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5 hidden fees costing your small business money
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Starting your own business can be exciting, but it often comes with a rocky road ahead. Those rocks will cut into your wallet through several expenses. Miscalculating the daily costs of running a company can hurt you in the long run.
Although some fees are hard to miss, others can slip through the cracks. Those can cost you a ton of cash over time. Here are five hidden fees that may have slipped past your radar.
1. Too many accounts for the same program
Let’s say you need to use an expensive program that charges per user. If you have five login accounts but only three people need them, you’re paying for two subscriptions you don’t use. Take stock of the resources you pay for and analyze how many workers use them.
Maybe you’re paying for a team to use expensive accounting software, for example. But if only one person uses it, you should demote your subscription to a single-person plan.
This is an easy mistake, especially when you have a high turnover. One employee may have set up a paid account before leaving the company. Since they’re gone, you should delete their accounts. There’s no sense in paying for an account that’s no longer in use.
2. Using an expensive subscription when a cheaper one will do
It’s tempting to pay for the highest tier. Maybe you found cutting-edge accounting software with a ton of features. Unless you’re using all of those features, you’re probably paying for more than you need.
You can save money by ensuring you aren’t automatically signing up for a top-of-the-line subscription when you’d be fine down a tier or two. Sometimes, the cheapest subscription will serve all your needs — and put extra money in your pocket.
3. Tricky phone bills
Unexpected fees can pop up, making your phone bill hard to comprehend. There are many parts to understand, from calling plans and services to taxes, surcharges and miscellaneous fees.
That’s why we recommend auditing your phone service. It’s common for business leaders to buy phone service and cross it off their mental list forever. That’s not a good idea, though — the market changes, prices go up and you can overpay if you don’t check in now and then.
The truth behind smart driving programs and what they track
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I’ll bet your insurance company has sent this one your way: “Drive safely, get rewarded. Sign up for our smart driving program today!” You’ve got a squeaky clean driving record, so what’s the harm?
Smart driving programs track your driving habits and give you discounts for being a good driver. But there’s more to it than just saving a few bucks. Buckle up — I’ll break it down for you.
The truth about insurance smart driving programs
Thinking about signing up for your insurance company’s driving tracker for a discount? Find out how it monitors your habits, from speed and braking to late-night trips.
Talk about great coverage: The state of Texas sued Allstate. They say the insurance company paid app developers millions of dollars to sneak in their code, then tracked 45 million folks’ locations. The apps the lawsuit names include Fuel Rewards, GasBuddy, Life360 and Allstate-owned Routely. I’m sure this happened in all states, not just Texas.
5 years
Length of time automaker General Motors is banned from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data. GM was caught collecting all kinds of driving habits (think hard braking, speed and driving at night) every three seconds and selling it to insurance companies and third-party brokers, all without consent. Shame on them.
Need some extra cash? 15 jobs you can do from home
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Working remotely isn’t suitable for everybody. But in the wake of the pandemic, it has seen a considerable boon globally. Tap or click here for legit ways to find work-from-home jobs.
If you’re interested in earning a living from home, there is no better time to get involved with the right opportunity.
Your data: It’s all posted online - But there's a simple way to remove it
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A loyal reader, Racquel, emailed me recently after dealing with a very angry customer at work. “Last week, she left me a voicemail and said that I was behind all her problems and she was ‘going to find’ where I lived.”
Ascension Healthcare hack: We now know how big the May cyberattack really was. Hackers grabbed medical records, payment info, insurance details, IDs and addresses of 5.6 million people. If this breach affects you, watch for a letter via USPS mail. Either way, freeze your credit and get yourself off the Dark Web.
Facebook funeral scam warning
Scammers have hit a sickening low. They use real obituary details to trick grieving families into giving their credit card info for fake “services.” Plus, tech phrases we’re done with, insurance companies using drones, and why you need an outdoor TV antenna.
Wear a health tracker? Expect high insurance costs
You aren’t just counting your steps. Health tracker companies are selling your data, leading to higher insurance premiums, invasive ads, and more. Plus, TSA’s facial recognition is expanding, and a ‘lottery’ may decide seats for the Menendez brothers’ resentencing.
AI making life-and-death decisions
An algorithm rejected more than 300,000 health insurance claims in just two months. It spent less than two seconds on each, leaving patients in the dark and lives at risk.
Your car is watching
Automakers and insurance companies are teaming up to share data on your driving habits. Also, EV sales are struggling, and there are issues with Airbnb. I speak with a guy whose identity was stolen, and now the scammer is using his info to con others.
Insurers use drones to watch your home
Invasion of privacy? CJ Sveen says his home insurance was dropped after aerial pics were used to spy on his property. Plus, Russian troops smuggle Starlink, Android’s new “Find My Device” feature, and the crazy lengths one hacker went to avoid paying $100,000 in child support.
June 15th, 2024
Your driving apps are snitching on you to your insurance company. At this year’s WWDC, Apple goes all in on AI (come fall, expect a way smarter Siri!). Plus, a woman nearly dies from fake Ozempic, and chatbots are spreading election lies.
Another health care data breach: WebTPA provides admin services to health benefit plans and insurance companies. Hackers stole the names, contact details, birth and death dates, Social Security numbers and insurance info of 2.4 million people in April 2023. Yes, it happened over a year ago and we’re just hearing about it now. The company’s CEO basically said, “It’s no big deal.” Yeah, not for you.
Insurance canceled? Blame the drones
It’s not a bird or a plane — it’s your insurance company. Plus, tech phrases you’ll never use again, simple phones to keep kids off social media, and Cybertruck fails.
Insurers use drones to watch your home
Invasion of privacy? CJ Sveen says his home insurance was dropped after aerial pics were used to spy on his property. Plus, Russian troops smuggle Starlink, Android’s new “Find My Device” feature, and the crazy lengths one hacker took to avoid paying $100,000 in child support.
Insurance cancelled? Blame the drones
Customers are suddenly finding their coverage vanish. Here’s why.
The reason your insurance is so expensive
Rates going up? New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill joins to talk about how your car may be snitching on you. Also, Kim and Andrew take a look at the new viral video of Kate Middleton and Amazon’s (dumb) solution to workplace burnout — telling workers to think happy thoughts.