Do you know your budget destroyers? Hidden expenses in our daily life – money and career

“Budgeting does not mean sacrifices; It means choice. A budget is a plan for your money that allows you to take control of your money, so you can have all the things you want, no matter what. You can direct your budget to achieve the life you want, whether that includes strong financial security, the freedom to quit your job and travel the world, or the resources to purchase your dream home and start a family. Words by Michelle Kagan, CFO, accountant and tax consultant, author of the book Save to earn – everything you need to know (Allama Edition).

In short, the work addresses an issue that touches all of our lives: budgeting is an essential skill, “related to developing a plan to achieve financial security and prosperity,” as the author says in the introduction to the work. Sometimes this course of action may involve making reductions in expenses (particularly those that do not benefit us); In other cases, it creates space for important life changes (such as buying a home). “Most important of all, it is a way to eliminate the anxiety associated with money management,” writes Michelle Kagan, which provides the reader with the tools needed to acquire financial skills.

We publish the excerpt from the work below:

Be on the lookout for budget busters

Eliminate cash outflows

Budget busters often include money you spend without realizing it, such as auto-pay expenses or hidden fees. These costs catch you by surprise, depleting your current account and stealing the margin allocated for your budget goals. They're often expenses small enough that you don't notice or take them into consideration when looking for resources to cut back—yet, these budget-busting expenses should be the first ones you eliminate.

As if you were a detective, look for these money outflows to remove them from your budget. You'll find them everywhere, from maintenance fees for your checking account to late fees for books you forgot to return to the library. With some effort, you will be able to eliminate these items that increase your expenses and gain some margin in your budget.

Check your current account

Bank fees can eat into your money, especially when you don't pay attention to them. Most banks charge a long list of fees on customers' checking accounts and these fees can add up very quickly. Worse still: When you don't rely on them, bank fees can lead to more bank fees. You can eliminate a lot of them if you take a few simple steps.

• Monthly maintenance fees. Many banks charge a monthly maintenance fee if your balance is below a pre-set minimum. You can avoid these fees by making sure you always have a minimum amount in your account, asking your bank to waive the commission if you set up direct deposits for your paychecks, or switching to a checking account with no monthly fees.
• Commissions on overdrawn accounts. When your current account has a negative balance, you will be charged an overdraft fee. Be sure to account for anything that causes your account balance to drop, including automatic payments, checks, ATM withdrawals, debit card transactions, and bank fees.
• Commissions on unpaid checks. If you deposit a bad check (meaning the person who wrote you the check doesn't have enough money in their account to cover the payment), your bank will likely charge you a commission. Not only will the check amount be deposited in your account, but the commission amount will also be debited from you.
• Commissions on paper statements. There are now banks that charge commissions for sending paper statements. Switching to electronic data will not only eliminate these fees, but will also save some trees from being destroyed.

Briefly: Banks charge commissions on almost everything. Go to your bank's website and review the list of fees (sometimes hard to find) to find out exactly how much the institution is charging you.

Additional avoidable costs that pile up

Some costs are difficult to detect; We just pay them and move on. Sometimes these are auto-pay expenses; Others are small commissions collected from time to time. However, even small extra costs, when they add up, can end up making a big dent in your budget if you do them regularly, so it pays to take steps to avoid them – and this is even more true when you neglect larger expenses.

Examples of additional costs that could be avoided:

• Free Trial subscriptions you forgot to cancel.
• Subscriptions to services you don't use (such as a gym).

Biggest cost to avoid: late payment fees. Paying these fees is like throwing your money in the trash.

If you find yourself constantly missing payment deadlines, get into the habit of paying bills as soon as you receive them or automate paying bills that reoccur every month. You can also set various reminders to help you meet payment deadlines, at least until you get into the habit of always making payments on time.

Create barriers to spending

Apps and websites make it very easy to spend money without even noticing. When you pay with your cell phone, you don't feel like you're spending money, and the same goes for online orders with just one click. These “conveniences” are among the biggest budget busters, and eliminating them by creating obstacles to spending can make it much easier to control impulsive spending.

Examples of barriers to spending include, for example:

• Delete credit card data saved on websites.
• Uninstall Applications Premium Contact From your cell phone.
• Make it physically difficult to access your credit card.
• Unsubscribe from the service Connected (such as Amazon Prime).
• Disable one-click payment.
• Disable purchases using Applications.

If you put all or part of these obstacles into practice, it will be difficult for you to spend money without thinking about it. When you have to think — even just for a few seconds — about what you're buying, you're more likely to let go of the purchase and save money for something you really want.

Pet prices

Most people greatly underestimate the cost of owning a pet, which can lead to budget difficulties. If it's your first pet (or the first of its kind), you'll need to purchase a set of basic items. In addition to this initial one-time expense, you will have ongoing costs throughout the pet's life.

First year costs include things like food and water bowls, crates, carrying bags, beds, and adoption expenses. Ongoing daily costs include food, vaccinations, internal and external deworming, and toys. If you have to add costs Pet nurseryOr breeding dogs, you will have to allocate a higher amount. And if your pet has a health emergency, medical expenses can be prohibitive.

If you have pets or are thinking about getting one, be sure to factor normal and potential emergency costs into your budget. You may also want to create a separate emergency fund so that you never have to rethink the decision to take your pet to the vet.