Some say we have become a junk fee economy. Junk fees are making companies billions of dollars richer, spanning across banking, telecom, entertainment, and hospitality industries. Banking fees include overdraft charges, late fees, and account maintenance fees. Fun fees are extra costs consumers may encounter while booking flights, concert tickets, or hotel rooms, such as resort fees that may be tacked on for your use of amenities during your stay. Home fees are surprise charges that arise when buying a house, including closing costs and fees for document preparation or title insurance. There are also cable and internet junk fees, such as extra charges to maintain high-speed fiber networks. Companies have become addicted to junk fees, says the Federal Trade Commission.
In addition to seeing those junk fees, with multiple streaming services and cell phone bills it is necessary to occasionally audit your services and bills. Those nickel and dime fees and services can really add up.
Here are some steps you can take:
- Get Rid of Unused Services- review your bank account and credit card bills for any subscription services. Are there any that you rarely use or don’t use at all? Cancelling those can save you each month.
- Limit the number of streaming services. Consider giving up a service before adding a new one. Is there a service that only provides just a few shows you enjoy? Maybe binge your favorites then cancel your service for a while. Also finding one service that does double duty can save money. For example: Amazon Prime and Walmart+ both include a free streaming service along with free shipping on ordered goods.
- Carefully review all charges on your cell phone bill. You may want to consider reducing or removing the insurance for certain phones on your plan. For helpful tips on lowering your cell phone bill CLICK HERE.*
- Review your Paystub – Here is a GUIDE to help you audit your paystub.
*IFG Advisory, LLC and Stark Financial Strategies offer this article for informational purposes only and have not vetted any other article or link displayed on this web page.