Hidden Bills that Suck Your Budget

I was re-reading an article by Karen Datko of Smart Spending entitled The least important bill in which she talks about eliminating bills that really aren't essential. Naturally, they fall into the entertainment category with things like music download services, online video/game rental and the such.




These are the bills you never see. Typically when you set up these types of accounts they require that you give a credit card number or event a direct link to your checking account for billing. And so they are virtually invisible. Worse than credit card spending when you use these services you don't even have to think about how much your spending.



I was checking iTunes the other day to see if there are any thresholds to help impose budgeting. No surprise...there aren't. You can't freeze the account or set a $$ limit/download per month. Blockbuster online does let you suspend the account without cancelling which is nice if you'll be away for an extended time or you want to give your budget a short break without cancelling.

So someone might default on a mortgage or dig a grave of debt by only paying the minimum on credit cards, but still be happily gaming away.

What are the sukkubusses to your budget? Do you ever give them much thought?

photo by Steve Rhodes