Where Did All the Money Go?

Did you ever stop and think why you are now at the ATM machine again taking more money out when you were just there a few days ago? Does it seem like you are constantly replenishing your wallet and can’t understand why?   Visa did something about it. They decided to do some research on where money goes, other than, of course, paying for their credit cards or people charging on the Visa card. Actually, in England, they discovered that the Brits spend as much as $160 billion (yes, with a “B”) a year but have no idea where that money went.   Actually, Visa surveyed more than 1,000 people and found out that the average adult was spending some $60 every week with no idea of where the money was going. In other words, in answer to the question, “On what did you spend that extra $60?” the response was “I don’t remember.”   Now, according to Visa, if you didn’t spend that $60 a week for something you don’t recall, you could have paid for the following:   1)      All your electric and water bills for a full year 2)      96 percent of traveling costs for year 3)      Your weekly grocery shopping for some nine months of the year 4)      Three months’ of mortgage payments.   So, to where is this money traveling? Visa says that most people spend more than they would like when grocery shopping (that’s the impulse buying habit) and on entertaining for children or grandchildren, not to mention their own “night out.”   Who spends the most? Oddly enough, men do, averaging some $70 a week compared to half that by women. So ends that woman/shopping myth. Also, those 18-24 year olds spend almost a $100 a week. Who spends the least? Besides a five-month old baby, it’s the over 55ers who only use up about $30 a week on items they don’t remember buying.   So, what does Visa recommend? They suggest monitoring your money through online banking and by maintaining accurate records every time you go to that ATM machine; in other words, marking down what the money’s for. According to Visa, if you can check your bank balance from home, you will find this is an enormous benefit in indicating what’s happened to your money.