It irks me when I see things like this article:
First Person: How We're Planning to Save More Than $12,000 This Summer - Yahoo! Finance
but I'm guilty of it as well. My goal this summer is to be more precise with the language I use with regard to money. For example, the other day I caught myself saying that a pair of safety chaps would be a good investment. Obviously, it's not an investment but a capital outlay.
It's a mindset thing.
Another trap is "hey, look at how much I saved on this doohickey with the triple-flange adjustable torq thingamabob." That hides the fact that the purchase might have been completely unnecessary. From now on, I'm going to only talk about purchases in terms of money spent... and also only buy double-flanged doohickeys.