Using a credit card rewards program can be an effective and easy way to earn extra money each year. Depending on your usage and spending, a diligent card holder can earn several hundred dollars every year in redeemed gift cards are prizes. As long as you remain committed to paying off your balance each month and can avoid over spending on items you don’t need, there are few downsides to these programs.
I wanted to touch on an important point however that sometimes gets forgotten when it comes to credit card use. Even if you stick to your monthly budget when using your credit cards and payoff the balance each month, you still could be losing money. When was the last time you actually sat down and reviewed each expense on your statement?
Taking the time to review your credit card statement each month is just as important as paying off your balance. As you will read below, I learned the hard way.
Check Your Monthly Credit Card Statements
Over a year ago I signed up for a coupon rewards program that offered free products and discounts for signing up. The first month for this service was free and then cost $10 per month thereafter. My intentions at the time were to sign up and get the free rewards and then cancel at the end of the first month.
About 12 months after signing up for this program, I began to monitor my credit card statements more closely. While my wife and I have kept a decent handle on our spending and pay off our balance every month, we only casually reviewed our monthly statements. We usually just took less than a minute to scan the charges to make sure nobody had gotten a hold of our card.
It wasn’t until I started to review each line item and compare multiple months of statements that I realized I had never canceled the coupon service. I had been charged an extra $10 each month for a service that I never used. While $10 per month may seem like a small amount of money, the $120 we lost in the 12 months time made us take notice.
Saving More Money
The point of this story is to not get lazy when it comes to your personal finances. I had gotten complacent about always checking every expenditure on our credit card statements. It wasn’t until we looked at exactly what we were spending on the card to make us realize we needed to fill a hole in our finances of $120 per year.
We have since canceled the coupon service and no longer will be billed the $10 fee each month. As my wife and I work towards saving 10% of our income, it is important to pay attention to the small details of our finances. The more of these small expenditures that we can find, the easier it will be to save $400 per month (or 10% of our current income).
Monthly Savings – $10
I encourage everyone reading this to start taking their finances seriously. Even if you think that you are always on top of your spending, double and even triple check your statements. Start with your checking and savings accounts. Then move on to your monthly credit card bills. You may be surprised at how much you can save just by eliminating wasted expenses like the one I just mentioned.
Have you ever discovered wasted expenses like I just mentioned by reviewing your statements?
Related posts:
- 18 Tips on Using a Credit Card Rewards Program
- Adding a Discover Credit Card Income Stream
- Read Your Credit Card Statement – Detail is Important
- 5 Quick Tips on Maximizing Credit Card Rewards
- What Can Raise Your Credit Score? Try Using Credit Cards!
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