Your Trash Is Full of Treasures

Much like with food, you throw away a lot of money with these cleaning and beauty supplies when they aren't fully used. Learning to purchase the correct size and products that you know you will use will go a long way to cut down on the waste and keep more money in your bank account.

5. You Literally Throw Away Money

One of the more surprising findings was that you literally throw away money.

I came across two small jars of coins (total amount $14.56) that had simply been thrown away because the person didn't want to deal with the coins. It was common to find random pennies among the trash.

While coins may not be worth what they once were, they still have value. If you really don't want them, at least consider placing them in a charity drop box where they can do some good rather than into the trash.

6. You Throw Away Items That Still Have Life

A lot of your trash contains items that still have life such as books, small gadgets, toys and games just to name a few. While you may no longer need it, that doesn't mean that it still can't be useful for somebody else.

There are plenty of places where you can sell these items to earn a few dollars such as on eBay(EBAY Quote) or CraigsList.

If you can't be bothered to sell them, you can still donate them to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army where you can get a tax deduction for them. If you don't care at all, you can give them away on FreeCycle.org so someone who needs them can use them.

7. You Don't Recycle

There was a large amount of trash that was recyclable, but had not been separated out of the regular trash. While it may not seem that this has any affect on your finances, some recyclables such as soda cans come with money deposits in certain states.

Throwing them out is the same as throwing out coins. It can also ultimately make hauling garbage more expensive for the company that collects your trash, which may mean higher rates for you in the future.

8. You Toss Away Things Improperly

Paint, batteries, oil and other hazardous material that needs to be thrown away properly often showed up in the trash.

This ends up costing you money in the long run through tax money that must go toward clean-up of these materials that could have been spent in much better ways.

---

Taking a few minutes to rummage through your own trash before you take it out to the curb can be a good way to take a fresh look at your personal finances from a different perspective than you're usually used to.

Try it this month and you may be surprised at what you can learn about money you've been throwing out with the trash.