Wasting money is one thing but NOT KNOWING that you are wasting money is even worse. Here are some of the most common ways people waste a ton of money and may not even know it.
Not Reading Online Statements
Everybody that you bank with including credit card companies provides detailed online statements. Are you reading them each month? You would be surprised at some of the overcharges or things that you have purchased but can be returned (many even after 30 days depending on your reason) and fees in high percentages that you are being charged each month. Translated, $75.00 in credit card interest fees may not seem like much, but it’s a tank of gas that you just threw out the window
Subscription Charges
That service you subscribed to three years ago that you never use is still charging you on PayPal as a subscription. Many times when you sign up for online services or use your PayPal card you are automatically approving them to charge you repeatedly as a subscription or auto-pay and you are paying either monthly or yearly for a service you no longer use.
You should check your PayPal account to see if you are being billed for subscription charges that you don’t use by doing this. Once you give someone your credit card info that’s it.
Not Taking Advantage of Points
The credit card game can be very lucrative if you know how to play it but it can also be extremely costly if you are bad with paying off your balance each month.
Points can be an amazing advantage if used the right way. It can also be cumbersome if your try to balance specials like the way Discover does it with specials every three months. If you have fairly good credit, look into getting an American Express Gold card.
You get 4 points for every dollar you spend in the grocery store or restaurant up to $25,000 a year and that’s a fixed benefit. I have yet to see another credit card that offers this kind of benefit for something that you already do on a regular basis.
Make sure you pay the entire amount of the credit card off before the end of the billing cycle each month or your points go out the door.
This can really add up and is the best credit card for points in grocery stores that I have come across. You can find out more here.
