not quite as convenient when you look at that way, is it?

Convenience, my friend, costs our wallets very dearly. If you have a receipt from your latest grocery shopping trip, I challenge you to grab a calculator and add up the cost of the “Convenience” food items on it.

Simple items that can be made at home in the same (or less) amount of time that it takes to make them from a boxful of overly processed contents, such as a Cake or brownie mix. Perhaps you have other items on there too, such as flavored coffee creamers or side dishes like Alfredo Noodles, but did you know that you can make many of these items at home, ahead of time, at a fraction of the cost of the store-bought counterparts?

If you commit yourself to make just 12 homemade convenience mixes a month you would save an average of $300 per year. View Convenience Mix Recipes

If there’s an inconvenient hole in your bucket, Fix it dear henry.

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Budget graphic with the text “There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza” highlighting how convenience costs can drain your wallet

Melissa 'Liss' Burnell, Founder of Budget101

👩‍🍳 About the Author

Melissa "Liss" Burnell started Budget101.com in 2001 because she needed it to exist — not because she saw a market opportunity. She was feeding a family of four on under $200 a month, and people kept asking how, so she started writing everything down.

That turned into 25 years of recipes, debt-busting strategies, and DIY content — including figuring out how to make 128 loads of laundry detergent for less than $2. Millions of families have quietly used this site to stretch a dollar without feeling like they're sacrificing anything. She's also the author of two bestselling budget cooking ebooks, available on Amazon.

📚 More on the About page, or find her on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

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