Careless Spending on Unnecessary Items Tops List of Most Foolish Financial Mistakes, Finds CouponCabin.com April Fool's Survey
WHITING, Ind., March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Many people will be fools and join in the harmless fun this April Fool's Day, but financial decisions are one place where foolish behavior should be avoided at all costs. A new CouponCabin.com survey reveals the most foolish financial mistakes U.S. adults said they've ever made, with purchasing unnecessary items topping the list. This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from March 13th – March 15th, 2012 among 2,211 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
While purchasing things that aren't needed was named the most foolish financial mistake with 52 percent of U.S. adults citing it, a variety of other money missteps made the list:
- Not using coupons as much as I should – 26 percent
- Only making minimum payments on credit card each month – 22 percent
- Overdrawing my bank/checking account – 21 percent
- Loaning large sums of money to a friend or family member that wasn't paid back – 18 percent
- Making late payments on credit cards - 17 percent
- Making late payments on basic bills like insurance, utilities and rent – 15 percent
- Not having adequate insurance coverage – 10 percent
- Not knowing what my credit score is – 10 percent
- Borrowing large sums of money from a friend or family member that I couldn't repay – 6 percent
- Co-signing on a loan that was defaulted – 7 percent
"Financial mistakes are inevitable from time to time, but it's important to educate yourself on how to avoid hiccups that could hurt in the long run," said Jackie Warrick, President and Chief Savings Officer at CouponCabin.com. "Many people are taking charge of their financial situations by seeking out advice from online resources, family and friends, and financial experts. In fact, one-in-five people we surveyed said they have never made a foolish financial mistake."
Warrick offers the following tips to avoid making foolish financial mistakes:
- Set up alerts – Avoid being a victim of late payments by utilizing reminders. Set up alerts on an online calendar or mobile device when your bills are due, or set up automatic bill pay through an online banking service.
- Start clipping and clicking – Not using coupons is like throwing away free money. Stay up to date on the latest coupons by checking out sites like CouponCabin.com for online coupon codes, grocery coupons and much more.
- Keep emotions out of it –Sometimes the pressure to help out a family member or friend can put you in an uncomfortable financial situation. Be honest, with yourself and your loved one, about what you can logically afford to do without hurting your own financial future.
Survey Methodology:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from March 13th – March 15th, 2012 among 2,211 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact: Allison Nawoj, [email protected].
About CouponCabin.com
CouponCabin.com is a leading online destination for coupons including online coupon codes, printables, grocery coupons and more. Shoppers have saved nearly $250 million since 2003 and with the largest selection of coupons guaranteed to work, CouponCabin is the best place to start searching for savings. The average user saves $19 in just 80 seconds on the site. With customized email newsletters, browser savings alerts, new coupon alerts and more, shoppers will never miss out on a great deal with CouponCabin. For more information, please visit http://www.CouponCabin.com.
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SOURCE CouponCabin.com
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