Money management tips come in all shapes and sizes. Some relate to complicated matters like maintaining a diversified investment portfolio or maximizing your retirement plan contributions by taking advantage of employer matching contributions. Other money management tips, however, can be very simple. In fact, one of the simplest tips I’ve ever offered is to remember to check for errors.
Everyone makes mistakes: bank tellers, store clerks, and us. I’m never put out when someone makes an honest error. I simply point out the problem and ask them to correct it. If I’m not looking for them, though, those errors can cost a lot of money.
Errors at the Cash Register – Mistakes happen all of the time at the checkout counter. Perhaps the young lady who rang up your purchases at Hobby Lobby didn’t realize that picture frames were on sale. Another common mistake is a cashier forgetting to swipe a customer’s rewards card to activate any discount or sales that are available. Although these are innocent mistakes, the mistakes can cost you. Pay careful attention as your purchases are rang up so that you can point out any problems.
Bank Errors – Banks certainly aren’t exempt from mistakes. Just the other day, while reviewing my monthly savings account statement, I noticed that I was charged a $5 fee for my savings account. Since my account isn’t normally subject to fees, I called the bank to find out what had happened. Five minutes later, the customer service person had apologized and replaced the amount in my account. The bank’s “system” made some type of mistake and didn’t recognize that my account met a criterion that kept it exempt from fees. Examine your monthly or quarterly banking statements in great detail to make sure that none of these small mistakes make their way into your finances.
Credit Card Errors – Companies who accept credit cards for payment often use a third-party processor to process those payments. Those processors have many different systems in place to try to prevent errors, but sometimes a glitch will make its way through. Make sure that you recognize every charge that is on your monthly statement. If you don’t recognize one (or it’s wrong), be sure to call your credit card company right away to start an inquiry into the charge.
Payment Applications – One common type of error doesn’t happen when you make a purchase; it happens when you make a payment. Take care to verify that your payments are applied in the appropriate manner by examining your statement each month. Many people, for instance, send extra money in to their mortgage holder each month to pay down the principal on their mortgage. If that additional money is applied incorrectly, however, you could lose out on some of the benefits of paying more than the minimum payment. Always check out your statement to make sure that your payment was applied the way you intended for it to be applied.
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Great post, according to me credit card is very big problem.
What at a great post–I think this area is missed by many out there. I have saved myself tons of money over the years by doing this with ALL of my bills.
Even utility companies make “mistakes” sometimes and its not like they’re busting down doors to find them and fix them.
The only one who can check this stuff is you!
Especially with credit cards. There can be mistakes and if you don’t notice you will be spending more money than you should.