8 ways to lose money without even realizing it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Get rid of the black holes that are dragging out your finances.

1. Pay for what you don't use

Situations where you give money for nothing happen more often than you might imagine. Let's say you decided to go in for sports and paid for a year of training. But then they stopped going to the gym: they got injured or the impulse did not last long. Often in this case, people simply wave their hands and do nothing, losing an impressive amount of money. Although it is possible to resell the subscription, if the terms of the contract allow it, or to terminate the contract with the institution and return part of the funds.

The gym you don't go to isn't the only black hole where money goes. Perhaps your payment for housing and communal services still contains a television antenna and a radio point, although these wires are not even connected to your apartment. Your account is automatically debited for subscriptions that you no longer use, but are too lazy to cancel them. And even auto payments here can be bad helpers if you don't constantly control them.

Another weak point in terms of finance is cellular communications. Let the operator offer you an "extremely profitable" tariff with a huge package of SMS and minutes within the network. If you only use mobile internet, why would you pay for it? It often turns out that wholesale is not cheaper at all. Look for the exact set of services you need.

2. Buy more than you can eat

No matter how good the price of a product is, you will be wasting money if it ends up in the trash can. To prevent this from happening, do not take more than you can eat, look at the expiration dates. And, of course, make up the menu. It will help optimize purchases so as to correctly distribute products by day and avoid surplus.

3. Inattentively reading documents

From the point of view of the law, if you signed the papers, then you agree with everything that is written in them. Not reading documents is a bad habit that can lead to dire consequences.

For example, you buy travel insurance for your overseas travel. But it says that you will receive compensation only if you poison yourself with a mandrake root on a full moon. And the rest of the cases are not insured. As a result, you will have to treat a cold while traveling at your own expense, and even waste the money for the policy. To prevent this from happening, always read the contracts very carefully.

4. Store long-term savings at home

If you are saving for old age, children's education, or some other delayed goal, there is no point in keeping bills at home. Over the years, some of the money will gobble up inflation. The amount seems to remain the same, but the purchasing power of savings will decrease.

It is worth at least considering banking products like savings deposits and deposits. But at the same time, you still have to keep your finger on the pulse in order to navigate in time if the situation in the country starts to change again.

Better to start investing. Make money work, and it will not only beat back inflation, but also make a profit.

5. Don't waste bonuses and skip promotions

It seems that now even tiny shops around the house have their own loyalty programs. Usually, the buyer is offered either discounts or the opportunity to pay with bonuses that have accumulated on the card.

There are so many offers that the brain itself marks all such information as spam and deprives you of the opportunity to save money. Points on the card can have their own expiration date and simply expire, and discounts end. Therefore, whenever possible, track this information at least for the stores where you buy most often.

6. Ignore sales

You won't be able to buy everything with discounts. If your autumn boots are torn in mid-October, it is obvious that you will get them at full price. But missing out on sales is at least strange, because this is a great opportunity to save money.

For shopping to be profitable, you need to prepare for it. For example, you can go shopping in December and make a list of clothes and shoes you like. Chances are good that all these items will be available at discounts at the Christmas sale.

7. Incorrect use of banking products

Any banking product is a tool. The effectiveness depends on how you use it.

Let's say you have a credit card. You saw a last-minute tour with a great discount, but there is still a week until the paycheck. If you pay it with a credit card, and after seven days pay off the debt, you will be able to save on travel and avoid interest. At the same time, you will be charged a commission for withdrawing cash from an ATM, and interest for an untimely refund.

In order not to lose money, it is enough to understand how the product works.

8. Do not use bonuses from the state

The state has provided subsidies, benefits and other bonuses for us. For example, in some situations, it helps in paying off your mortgage. Families with children receive especially generous offers.

Every citizen with white income can receive a tax deduction. You will be refunded the money you paid for personal income tax. You can use this right when buying an apartment, medical treatment, training and in some other situations.

And that's not all. Do not hesitate to find out what you are entitled to from the state.