Most of us loose money everyday. Some of us don't realize it. Others simply don't care. For a lot of people that lost money could come in handy to pay down debt.

On Tuesday, we "found" $260.00 in one month for my friend just in overdraft fee's!

Today I'm referring to households who pay only the minimum payment on credit cards, loans and lines of credits as well as those people who wait for the "late" reminder on their bills as a "reminder" to pay it.

Let's look at these a little closer.

Minimum Payments:

Minimum payments can, over the long run cost you dearly.

Here's an example:

Lets say you have $8000.00 in credit card debt (or a loan or line of credit) at 15% interest and your minimum payment is based on 3% of the balance.

If you just paid the minimum payment each month (starting with $240 a month, payments decreasing slightly as the principle is paid down) and never put another dime on that credit card it would take you 224 months pay it off. To the tune of $5576.70 in interest.

But what if you could pay just $50.00 a month more?

You would roughly pay all this debt off in 35 months and only pay $1871.00 in interest!

We just found: $3700.00.

I came up with this hypothetical example using one of the many great calculators at http://www.bankrate.com/brm....

Late Payments:

Late payments are totally avoidable and, over time, can be costly as well. Getting one is simply giving money away, not to mention how they could effect your credit score.

Late fees on utilities and credit products run from $5.00 to $35.00 and could be more. If you are consistantly late on more than one bill, the late fee's could really add up over time.

Late fees at $5.00 x 12 months: $60.00.

Late fees at $35.00 x 12 months: $420.00

Look at all that money we just found!

Readers, I have a challenge for those of you this weekend: Create a budget!

Make a list of all your bills, what you own on credit cards, loans and lines. Figure your minimums. Create a workable budget for rent/mortgage, utilities and groceries, living expenses. It doesnt have to be real detailed and you don't have to take a lot of time, just create something to give yourself a good idea where you stand. Keep it handy, we'll work on it next week.

Use the budgeting calculator at bankrate.com . It's great.

Balance your checkbook. If you need help, leave me a comment.

Keep track of your spending habits. Each time you swipe your debit card or write a check, make a note what you purchased. We'll talk about this too.