Stop the Trend Spending

From hoverboards and iPods to boy bands, trends will come, and they will undoubtedly go. Anyone who has experienced and come through the other side of a trend can look back and laugh, but we aren’t sure about their wallets. At Education Loan Finance, we refer to spending on the latest “it” items as “trend spending”. Always following the latest trends can wreak havoc on your personal finances.  We are not saying don’t do anything trendy and live under a rock. What we are saying is that rewarding yourself for making good decisions is important, but evaluate that choice carefully. Let’s take a look at the latest trend spending taking place, how much money is actually being spent and how it could add up over time.

Vaping

We’ve all been there, walking or driving along when you see the occasional cloud of vape on the sidewalk. If you’re lucky, that cloud of vape isn’t directly in front of you while you’re walking and you’re able to dodge that second-hand vape cloud. In addition to the envied clouds vaping creates, the flavors can range from cereal flavors to candy flavors.  Just like the flavors, the mods come in a variety of sizes too, from huge mod kits that make tons of vapor to tiny USB chargeable vapes like the JUUL®.

Vaping has become one of the biggest trends in the U.S. The more vapor you can produce the “cooler” you are according to the vaping community. According to a CDC report released in October 2018, JUUL Labs® account for nearly one in three e-cigarette sales, nationally. While vaping might be the latest trend, remember that its long-term health effects are still unknown. Couple the possible health effects with the cost and you might just convince yourself to stop.

JUUL® Starter Kit – $45

Four pack of pods $16.

Let’s assume those are purchased twice a month, so that is 24 x $16 = $384

Total Cost of Vaping for a Year= $429 

Assuming that you bought a JUUL® unit to do your vaping and you bought a new pack of pods every two weeks or twice a month, you’d be spending $429.00 a year. Over the course of four years, that’s about $2,000! We didn’t even include any sales tax in this equation, but many states are rolling out taxes on vaping products.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions used to be associated with Highlights® magazine or catalogs your Grandma would receive in the mail, but the 21st century has revitalized the subscription. Now, subscriptions can get us movies, vitamins, clothes, music, even dating sites and all are currently available at our fingertips. The subscription box industry, in particular, is experiencing rapid growth. Since 2014, the subscription box industry has increased by 890% according to a 2018 report by Hitwise. Subscriptions, though convenient, can really end up costing you in the long run.

The danger is that once your card is on file, it’s so easy to forget about the service. Here’s a list of the most popular monthly subscription services of 2018. Let’s say, you signed up for the FabFitFun® subscription box for a year. Now, this box is sent only four times a year based on the season. The box comes with full-sized premium products. In addition to the box you receive, you get access to the FabFitFunTV which shares workouts, access to exclusive member sales, and you have access to the entire community online.  Now, that box is $50.00 per season or $200 a year.

Fancy “Dranks”

It’s hard for a month to pass without seeing some crazy coffee creation from your local Starbucks®. Recently, the Witch’s Brew Frappuccino outshined the previous favorite, Unicorn Frappuccino and became an Instagram® trend.  Drink trends can really spiral out of control and quickly. If you actively participate in social media by checking your Instagram® or Facebook® every once in a while, you can’t help but notice them. In some weird way, all these Frappuccino drinks and IPAs flooding your news feed put pressure on you to join in and go purchase one of these beverages.

This pressure to join in on the cool coffee trend can come down on your wallet like a hammer. The average cost for a latte at Starbucks® as of 2018 was $5.75 for a Grande, and that doesn’t include any fancy cake pops! If you bought yourself a latte, once a week for a year, what are you really spending?

52 weeks a year x 5.75 = $299.00 a Year! You’re paying about $300 on lattes a year. Think of how far that money could go towards your student loan debt.

Health Food

The latest trend in the food and beverage industry is likely to come from your favorite online health influencer. It’s also likely that drink ends in a vowel like Kombucha, Matcha, or bubble tea. These drinks have been around for decades, but lately, they are skyrocketing due to a new health movement. Kombucha and other fermented drink sales were up 35.6% in 2017 according to FoodNavigator-USA. This fancy probiotic drink can really end up costing you at $3.75 per bottle. If you’re looking to drink it once a day, it adds up to $1,368 a year in total cost on Kombucha. We aren’t saying to deprive yourself of the latest health trends, but we’re suggesting to think wisely before deciding to purchase it. Really understand how that small amount of money can add up to a lump sum that can easily be applied to debts. Maybe even try making your own Kombucha, there are tons of websites and directions available online.

Bubble Tea or as some may know it as pearl milk tea, boba juice, or just boba, has been in the US for years, but it’s recently gaining major trend status in 2018. There have been multiple chains arising that specialize in Bubble Tea. You may know these chains as Kung Fu Tea® or Boba Guys®.  Bubble Tea could make a great date or even a trendy place to stop with friends. It offers a nice alternative to the usual coffee or beer we’ve all grown accustomed to. We wouldn’t recommend making Bubble Tea a daily habit or even a weekly habit because like Kombucha the small amount spent could really end up adding up.  The average cost for a Bubble Tea is $3.50, and if you choose to go every day for a year, it equates to about $1,277. That is some serious money that can be used to get out of debt or start investing in retirement fund money.

Quick Food

Food is important because it keeps us alive, but that doesn’t mean we need to spend all of our income on it. Simple changes to your everyday life like packing lunch for work could really help you save in the long run. Eating out can be expensive, time-consuming, and even dissatisfying. Before you pick up your cell and place an online order, let’s take a look at these stats. According to the 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, Millennials ages 26-34, spent $3,416 annually on food away from home.

Imagine for lunch every day at work you bought a burrito from Chipotle®. Just a burrito is about $8.00. Now, our cost has no fancy drinks because we learned our lesson on trend spending on sparkling water when the office has free and classic H2O available. We’ll assume that you work five days a week and it’s typically Monday through Friday. We aren’t going to account for vacations or days off in our math. Let’s see what your yearly cost for lunch is…

$8 Burrito Cost x 5 days in a work week = $40 a week spent

$40 x 52 work weeks per Year = $2,080 spent a year

Though it’s so easy to get sucked into the trend of going out to lunch and grabbing something easy, please be cautious. Apps like UberEats®, GrubHub®, and Seamless® may seem convenient, but they can cause unnecessary costs.  Try to cut back on eating out or ordering in food. We know, easier said than done. Especially, when it comes to working all day and having to make yourself dinner when you get home.  Add to it cleaning up any dishes you may have used, and it just gets overwhelming. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing situation though, try packing your own lunch weekly. If that seems like a lot maybe only purchase lunch on Fridays. These small life changes could have an impact on your finances, and they are just creating good spending habits as you move further on into adulthood. Just remember that the amount of money spent on food could pay off student loans, or be added to the down payment on a house.

Give & Take

Whether you are trying to get out of debt or save up money to achieve a financial goal, there is always a little give and take. You deserve to enjoy yourself and treat yourself every once in a while with the latest trend, but don’t get so caught up in the trend spend™ craze that you lose any sense of the amount you’re spending.  Trends may be great – I mean, after all, they did become a trend, but you need to stay focused. If you are finding it difficult to stay focused on your financial goal, try making a compromise of the situation. It will always help to remind you that it’s just that, a trend. Trends will come, and they will go, but your finances will be with you forever. Be the financially responsible you that we know you can be!

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