10 Things We Do Too Fast That Cost Us Money

doing things too fast

We live in a fast paced world. It sometimes seems that the only way to get everything done is to do it as quickly as possible so that we have time to do all the other things on our list. The problem is that doing things fast doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re doing them in a financially sound manner. Rushing about often leads to stress and mistakes. When it comes to our finances, the last thing we want to do is make fast, rash decisions which cause us to lose money. Here are a number of different activities which people often do too quickly that may end up costing them money in the long run. They may also get you to consider slowing down a bit in certain areas of your life.


Shopping is one of the daily activities that people often try to finish quickly. But trying to rush through your shopping could end up with you forgetting to buy something and having to go back at a later date. There can be a number of ways that this can cost you. For instance, there could be an item on sale at the grocery store that you forget, but that is no longer on sale when you go back on your next trip. Or you could forget a key ingredient for what you planned to make for dinner forcing you to make another trip or deciding to get take-out food instead. Another example would be buying a piece of clothing that, upon closer inspection, doesn’t look quite right, but when you go to return it you missed the “all sales final” tag. Add to that the extra cost of time and money of going back to the stores, and rushing through your shopping can add up to be quite expensive if you do this on a regular basis.

Repair Work

Repair work is another area where it’s best not to rush. Sometimes doing a rush job results in shoddy work that needs to be redone again at a later date, costing time and more money. For instance, you don’t want to do a quick repair job of a window only to have to go out and buy more materials to repair it within a month because it broke again, do you?


Not many people enjoy cleaning their houses or apartments. Have you ever grabbed the first cleaning product you saw and swiped it over your furniture or appliances? Maybe it ended up being bad for the finishing on your tables or the wrong item to clean your toilet or stove with. Then there is rushing through the cleaning process so that you put things out of sight, but not necessarily in their proper place. The house may look clean, but at a later time you aren’t able to find important documents or other items you need. Cleaning too fast will often leave you more disorganized that you were before cleaning.


Cooking is another awful thing to try to finish too quickly. For one thing, if you’re trying to rush your cooking, you might end up with something entirely inedible. Rushing through cooking could cause you to not pay attention to the directions which could end up meaning that you have to throw the food away because it turns into an inedible slop rather than something delicious. That’s not to mention the increased potential of hurting yourself through and accidental cut or burn because you were trying to do things too fast.


Banking can be a frustrating thing to endure, whether you’re going through the monthly habit of paying bills or visiting a bank branch. Rushing through your finances could mean that you accidentally forget to pay a monthly bill or that you don’t catch it when a bank teller accidentally makes an error in your transaction. It could be forgetting to put a transaction in your checkbook because you were in a rush that ends up over-drafting your checking account. The last thing you want to do is mess with your finances because you were in too much of a rush to pay attention.


Most people like to believe that they can multitask without fail. However, sometimes multitasking isn’t the best method, especially when it comes to money. If you’re not paying full attention to buying an item, paying a bill, or signing up for a new program, you might end up being overcharged or missing information about maintenance fees or extraneous charges that will come back to haunt you at a later date.


Are you someone who has a gym membership? Do you try to get in and out of the gym as quickly as possible? If you have an expensive gym membership, you shouldn’t be rushing out as soon as you can. You’re wasting all that money by trying to spend as little time as possible in the gym. It also greatly increase the chances of injuring yourself that can cause many other costs. On the other hand, making a quick, impulse decision to sign up for a gym membership even though you know it’s likely you’ll never use it will make you lose just as much money.

Starting a Business

A lot of people who embark on new business ventures want their business to get up off the ground as soon as possible. However, you shouldn’t rush into starting a new business. You want to make sure that you have all the needed information in order and that your finances are secure. It would be poor planning to rush ahead without ensuring that you have done the necessary work for a proper foundation.


Investing should never be something you do in a hurry. It’s understandable if you’re overwhelmed and stressed about what product or company to invest in, but investing is always something you should take your time doing. It requires research, not gut feelings. Taking the time to do your due diligence will decrease the chances that you accidentally invest in a bad product or company and lose your money.

Daily Purchases

Sometimes we’re all in such a rush that we hand over cash or our credit or debit cards without a second thought. It’s easy to pay for simple purchases like a daily coffee or lunch without really paying attention. When you’re always on the go and always busy, it’s not often that you stop to think about how much money you’re actually spending. This is often where budgets get broken — all those daily purchases that were unplanned, but done in such a rush that you forget to even record them.

(Photo courtesy of Chris RubberDragon)

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6 Responses to 10 Things We Do Too Fast That Cost Us Money

  1. GeorgiaPeach says:

    I would add eating food to the list. We eat far too fast instead of enjoying meals. That means far too many stops at fast food joints and eating processed foods instead of natural foods.

  2. jay says:

    Great observations!

  3. Gailete says:


    I see this often as an on-line seller. Newbies that find a free site to sell on, don't bother researching the terms or rules of the site, have no clue how to starts a business, etc. Throw up an on-line store in about 10 minutes and then 2-3 days later are whining that they haven't sold anything. Well could be because their stuff looks like yard sale rejects, poorly priced, poor titles, poor descriptions, poor photos, they don't bother advertising, or they royally screwed something up and have been suspended. I don't understand why people think that they can get a good idea, and then run with it with no background into what it takes to be successful. On the site I sell on, we have had people come to the forums asking questions that show they haven't studied the site at all and when we tell them where to find the information, they get mad at us because THEY don't have time for all that and they feel we should spoon feed them everything they need to know! I see others constantly asking how to make money on line and many give the same pat answers but what it comes down to it figuring out what you can do and what will make you happy, learning the ins and outs of it and then actually, dare I say it?…working! Those that throw together a 'business' are in the camp of easy money, not work. They get exactly out of the business what they put into it…nothing.

  4. David S. says:

    Hello Danielle, These things that you just mentioned that we do so fast will really cost us a lot of money. We need to play our cards well and be cautious. Take shopping for instance. It is a necessity to buy the basics but not luxurious items that we don’t need. be careful not to overspend as well. Investing is something that also needs to be planned.

  5. 1HappyGirl! says:

    Soooo true Greenday! I work with people who work endless hours to pay for things they thought they’d enjoy. I live a simple life – work to pay for necessary things, but spend my free time enjoying the simple joys in this life…family, close friends and nature.

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