When budgeting for your family, it’s easy to focus on the expenses you need. However, you should also pay attention to the expenses you don’t want. There are some things that are just not worth paying for.
These five expenses are avoidable, and you can save thousands of dollars if you manage to eliminate them.
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Divorce attorneys
If you aren’t 100% sure about your fiancé, you should be aware that the cost of a divorce could be almost as much as the cost of your wedding.
When you add up the attorney’s fees, court costs, and mediation costs, you could be looking at a total cost of about $15,000.
This amount doesn’t include the cost if you require parent education classes, early neutral evaluations, and refinancing costs if you own real estate. Nobody wants to have to pay for both a wedding and a divorce.
However, if it is an unavoidable necessity and you can find the right attorney, they can help you find ways to resolve conflicts quickly, cleanly, and with little expense.
Tax penalties
Nobody enjoys paying taxes, but the penalties you could pay for tax evasion are severe. In addition, if you have a 401(k) or an IRA, make sure you understand the restrictions you have on your retirement account. Early withdrawals can cost you thousands.
Sometimes, people will think they can save money by cheating on their taxes, but ultimately, if you get caught, you’ll lose more money than you would have owed in the first place.
Credit card debt
If you use a credit card, do not carry a balance over from month to month. Interest on credit card debt is so easily avoidable, and costly enough to try to avoid. Even a small amount of interest each month can add up over the course of one year.
Pay off your entire balance each month to avoid this expense.
Identity theft
The inconvenience of having your identity stolen is bad enough, but the cost is even worse. Make sure you are careful with your information. Change your banking password every other month, and never give out any personal information via phone or email.
In addition, monitor your accounts and your credit score daily. This will help you detect fraud immediately and prevent the situation from worsening.
Cable TV
Cable television can cost hundreds of dollars per month, and there are now many cheaper alternatives. You can purchase several devices for under $50 that allow you to stream instant videos directly on your television.
Even when you add up the cost of Internet and the cost of a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu Plus, you can still save around $1,000 per year.
There’s no sense in paying for expenses that you can easily avoid. Even if you can afford to pay these costs each month, you could be putting this money to better use. For example, you could save even more for retirement or use your extra cash to take that family vacation you’ve always wanted.
By evaluating your family’s budget, you can eliminate these expenses and forge a stronger financial future.
Informational credit to Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney, J. Scott Gunn, P.A.
Erika Remmington
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