LWM

Where did all the money go?

Well most of us survived the holiday season with our bank accounts in the black and a little to head into the New Year. The questions I hear from many is “where did all the money go?” Well there are several things that take our money without us even noticing and I am going to share a few of them with you now.

It is easy to spend money and some things we know are just going to cost us money no matter what we do. This past holiday season I took a road trip to California & Oregon to visit family (The main expense was gas as we stayed with family), I planned to purchase several of my Christmas gifts in Oregon since they do not have a sales tax and that was a hugh savings for us. But sales tax is not the only hidden cost that reaches into our wallets and purses and takes the little bit we have left.

How many of you use your ATM card for purchases? Most of us do I think and for the most part that is not a problem (as long as the item is budgeted as discussed in a previous session), The problem is when you use your ATM card (debt card) to withdrawal money from a bank that IS NOT your bank.

Do you pay ATM fees? If you are taking money out of an ATM that does not belong to your financial institution then the chances are high that you are paying a small fee for that service and although it is only two or three dollars to do it (I have seen fees as high as eight dollars) that adds up over time and the more transactions you do the more dollars you find slipping away.

If you go to the ATM once a week for 52 weeks to take out $20 for lunch money and pay a $2 fee each time you make a withdrawal you are paying the bank $104 for that convenient service, what else could you do with $104?

ATM fees are going up every year and more and more financial institutions are adding those charges to each and every transaction.

AM/PM gas stations (Arco) charges 45 cents to use your ATM at the pump and if you fill up once a week you are paying $23.40 a year just to avoid going in and handing the cashier cash inside (remember your gas envelope?).

So the point here is…

Use your envelopes, budget your money and DO NOT use your ATM / Debit card anywhere where you are charged a fees for that service.


Feel free to send me a PM if you have questions or you can add them to the comments section if you feel others can benefit from the discussion.