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" When it comes to managing your money, you can&amp;#039;t be perfect all the time, and it&amp;#039;s OK to splurge every once in a while. But there are a few dangerous money mistakes to avoid so you don&amp;#039;t completely damage your financial standing. 1. Not saving for retirement It&amp;#039;s never too early to start saving for retirement, and it&amp;#039;s certainly never too late. Make sure you&amp;#039;re taking advantage of the retirement savings plan your employer may offer, such as a 401(k). Companies will often match a percentage of your contribution, which is free money! 2. Paying bills late Making late payments can lower your credit score and cause you to waste money on late fees. To avoid this mistake, sign up for a digital life organization service, such as Manilla.com, which sends you automatic bill pay reminders via text or email. 3. Failing to monitor your credit Check your credit report at least once every year to ensure there are no errors, issues of identity theft, or fraud. You wouldn&amp;#039;t want your score to drop because of a preventable oversight. 4. Putting more money toward your mortgage when you have other debt It may be tempting to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible, but if you have other debt with higher interest rates, such as credit card debt, you need to change your perspective. If your home loan has an interest rate of only 5 percent, while your credit card could be as high as 25 percent, it&amp;#039;s more important to pay off the credit card debt to avoid paying more in interest over the long term. Plus, your credit card interest isn&amp;#039;t tax deductible, so you&amp;#039;re wasting money. 5. Not exploring financial aid for your student&amp;#039;s education Why would you pay in full for your child&amp;#039;s education when there are multiple scholarships and programs designed to save you money? For example, Upromise by Sallie Mae is a program that allows you to use the money you spend today to help pay for college later. Simply starting your shopping at Upromise.com, you can get 5 percent of that spending back for college from hundreds of major online retailers such as Target.com, Staples.com and Oldnavy.com or double that to 10 percent with the Upromise MasterCard. The rewards program is free to join, easy to use and members have earned $750 million in cash for college. 6. Paying the minimum balance on your credit card bill Failing to pay off your credit card balance in full each month will cause you to pay a lot of money in interest over the life of your repayment plan, so use credit cards only for things you know you can afford and pay off the bill in full each month. If you can&amp;#039;t do that, try to pay more than the minimum amount due and always pay your bill on time. 7. Having no emergency fund It&amp;#039;s something you have to have but hope you never have to use. Aim to save six months&amp;#039; worth of living expenses to use in the event of an emergency, such as unexpected medical expenses, a natural disaster, or a job loss. 8. Not having a budget Although it&amp;#039;s become a common occurrence, I&amp;#039;m always surprised to hear when someone doesn&amp;#039;t use a budget. It&amp;#039;s this simple: your income minus your expenses. The difference is what you&amp;#039;re allowed to spend each month. Budgeting helps you to avoid overspending, keeps you aware of your financial standing, and makes you overall more financially responsible and secure. 9. Failing to take advantage of rewards programs Credit cards, airlines, hotels and a variety of other companies offer a wealth of incentives from gift cards, to cash back, to free flights and more. Make sure you&amp;#039;re enrolled in an airline&amp;#039;s or hotel&amp;#039;s rewards program each time you travel so you can take advantage of discounts on your next stay. More Great Advice From Manilla.com:  Are You a Financial Disaster Waiting to Happen? 5 Money Corners You Should Never Cut What Is a Good Credit Score? How to Financially Prepare for an Emergency  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/money/advice/a19266/worst-financial-decisions/>