7 Money Mistakes That Can Cost You Big

Let’s face it, times are getting tougher for many of us. That sense of uncertainty has many deciding to save money. But There are mistakes you can make that threaten your financial health. So we’re showing you the Seven Biggest Money Mistakes you can make.

We’ll countdown from 7… and that’s got to do with the money you put away for retirement. The Seventh biggest money mistake you can make is dipping into your savings before retirement. Kimberly Overman is a financial advisor who says, “ When you pull money out of a retirement plan, it's taxed and if your under 59 and a half, you get to pay an extra 10% penalty."

Number 6 is choosing the wrong financial advisor. That can cost you big. "If you're looking for someone to provide you advice, you have to understand how they get compensated and how they're looking out for your best interests."

The 5th biggest money mistake you can make is retiring without a plan. “ Their retirement plan means okay I'm now 55 or 62 or 65 so I'm going to stop working. That is not a plan.” Overman says to figure out how much money you need to retire you have to know how much you’re spending now.

That goes hand in hand with number 4 on the list. Not having the right investment strategy. Overman says do your homework. She says if you are not comfortable coming up with your own plan, hire someone to help.

Number 3 on the list – not utilizing a work retirement plan. “One of the benefits of a 401K plan., that many employees can take advantage of, is that it's saved before you ever see it,” Overman says. She suggest maxing out your 401K as much as you can, so you pay yourself first.

The 2nd biggest money mistake is having no safety net. An emergency reserve helps if you are laid off or become disabled.

And the number 1 biggest money mistake - letting your debt manage you. She says credit card debt and the finance fees you pay, is like throwing your money away.

I’ve attached some good links to help you with each of these tips. Good luck!

Also if you have any great money saving tips, that you’d like to share, post them on my CW Penny Pinchers Blog and you may hear them soon on Your CW News at Ten, during the Penny Pinchers segment. You’ll find us on cable channel 9 and direct TV channel 62. http://www.carolinascw.com/blogspot/article/cw_penny_pinchers/

Links:

Retirement Calculator http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/retirementneed/retirementneed_plain.html

401K Calculator http://www.mycalculators.com/ca/401kcalcm.html

Credit Card Debt Calculator http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/creditcardpay.asp

Picking the right financial advisor http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/30/pf/expert/ask_expert/index.htm