Comments on: Stupid Mistakes That Cost Me Money

By: The Baker's Son

The Baker's Son — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:36:13 +0000

I have been paying my bills online for nearly 10 years now without error. This month I go to pay my cable and as I attempt to enter it into my spreadsheet I see that I made an entry that would indicate the bill had been paid the prior week but for a slightly higher amount. After a bit of research I discovered the bill I paid the prior week should have been hydro but I selected the cable payee by mistake. So now my cable bill was paid a little early and for a little more than it should have and my hydro is now late by a couple days. I immediately make the payment to hydro. I gave them a call and fortunately they said it wouldn’t be a problem since it was only 2 days late (I hope that’s true).

By: mnevan

mnevan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:59:13 +0000

Oh well, just move on, these things do happen.

You seem to have a very solid, well thought-out big picture.

This is minor.

By: dlm

dlm — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:11:14 +0000

I always take anything back to at least try to resolve a mistake. And I carefully check receipts since being charged $95 for $5 worth of ground beef.

I don’t pay any bank fees: Canadian Western Bank has free chequing and savings accounts and has similar rates to ING. If you call to ask for a fee to be waived (like writing a cheque when the money is in savings), they may do it.

By: Canadian Dream

Canadian Dream — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:04:01 +0000

Caitlin,

That is a good one. I try to fight clutter in the house, but I don’t always win.

FP,

I know the amounts are small, it just makes me mad to waste money for nothing.

Tim

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:24:49 +0000

Isn’t that just so annoying when that happens? I bought a few lengths of fabric on sale a wee while ago, and it wasn’t until I went to make up one of the lengths into a skirt that I looked at the receipt and realised I had paid for 2.5m of fabric instead of the 1.5m I asked for and got I am usually so careful at checking receipts !

By: Cash Canuck

Cash Canuck — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:51:21 +0000

I try to keep my chequing account above the “rebate level” so I don’t have to pay fees. Inevitably, the balance dips below the threshold once or twice a year and I get dinged for $30 of fees. Also, my savings account only allows 1 withdrawl per month, and charges 5 bucks for additional ones. 5 bucks represents a lot of interest, especially with rates as low as they are.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:57:04 +0000

$5 down the drain? No biggie – don`t worry about it.

The TFSA penalty is on the over-contribution amount so it is pretty minimal in your case.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:49:58 +0000

My biggest stupid thing that costs me money? Clutter!
Seriously. Over the years I’ve had so many piles of “stuff” that I can’t find some things when I need them. Sometimes, if I really need something (say a new needle for my serger – not something you can use the machine without) I’ve had to go out and buy a new one, knowing full well that I already owned several “somewhere”.
The most expensive thing I’ve lost and had to replace was a 1GB memory stick. Not much money these days, but this was back when one of those cost about $100. I’m still annoyed about that one. (I found the old one a few months later, and made full use of two of them, but still.)