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Little transactions here and there can add to huge losses in our pocketbooks without us even realizing it. Here are several ways that you could be throwing your hard earned money away, plus how you can avoid doing it.

Carry a credit card balance.
If you carry a balance on your credit card, you're wasting money on interest payments. The best way to stop wasting your money this way is to pay off your credit card balances each month. If paying off your balance is not an option right now, stop using your credit cards and pay down the balance.

If you have a larger or multiple credit card balances that you can't pay off in the near future, find steps on paying down the balance in Credit Card Debt.

Use out of network ATMs.
When making an ATM withdrawal at a machine that is not part of your bank's network the average ATM fee is approximately $2.40.¹ Do this on a weekly basis and you're wasting almost $10 a month or $120 a year just to access your cash! You can easily avoid this by using only your financial institutions network of ATMs throughthe use of their app to locate the ATMs nearest you. If that's not an option, use a grocery store or drugstore to get cash back on small purchases, such as gum. Just make sure the purchase is something that you need or you're for sure going to use because if it's not, you're still wasting money. And if that's not possible, try to start planning ahead to get cash or carry a small amount with you all the time to cover why you're always using an ATM, such as lunch or transportation.

Find an Alliant ATM near you.

Don't negotiate.
Not negotiating for the best deal on your cell phone, cable or Internet plan means that you're wasting money. On a regular basis review your statements for opportunities to take advantage of discounts and give your providers a call to negotiate better terms. It's recommended that you do the same thing for your credit card interest rates.

Not using subscriptions.
Are you using all of the subscriptions you're signed up for? If you can't answer this with an emphatic yes then it's time for you to review and cancel some of them. The subscriptions could include online radio, movies, magazines, newspapers and more. Many of the subscriptions have automatic renewals, so make sure you evaluate whether you're really using the service and cancel it before you have to pay for it another year. Even changing your plan to use it the best way that fits your lifestyle, such as only getting the digital version rather than both print and digital, will help you save.

Pay fees.
Sometimes fees are unavoidable but if it's avoidable and you're still paying, you are wasting your money. Schedule automatic payments, text alerts and email reminders to make sure you pay your bills on time and avoid paying late fees. You should also research how you can waive or sign up for protection to avoid paying a larger fee. Parking is a hefty fee in the city, so try to take public transportation if you know that free parking is limited or unavailable. Yes, driving has its perks but is it better on your wallet to pay a $5 fee for taking public transportation or a $16 or more parking garage fee for driving? ²

Pass up company matching 401(k).
Company matching on a 401(k) is free money towards your retirement. If you're not at least matching the percentage your employer is contributing, three, five or six percent, then you're wasting money.

For tips to help make sure your retirement savings plan is on track and saving more of your retirement years, check out Eight Ways To Save More For Retirement.

Pay for credit reports.
You're entitled to a free copy of your credit report once a year from the three major reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, at www.annualcreditreport.com, the only authorized online source from a free credit report. Don't sign up for a membership to access your credit report. Use your free copies to monitor your report regularly and dispute something that isn't accurate.

Eating out, often.
Going out to lunch every workday can get expensive, then add in going out or ordering takeout a couple times a week for dinner and you're talking about a significant amount of money. Let's say that going out to lunch costs an average of $10 a day and then dinner costs approximately $20 per person. If you're in a relationship, you could be spending more than $700 a month on eating out combined at minimum. Start bringing your lunch to work and making more dinners at home. If you only eat out once a week and bring your lunch every day of the week saving $6 a day, you'll only be spending $320 a month eating out and have an extra $380 a month to put towards paying down debt, your savings or getting away from it all for the weekend.

You may also be interested in checking out How To Make Eating Out Cheaper and Saving At The Supermarket.

Making impulse purchases.
Shopping on impulse can cause you to waste quite a bit of money that you may not notice or at least not until you get to the cashier and hear the total. Whether it's little items or items that you throw in the cart without checking the price, it all adds up and affects your cash flow. Before you put the items in your shopping cart, exercise mindfulness, remind yourself of larger goals and apply the 30-day rule. The Consumerist defines the 30-day rule as putting the item down, going home and writing the name of the item, its price and where you found it, and then posting it someplace obvious. If you still want it after a month, you can purchase it.

Habits can be hard to break, but stopping these wasteful habits have positive results - more money in your wallet. What wasteful habits have you recently stopped to save money? Tell us by leaving a comment on Facebook. If you prefer Twitter, you can also send us a Tweet to @AlliantCU.

Sources: LearnVest.com, CreditKarma.com, Consumerist.com, Chicago.BestParking.com

¹ LearnVest.com
² Chicago Public Transportation fee is $2.25 one-way for a total of $4.50 round trip. The average cost per hour to park in downtown Chicago parking garages.

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