Wasting Away Your Savings

If you have put some of your hard-earned money into a savings account, do not get too comfortable as you could find yourself blowing it all.  Below are the worst possible things you can do with your savings:

1. Play the Lottery. While this may be obvious, many people spend the money they could be putting into savings on lottery tickets. 
2. Buy a Viatical Settlement. Purchasing the beneficiary position of someone else’s life insurance policy is called a viatical.  This is similar to buying a zero coupon bond with an uncertain maturity date, and you could do better buying some more traditional investments.
3. Purchase a Timeshare. Timeshares may seem great, however, they are terribly expensive.  There are also annual maintenance fees that you are responsible for paying and there is no refund if your trip is cancelled due to bad weather.
4. Pay Off Your Partner’s Debts.  Helping out a loved one with his or her debt problem could change the structure of the relationship. 

See Steve Stewart, The Top 5 Worst Possible Things You Can Do With Your Savings, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dec. 13, 2014.