NEW YORK-- Yahoo Finance has published a "Business Insider" report entitled "13 Ways Americans Throw Away Money." Although the article does not call out the convenience store industry by name, seven of the 13 ways listed are directly related to convenience retailing. So the industry takes the brunt of the report's criticisms by implication.
It cites unused gift cards, ATM fees, candy, lottery, tobacco, alcohol and soda--products and services found in almost every c-store--as being sources of wasted money.
It also cites several reasons not directly related to c-stores: traffic tickets, credit-card interest, casino gambling and wasted energy (utilities).
"Blame the government or blame the economy, but Americans should also blame themselves for their declining net worth. We waste a whole lot of money. Seriously, over half a trillion dollars," the report said.
"This list is based on estimates due to limited available data, and the true total is surely higher. We included things like cigarettes and gambling, even though some would claim they are worth their cost," it said. "This is a personal finance site after all, and these are costs you can cut."
Click here to view the full report.
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