Now while putting together a list of passive income ideas will certainly help put extra money in your wallet, it’s the rest of your spending behavior that should be put into question.  Cutting a few corners and changing up some of your previous spending efforts not only will free up extra money that much, but a long string of solid financial behaviors going forward can put more of your hard-earned money in good places, such as building up an emergency fund, paying off (and staying out of ) debt, not to mention contributing to your retirement account so that you can ensure you have adequate funds for when you finally decide you are able to walk away from work and enjoy the remaining years of your life without the grind.

Spending the Whole Night at the Bar

With so much going on in our daily lives, a much-needed night out with your significant other, or friends, is in order, especially after a long week of work, but that doesn’t mean the whole night should be spent at the bar.  With $8 drink prices and $5 beers, you can have a couple hours of a music playlist of your choosing, good conversation, and drinks at home, before you hit the town.  You can buy a bottle of vodka and mixers for around $25 that can last more than a few rounds before you’re ready to head out and pay top bar prices.

Having a Multiple Course Meal

Along the same lines as avoiding spending the whole night at the bar, the same can be said about going out to eat.  Sure, it’s nice to have someone cook, serve, and cleanup after you, but that comes at a price.  Instead of getting to the restaurant starving and quickly having the tab add up by ordering an appetizer, salad, entrée, and dessert, you can eat at home to tide you over, and then order a couple plate to share at the restaurant.  This way you can still try some quality dishes, not have to stuff your face, and keep the bill low.

Going to the Movies

As good as home theatre systems are these days, unless you’re really in need to go to the theatre to see a movie you can’t wait a few months to get to premium or streaming channels, you can escape to your basement to watch a show or movie of your choosing, while being able to provide your own popcorn and drinks from your pantry.  If you were to go to the movies on a weekend night, you could spend $11 for the ticket, $6 for popcorn, and the same for a drink, I don’t think any movie is worth spending $25, unless you’re desperate to get out of the house.

Buying Lottery Tickets

I’ll save you the trouble, you’re not going to win.  I don’t care how many co-workers pool their money together to buy the Mega Millions, your odds of winning are astronomically low that you should just save your money and not even bother playing the lotto.  It’s amazing how many people I see if I stop by a liquor store on a Friday after work, as it must be payday, trying to pick their “winner”, which in fact they would have better odds playing at the casino.

Not Taking Advantage of Uber/Lyft

Now it may seem like extra charges by using Uber or Lyft compared to driving, but by going out and having drinks and not getting a ride, you’re just playing with fire that you could get pulled over and by the time you pay the court and lawyer costs, your bank account could be cleaned out, not to mention causing damage to your record and risk your insurance rates going sky high, it’s just worth to take a ride and not even risk driving on your own.  Think about how much you are saving but not having to worry about paying for your mistake.

Caring About Brands

This isn’t high school anymore, no one cares about brands, well except maybe friends, or just you.  It doesn’t matter if your V-neck t-shirt is from Target, Old Navy, or a high-end store that is left in the mall, they look the same, none of which sport a logo on the shirt, so why not spend $7 on the shirt instead of more.  When it comes to larger items, it’s on you to decide what fits in with your finances, as living beyond your means is just a recipe for disaster and a mound of credit card debt that could come along with it.