3 Monthly Charges That Shrink Your Budget Faster Than Daily Coffee
We’ve all heard the advice that cutting out your daily latte could be the key to financial success. But who wants to do that? Rather than cut the caffeine, there are likely other monthly charges that are shrinking your budget faster than your daily coffee.
Here are three charges that may have a bigger impact than you think on your finances. While some won’t necessarily exceed your coffee purchases on their own, when taken together, they can add up quickly.
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Ad-Free Upgrades and Multiple Streaming Services
As far as monthly charges go for streaming services, the ad-based versions run between $8 per month for Peacock to $12 for Hulu or HBO Max. The ad-free versions are typically an additional $6 or more. While this won’t make a huge dent in your budget on its own, even if you spring for an ad-free version, multiple subscriptions can start to add up.
When you combine Netflix, Peacock and Hulu, you’re looking at monthly charges of $29 with ads, and $56 for these services without ads. These costs climb the more subscription services you add.
Food Delivery Charges
Sometimes, the convenience of having food delivered to your home makes any extra charges worth it at the end of a long day. However, if you’re worried about shrinking your budget, you may want to take a closer look at what convenience is actually costing you.
While you may be aware of delivery fees and tips, a sneakier charge is that the restaurant itself may charge more for the meal to account for the fees that they’re paying the delivery companies. For instance, a carry-out order of 8-count Chick-fil-A nuggets from the restaurant costs $5.29, while an order through DoorDash costs $6.89. That’s not accounting for any delivery fees. DoorDash fee lists, for instance, various fees that include “Small Order Fee,” a “Long Distance Fee,” an “Express Fee,” a “Regulatory Response Fee” and “Other Mandatory Fees.”
The Forgotten Subscriptions
C + R Research conducted an analysis of consumers who have recurring subscriptions, asking them questions regarding how many subscriptions they have and how much they pay for them each month. When asked to quickly estimate how much they were paying for their monthly subscriptions, the collective average of estimated monthly subscription spending was $86. However, when they added up what they actually spent each month, the average jumped to $219. Therefore, they underestimated the cost by an average of $133.
Of the participants, 74% said it’s easy to forget about recurring subscription charges, and 42% said they have actually forgotten about a subscription they weren’t using but continued to pay for. If you’re looking to make a little more room in your budget without giving up your daily coffee, a subscription audit is a good place to start.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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