Do you read your bank and financial statements every month? You probably scan them, just to make sure there's enough money there to cover expenses, right?
That's what I used to do until one day something jumped out at me. It was a monthly charge of $19 for AOL. Wait, wasn't AOL free now? So I called them and was told that I had the option of using AOL for free or for paying a monthly charge to have extra benefits. I said in that case I'll take the free version thank you.
I then started to scrutinize the statement more carefully and realized there were a number of things I was being charged for every month that I no longer use or need, such as a subscription to an investment newspaper I get for free at work, or an upgrade to a jobsite that I could just as easily access for free. By time I was done cancelling these small but annoying charges, I had saved close to $300 a month.
So here's a list of some of the things you may be paying for each month that are draining your checking account. Some of these tips are supplied by the Motley Fool while others come from yours truly.
1. Banking fees. These can often be hard to spot. But the Motley Fool says that if you're being over-charged for banking, it may be time to evaluate your choice of financial institutions. Things to watch out for include being double charged for fees for both online and paper statements. There are banks that give you online service for free. You might also want to approach your existing bank to see if you qualify for an account upgrade that will offer you free checks or other perks and save you money in the process.
2. Programs through your employer. This has happened to me a few times. I once continued to pay for legal services even though I realized I was probably never going to use them. Unfortunately, I just forgot about it until my year-end payroll statement showed the $200 that had gone out my pay check in small amounts each month. I immediately plugged that leak. So don't just look over your bank statement. Check your monthly pay statement for anything your employer may withholding, that you forgot to stop.
3. Netflix. Here's a no-brainer and I hope Netflix doesn't cancel my subscription over it because I need my Netflix. I used to pay around $20 a month so I could have three DVDs out at the same time. Today, I pay $11. The difference is that now I watch many of the movies streaming online through my Blu-ray player on my television. I reduced my plan to I can watch as many streaming movies as I want and still get one DVD at a time in the mail.
4. Web hosting. Are you paying for any web hosting fees for a site you no longer use or for something you could be getting for free, like access to AOL and AOL email?
5. Cable charges have always been one of my pet peeves. Mine got to over $250 a month before I realized something was very wrong. Who in their right mind pays that much just to watch television? I immediately canceled my cable subscription and went to a competitor who gave me one of those great $99 a year combo deals that includes hi-def television, telephone and high speed internet. If you don't want to cancel cable television completely, you could always drop some of those premium channels you never watch. Go from a gold to a silver plan and you'll probably save $30 or $40 a month depending on the provider.
6. Gym membership. This one's up to you. If you go to the gym a lot, the more power to you, but if you're like a lot of us, who sign up right after the first of the year and then seem to be unable to fit another trip to the gym into our busy schedules for the rest of the year. If that's you, take a look at your contract and figure out when it makes sense to opt out. You can use that money to pay all those other bills you still have to pay.
7. Credit protection programs. This is basically a scam that credit card companies try to pull in order to scare you into thinking you should pay for extra protection against fraud or theft. Check out the fine print on your credit card agreement. Chances are they already offer this protection and you don't need any upgrade and additional charges.
8. Credit monitoring services. Here's another
waste of money. There are basically three credit monitoring
services and they charge monthly fees to keep you apprised of your
credit report. But according to federal law, you're supposed to be
able to get a credit report every 12 months from each of the credit
bureaus for free. If you space out your requests, and ask for
Experian's report on January 1, Trans Union's four months later in
May, and your Equifax credit report in September, you can monitor
your own credit all year long and it won't cost you anything. Go to
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp.
9. The Library. Today, you can get most anything you want to either read, watch or listen to at the library and you won't have to pay for it, unless you're late bringing it back. Want to save a bundle? Use your local library. They have everything from books, magazines, newspapers, computers, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs, and CDs (remember those?) They also have access to data bases you and I would have to pay for that you can use for free. They're also great places to meditate because they tend to be quiet.
