We live in such a fast paced society today that it's pretty easy to get one pulled over on us. Admit it, you probably don't look at your monthly bills as closely as you should these days, let alone look for small charges that can add up to really eat away at your household profit over time. I've put together five small but important hidden fees that can put a dent in your monthly budget.
- ATM Fees- According to bankrate.com, the average ATM fee for an ATM not affiliated with your bank is now $4.52. Some people believe their bank picks up all of the fees irrespective of what bank you withdraw money from, but you should keep a close eye on these fees. A couple of withdrawals a month at a bank where you aren't reimbursed fees could cost you more than $100 per year.
- Credit Card Fees- Since we live in an online bill pay world today, more and more families do not read the details of their credit card statements. Since we are inclined to put more items on our cards for frequent flier points and reward points, being late just one day to pay your bill could cost you dearly. Not only do the credit cards assess instantaneous late fees, but they also start tacking on finance charges. These charges can be more than 20%! Make sure you read your next few invoices in great detail to see if they nicked you with an extra charge.
- Cancellation Fees- Knowing when to cancel a membership or a contract is important or you could end up paying an exorbitant amount of excess cancellation fees. This can be for your cell phone, a gym membership, or an online service. Often, the contracts on services will automatically renew if you don't give them 30 days notices before the end of a contract and they can ask for anywhere of one month of cancellation fees to an entire year.
- Airline Fees- There are all kinds of fees to watch out for when you end up booking your next trip. If you call in by telephone, you may end up paying a booking fee for just making the call. If you choose to travel a very low cost airline because of the airfare, make sure you ask about fees that range from checking your baggage to where you sit on the plane. Even when you use a frequent flier ticket, you will still have to pay fees to book the ticket.
- Investment Fees- Funny that I'm writing this considering I'm in the business. However, there are many companies that will make you want to believe it costs nothing to do business, but there is no free lunch to investing. If they tell you it's going to be free, you should probably say check please!
Written by: Ted Jenkin
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