8 Things You Need to Stop Wasting Money on in 2026

A senior couple looks over financial paperwork together in their living room.

With the new year, many people are setting ambitious financial goals for themselves. From catching up on retirement savings to getting out of debt to saving up for their dream vacation, now is the time to reflect on your current financial situation and make a plan to achieve your goals for 2026.

Before you start giving up on the things you enjoy to cut your budget and put more toward savings, make sure you're not wasting your money on some of these common budget-drainers.

By spotting these hidden sources of wasteful spending, you may be able to free up enough extra cash to hit your 2026 financial goals without giving up on the little splurges you actually enjoy.

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1. Paying full price for streaming services

With so many ways to save on streaming services, there's really no reason to ever pay full price. Even if you already have a subscription, keep an eye out for promotional offers. You can always cancel your existing subscription and get a new one at the promotional rate.

I did exactly this last year when Peacock was offering a year of Peacock Premium for $25. At the same time, my American Express card happened to be offering a $7.99 statement credit if I subscribed to Peacock using that card.

All told, I ended up getting a year of Peacock for $17. That's nearly $100 saved compared to the regular price of $110 per year. When the subscription comes up for renewal later this year, I'll either look for a new promotion or cancel and wait for them to send me a special offer to come back.

For bigger streaming services, like Netflix, that rarely run promotions, you might not escape full price. But you can find other workarounds. Some mobile carriers offer complimentary streaming subscriptions with certain phone plans.

There are also credit cards and shopping memberships that come with streaming perks. For example, Walmart+ members can get either Peacock Premium or Paramount+ for free. And T-Mobile includes a streaming bundle of Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV Plus with select phone plans.

2. Anything you could be getting for free (or cheap)

Streaming perks aren't the only thing you can get from credit cards, memberships or certain service plans. You might be surprised just how many perks you're already eligible for but just haven't activated or used.

For example, many travel rewards cards offer statement credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, effectively making them free to sign up for. But if you don't sign up – or you do it with a different card that doesn't offer the perk – you're missing out.

Between changing perks and limited time offers, it's a good idea to "audit" your rewards just as you would audit your budget. Are there perks you forgot about? Are there new offers you could take advantage of?

I try to do this anytime I'm buying anything. Last month, I needed to replace my moisturizer and my Capital One card happened to be offering a $25 statement credit for spending $25 or more at Ulta. I was able to order two bottles of my moisturizer to put me just over the $25 threshold. After the statement credit, I ended up paying less than $5 for the order.

"Subscribe and save" features are popping up on more and more retailer's websites. Often, they'll lure you in with the promise of a deep discount on your current order if you sign up for recurring shipments.

Maybe you signed up to get the discount, thinking you'd cancel it later but then forgot. Maybe the recurring shipments were convenient for a while but now they're coming too frequently or you no longer need them.

Whatever the reason, it's a good idea to regularly audit any "subscribe and save" products you have.

Even if you use the item regularly, you may be missing out on promotional offers or seasonal sales by automating the deliveries. Sure, having toilet paper shipped to your house at regular intervals is convenient. But you could also just cancel that and stock up every time your local grocery store runs a "buy-one-get-one" sale on your brand.

4. Paying for credit cards or memberships you don't use enough

A man waiting on hold is frustrated with his credit card.

If it comes with a fee, you need to be doing the math at least once a year to make sure it's worth it. This is especially important as premium credit cards increase their annual fees. If the cash value of the perks you're actually using don't at least break even with the annual fee, you may need to cancel the card.

The same goes for shopping memberships like Amazon Prime or Walmart+ as well as other memberships you might have like wine clubs or gyms. Do the math on how much you've saved by having the membership to see if the savings justify the fees.

5. Bulk buys you can't use up before the expiration date

This can be a hard one to resist. Why buy the small package when you can get more for less? While bulk deals can be a great way to save money, there are some things you should never buy in bulk because you're only saving if you can actually use up the entire purchase before it expires. This is true even of some things that don't seem like a "bulk" purchase to you.

The full gallon of milk might be cheaper per ounce than the half gallon. But if you don't drink milk daily, the gallon could turn rancid before you get halfway through it. If that happens, you paid for a full gallon but only actually consumed a half gallon or less.

To avoid this, pay attention to the foods that you tend to throw out when cleaning out your fridge. Are you regularly buying more of certain things than you end up eating? Make a note on your grocery list reminding you to buy smaller quantities of that item on your next trip.

6. Full coverage car insurance when your car is old or has a low market value.

While you're required to carry a certain minimum amount of car insurance in every state, additional coverage like collision insurance or comprehensive insurance and some other types of car insurance are optional.

They're strongly recommended for many drivers. But, at a certain point, your car is too old or has lost too much market value to really justify the added expense. Since dropping this optional coverage could save you thousands per year, it's important to regularly check the value (and condition) of your car to decide whether the maximum payout you'd get from a claim is still worth the thousands in extra premiums you're paying.

7. Subscriptions you forgot to cancel

A woman stands in her kitchen, reviewing her finances while on the phone.

From that app you no longer use to the free trial you signed up for, unused subscriptions can be a sneaky drain on your finances. These can be even harder to catch if they're only billed once a year or if they show up on your statement with vague or unclear labeling.

Check through your bank statement monthly and make sure you can identify every charge listed. If you notice one that you can't explain, you can copy the transaction description and google it to see which business it's associated with. If that doesn't work, call the bank and ask for more details about that transaction.

When you come across a subscription you need to cancel, do it right away. Some companies make it easier than others, so make sure you complete the full process to cancel. Then, make a note to watch for that recurring charge to make sure it doesn't pop up again.

8. Avoidable fees

If you're not careful, your monthly bills could end up riddled with easily avoidable fees. Are you still getting paper bills in the mail, even though you pay that bill online? Some providers might be charging you for the "privilege." Simply enrolling in paperless billing could shave a few bucks off of your bill.

The same goes for setting up autopay. While not usually a fee, many providers offer a discount for customers who use autopay. If yours does and you're still manually scheduling payments, you're paying more than you need to be for that service.

To avoid fees like this, read your bills closely to see what you're actually being billed for. If anything doesn't look right, call up the company. The same goes for your bank accounts and credit cards. Some banks charge maintenance fees that are avoidable by either meeting certain criteria or simply switching to a bank that doesn't charge those fees.

Rachael Green is a personal finance eCommerce writer specializing in insurance, travel, and credit cards. Before joining Kiplinger in 2025, she wrote blogs and whitepapers for financial advisors and reported on everything from the latest business news and investing trends to the best shopping deals. Her bylines have appeared in Benzinga, CBS News, Travel + Leisure, Bustle, and numerous other publications. A former digital nomad, Rachael lived in Lund, Vienna, and New York before settling down in Atlanta. She’s eager to share her tips for finding the best travel deals and navigating the logistics of managing money while living abroad. When she’s not researching the latest insurance trends or sharing the best credit card reward hacks, Rachael can be found traveling or working in her garden.