We’re all guilty of making mistakes with our finances from time to time. Whether it’s an impulse buy, being sucked in by a marketing promotion or paying too much interest on your mortgage, it’s likely that you’ve paid too much for something at some point in your life.
While you may be pretty savvy when it comes to money, there’s always room for improvement. To help you stay one step ahead and to remain in control of your finances, here are some cringe-worthy money mistakes that you should try and avoid.
1. Only paying the minimum repayment amount
When a bank sends you your monthly loan or credit card statement, it will outline the minimum repayment amount that is due (normally 2.5 per cent of the closing balance). However, what most people don’t know is that this is a tactic employed by banks to keep you as a customer (and paying interest) for longer.
Only making the minimum repayment on a loan or credit card debt may not seem that bad, but it does mean that you’ll take the longest possible time to repay your debt. Instead of only making the minimum repayment, try to pay a little extra each month to chip away at your debt faster and to pay less interest overall.
In a perfect world, we’d be able to repay the full statement amount every time. But the reality is that many of us can only just afford to make the minimum repayment. This is why whenever you do have some extra cash, you should consider putting it towards your debt as a priority.
Listen: Penina Petersen Feeds Her Family On $42 a Week. Post continues after audio…
2. Not backing yourself when asking for a pay rise
Women are notorious for not backing themselves when it comes to performance reviews, and frankly, it’s something that we need to overcome. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that every woman should take their employer aside and request a 20 per cent pay rise effective immediately, but the conversation should be had when it’s due. No one’s going to ask for you.