The following is a post by staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. Her blog covers living expenses, saving for your future, and the fun stuff along the way.

I found another article on Yahoo Finance that made me cringe, 4 Upgrades That Waste Your Money. They give thorough explanations for each of their choices, but their ultimate decision doesn’t pertain to everybody. Here’s their list of 4 wastes:

1) A Hybrid Car

2) Store Memberships

3) A Rewards Credit Card

4) A Stylish New Wardrobe

Based on their explanations, the only one that fits me would be #4.

Hybrid Car

The hybrid makes sense if you do a lot of driving or think gas prices will go up and we do both. My husband is a sports official as well as a school librarian. We also use his car for almost all of our weekend driving so he drives between 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year. A Prius just made sense since it also had the storage capacity he needed for all of the above.

Store Membership

We have storage space in our pantry and a chest freezer, so we do buy in bulk. We use our store membership to Sam’s Club for items that we would definitely pay more for elsewhere. We also don’t buy more than we’d use anyway. So far, I’d say we’ve only wasted about $10 in fruit and that was only because it slid under my front seat and I forgot about it…it wasn’t a happy week for the fruit or my car…

Rewards Credit Cards

We don’t carry a balance on our rewards credit cards, so I don’t mind the higher interest rates. We also don’t spend just to spend, which makes the rewards extra yummy. We also are two of the minority that spend less with credit than we do with cash. I figure it’s because a record of our spending stares me in the face with credit, but once cash is gone, it’s like we never had it.

Clothing and Material Goods

According to the article, money can buy happiness, but not with material goods. Experiences like hobbies and vacations are the true paths to the good life. I would have to agree. Beyond the basic necessities, there are a few extras I need (my car, air conditioning, and a computer come to mind), but the parts of my life that make me the person I am are the times I’m with friends and family – hobbies, hanging out, and travelling with my husband – those are the true gifts in my life.

What do you think of their list? Do you think #1, 2, and 3 are wasteful too?