5 Small Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Finances

Your finances may be in a good place, but unfortunately, small mistakes have the potential to ruin the stability you’ve worked hard to secure. Make sure that you don’t make one of the following common mistakes:

  1. Underestimating Your Insurance Needs:

    No matter the insurance in question, it pays to have adequate coverage. Whether it’s health, renter’s or auto insurance, you may choose the cheapest option to keep your premiums low. However, while this could benefit you on monthly basis, it won’t be so helpful if something happens and you don’t have sufficient coverage. Your savings could end up depleted if you need to replace everything in your apartment or pay for medical expenses that were sufficiently covered.

    The best thing to do is to talk to an inurance broker or financial planner about your specific needs. Then you can best plan which insurance works for you and your family, and in the long run, saves you the most money.

  2. Ignoring Your Partner’s Money Behavior:

    If you’re dating someone and thinking about tying the knot in the future, do not ignore their money habits. You may be in love, but you can’t ignore financial red flags when you’re thinking about getting serious with someone. Their issues and/or bad credit could end up affecting you directly, so make sure you’re open about finances and get things out in the open before you move on to marriage.

  3. Paying the Mortgage Late:

    If you have a long history of on-time mortgage payments, you may view a single late payment as a small mistake that won’t damage your credit score. However, a 30-day late mortgage payment has a huge impact on scores. And the higher your credit score, the bigger the hit.

    There are no hard and fast rules regarding how many points you’ll lose, but being 30 or more days late can knock 80 to 100 points off your score.

  4. Doing Business with a Handshake:

    Even if you’re just doing business with a family member or trusted partner, it’s a mistake to not attach a formal contract to something that can have disastrous effect on your finances. Even if you completely trust the person you’re dealing with, you’ll want to have a contract that clearly outlines terms and ensures your protection. That way, worst case scenario, you have the option to take legal action.

  5. Over-sharing on Social Media:

    There are certain things that are fine to share on Facebook and Twitter, but documenting your every move on social media can put you in a bad position when it comes to applying for jobs:

    Nowadays, more and more employers are turning to social media to assess whether a job applicant is a right match for a company. It takes more than skills, education, and experience to land a job – you also need a good reputation.

Check out more helpful advice over at Wise Bread’s 10 Small Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Finances.