Wait a minute, fast food is more affordable than regular food? Not exactly. Although fast food is more affordable than regular food at times, they come with a boatload of calories and saturated fat… things you will regret in the future. Even if you’ve found the cheapest buy-one-take-one burger and fries meal, you’re saving at the expense of your health.

What you really get out of fast food is convenience. The convenience of not having to prepare food yourself. The convenience of buying it off a counter in a matter of seconds.

A survey by One Poll conducted on 1000 Americans revealed that on average, they spend $1200 on fast food every year. Most of the respondents happened to be too lazy to cook or were packed with hectic schedules.

But if we make time for it, preparing your own food is well worth the effort. If you’re health-conscious, you can absolutely cook yourself healthy and hearty food. If you know where to look, you can source your ingredients at an affordable price.

Save and eat well.

The fear of missing out or “FOMO” means feeling bad about not doing the same thing other people are doing and it happens to us more often than we admit.

There are times when we get pressured or coerced by our peers to do something that we don’t even want to do. I’m guilty of these myself. But I have to admit that succumbing to FOMO was brought on by my own doing.

Back when I worked in corporate, I often went to lunches and dinners with my co-workers just because I was pressured to go, not because I really wanted to. I’d very much rather just eat my own food and save than engage in office politics. Everything changed when I decided to start taking a stand and saying no to them and to myself.

As much as peer pressure plays an influence, remember, FOMO is brought on by our own doing. But you can deal with it by remembering your discipline and by simply saying no. Remember, don’t worry about missing out or being branded a killjoy.

You don’t owe anyone an explanation for living your life.

Credit card companies love people who always pay the minimum amount. Because their principal never gets paid off, the interest owed balloons over time. As a result, these minimum-payment cardholders become the most profitable customers for credit card companies.

The minimum required payment is an elaborately made plan to get you to pay more interest. Don’t fall for the trap like so many others who continue to do so. Avoid this problem completely by always paying the full amount on time.

Paying in full on time is the same as paying in cash, and you get either rebates or air miles depending on your chosen credit card.