Finding and Fixing “Cash Leaks”
January 17th, 2008 | by rachel |
When reviewing your bank account, do you find that more money is gone than you thought? Do you struggle to remember where and when the money was spent? If so, chances are good that you are leaking money. Not, literally, leaking money. Leaking money, rather, in ways that can be changed. If you find that your cash is leaking, these are some areas that you can evaluate quickly and easily fix.
- Late payments - Payments that are late, even by a single hour, will cost you money! The cost for a single late payment is relatively low. Those costs can add up quickly, however. Multiple late payments in a single month and/or several months of late payments make the situation worse. Late payments are definitely a cash leak that can and must be stopped. Online banking programs allow you to schedule payments for a particular day. Doing that will insure that your payments get where they need to be on time.
- Loose change - What do you do with all that loose change that you get and carry around during the month? If you throw it somewhere and forget it, you are leaking cash. Coinstar, Inc. estimates that, across the country, millions of dollars in loose change sits unspent at any given time. Start stopping this leak by gathering, rolling and spending it today!
- Energy wasters -Maybe it’s appliances that are not energy-efficient. Maybe your vehicle is a gas guzzler. Maybe you just don’t do a good job of turning off lights and tvs when you are not using them. Regardless of how energy is being wasted in your house, it is cash that leaks out of your wallet without even being seen. If you pay close attention, you can find wasted energy in every single room in your house. Limiting that waste will, literally, keep money in your pocket.
- Bank fees - Banks and credit card companies make LOTS of money on fees! Make sure you are not helping them make more by collecting fees from you that you don’t have to pay (i.e. ATM Fees, Overdraft Fees, NSF Fees, Maintenance Fees, etc.). Use your own bank’s ATM machines; don’t make purchases over the credit limit on your credit accounts; and don’t write checks that you don’t have money to cover!
- Overbuying - With warehouse buying clubs and “supersize” portions, it is more common than not for us to buy more than we need. With food purchases, especially, buying too much leads to waste. That means wasted food and wasted money! This cash leak can be stopped by just buying what is needed for a given time period. Try shopping for no more than 1 week at a time and see your savings start to add up.
- Purchase errors - Mistakes are made with financial transactions all the time. By checking receipts, bank and credit card statements, you may find overcharges and purchase errors that cost you money. Particularly with point-of-sale purchases, checking them at the time of the purchase, before leaving the store will make the resolution quick and easy.
These are not the only ways that cash leaks out of your wallet but they are some of the most obvious. As you start noticing (and plugging) these leaks, you may find others. The sooner you stop them, the richer you will be!