Top 5 Money Mistakes You Don't Realize You're Making
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - You pay your bills on time, save for retirement, and keep close eye on your budget.
However, experts say even those who are normally careful with their finances are susceptible to money missteps.
What you may think are wise financial decisions could actually be costing you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Todd Mark with Credit Consumer Counseling Services of Greater Dallas said, "It's not even that they think they are bad habits, it's that they are not even accounting for them."
With Mark's help here's our Top 5 money mistakes many don't realize they're making.
1.) Admit it. It's a good feeling when you go to the ATM and you see a hefty balance on your receipt. But what this likely means is you're not putting your money to good use. Instead of having your money sit in a checking account gaining little to no interest - invest it.
2.) If you don't know your credit score, how do you know if you're getting a fair deal on interest? Once you know you're score, Todd Mark recommends his clients to go to websites like bankrate.com and myfico.com. Based on your credit score, on these websites you can find out if you're paying too much interest on your mortgage, credit card, or auto loan. Mark said CCCS financial counselors often help their clients get out of debt faster simply by negotiating a better interest rate.
3.) When you left you last job, what happened to your 401K retirement plan? Keeping a diverse portfolio is important, but financial advisors say in some cases you could save on accounting fees by consolidating them into one plan. It's also much easier to keep track of.
4.) Many sales people will try and convince you buy an extended warranty for your vehicle or even your computer. However, according to Consumer Reports, 55% of people who bought an extended warranty on their vehicle never use it during the lifetime of the policy. Plus, on average, most of those who did use the extended warranty still spent more on the warranty than had they paid for the repairs out of pocket, according to the Consumer Reports survey.
5.) Receiving a big tax refund simple means the government is withholding too much of your money. This is money that you could be using throughout the year to invest or pay off debt. Mark said, "If you are desperate for that money, you need to change your withholding and have access to your money each and every paycheck."
