Carving away absolutely wasteful expenses
With your current income and spending habits laid out before you, maybe there won’t be any trouble in finding the expense items that are genuinely and really wasteful.
Usually, things right at the top of your list are finance and bank charges. You may believe these charges to be trivial, but adding up these minimal costs can be a totally different story. Check out these examples of likely fees that you could face, depending upon how you manage your finances:
• Minimum balance penalty:
a few banks assess fees if a checking account carries a balance less than the minimum for this month. For example, if the checking account balance falls below $750 in one month (even if it’s $749), the bank could hit you with a small fee of $8 per month.
• Penalty for insufficient funds:
there are no banks that do not slap a fee at a minimum of $20, or maybe more, on rubber checks.
• Credit card interest:
having a balance on the credit card may cost you between ten and twenty percent (or more) each year for your loaned money - only in interest.
• Over-limit fees:
many credit card companies charge you a fee if you go above your credit limit. As with rubber checks, all credit cards charge about $20 a month if you go over the credit limit.
• Paying dues:
for example of health club that you have not attended for over a year.
• Late-payment fees:
If the payment check does not arrive on time, it will probably cost you a minimum of $20 each month. (Late payments also reduce credit-worthiness and raise the cost of future loans to you.) Finance and bank charges are not the only wastes.
• Keeping a magazine subscription that you just have not gotten around to canceling.
• Visiting a coffee shop for sandwich and a cup o’ joe every morning because you don't have the time to make your own.
• Going out for lunch or dinner instead of cooking at home.
a few banks assess fees if a checking account carries a balance less than the minimum for this month. For example, if the checking account balance falls below $750 in one month (even if it’s $749), the bank could hit you with a small fee of $8 per month.
• Penalty for insufficient funds:
there are no banks that do not slap a fee at a minimum of $20, or maybe more, on rubber checks.
• Credit card interest:
having a balance on the credit card may cost you between ten and twenty percent (or more) each year for your loaned money - only in interest.
• Over-limit fees:
many credit card companies charge you a fee if you go above your credit limit. As with rubber checks, all credit cards charge about $20 a month if you go over the credit limit.
• Paying dues:
for example of health club that you have not attended for over a year.
• Late-payment fees:
If the payment check does not arrive on time, it will probably cost you a minimum of $20 each month. (Late payments also reduce credit-worthiness and raise the cost of future loans to you.) Finance and bank charges are not the only wastes.
• Keeping a magazine subscription that you just have not gotten around to canceling.
• Visiting a coffee shop for sandwich and a cup o’ joe every morning because you don't have the time to make your own.
• Going out for lunch or dinner instead of cooking at home.
You should curb wasteful expenditures if you want to improve your finances. It doesn't mean that you should punish your family members by getting rid of the cable TV, but you have to rid yourself of expenditures that you don’t put to use or need. Add up what you waste every month. Start making monthly payments on time to avoid late fees, keeping a minimum balance in the checking account, cooking and brewing coffee at your home, and canceling subscriptions or memberships that you don’t use.
tags: waste, expense, personal finance
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