Let's get this out of the way: No one gets excited about saving money. Nobody.
Spending money? That's a different story, especially when it comes to food, according to the people at Credit Canada and Capital One Canada.
Their informal study found when it came to financial guilty pleasures, eating out takes the cake. Over 70 per cent of respondents admitted to dining out and ordering takeout more than a few times a month.
Sounds harmless on paper, unless that paper is your bank statement. A typical month of eating out can cost Canadians nearly $200.
Other guilty indulgences for Canadians include daily coffee purchases, online shopping, clothing shopping and beauty services. While there's nothing wrong with lattes or ordering a new espresso machine online, the danger lies in not seeing the money leaving your wallet.
"It's easier than ever to order in, hail a ride and shop online without ever opening your wallet, but you can lose sight of where your money is going if you're not careful," says Brent Reynolds, Capital One Canada' Chief Customer Experience Officer.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise why some financial planners urge consumers to use cash more often in conjunction with a budget to save. It may sound old-fashioned, but at least you'll know you've reached your limit when you physically have no more money.
And if the idea of regular bank trips to withdraw money feels foreign, a tweak to your spending psyche might be a better place to start.
According to Utpal Dholakia, one of the four behaviours behind undisciplined spending is apathy towards paying unreasonable prices. For the Rice University professor, everyone has a range of what they think is an acceptable price for an item.
For him, he's comfortable paying anywhere from $3 to $8 for a sandwich. Anything below that window is a steal and anything above that price point gives him pause. By lowering your maximum price point for habitual purchases, your mind should subconsciously second-guess if $12 is really OK for avocado toast. (Spoiler alert: It's not).
For more easy means to curb your daily spending, check out the video above.
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