You’re doing your best to spend less and save more — at least, you think so. You try to be smart with your purchases, live frugally and put money into savings each month.

But what if all the effort you’re putting into cutting costs and trying to set aside cash for the future isn’t paying off the way you hoped? Here are seven ways your attempts to save money could be backfiring.

1. You Spend Too Much Time Trying to Find the Best Deal

When my family was planning a trip to the beach this summer, my husband spent weeks searching for the best deal on a vacation rental property. However, every time he found a condo or beach house that fit our needs and was reasonably priced, he continued to look for an even better bargain instead of making the purchase. In the meantime, the most affordable properties were being booked by other buyers. We ended up paying a few hundred dollars more for a place that wasn’t as desirable as the cheaper, better ones located earlier in the search.

Of course, it’s always smart to compare prices when making a purchase. But sometimes spending too much time trying to find the best deal will cause you to miss out on a pretty good one. Further, many consumers become so focused on deal-hunting that they lose revenue they could have earned working.

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