It’s not how much you earn, but how much you keep that makes the difference in lifestyle and retirement. Keep more of your hard-earned money, by making fewer money mistakes.

Some of the most common money mistakes cost thousands of dollars. All you need to do is pay attention to avoid them, says Motley Fool in the article, “5 Money Mistakes You Probably Don’t Even Realize You’re Making.” See if any of these sound familiar and take control of your financial health today.

No clue to recurring charges. Unless you regularly review your credit card bills, you can easily miss monthly charges that you don’t need, like not cancelling a gym membership. Some automatic monthly charges increase over time, which you won’t notice unless you’re checking those bills.

Working too long at a job. You may believe that you’ve done well to have stayed at your current job for long time. However, in order to maximize your income, you might want to think about moving to a better paying job. The human resource management company ADP studied data on 24 million workers, and found that workers get their biggest increases in salaries, when they’ve been at a job for more than two years, but not more than five years.

Failing to request a raise. It is true that job-hopping isn’t for everyone. However, you can earn more in your current position, by asking for a raise. A recent PayScale survey found that among those who asked for a raise at work, about 70% received some sort of increase. However, only 37% ever asked for a raise.

Failing to regularly review your insurance. Insurance isn’t something to set and forget, if you want to keep your costs down. Take some time every year to contact a variety of insurers to review your coverage for each kind of insurance and to get new quotes. Shopping around for better rates regularly, can potentially save you hundreds of dollars per year. Another way to save on insurance is to bundle your policies with one carrier.

Failing to have an estate plan. Everyone needs to have a will prepared, a power of attorney for finances, a health care power of attorney and a living will. People procrastinate and then life happens. Their spouses or children are left to go to court for the ability to manage finances, or the wrong heirs receive an inheritance. Make an appointment with an estate planning attorney to create the estate plan that is right for you and your family. Don’t neglect to check your beneficiary designations on retirement and investment accounts, as well as on any life insurance policies you own.

Reference: Motley Fool (June 12, 2019) “5 Money Mistakes You Probably Don’t Even Realize You’re Making”