If there’s one thing that eats away at your bank balance, it’s fees. They seem so minor at the time, but over the course of a year they really add up.

For example, my husband was laid off from his job a while back. He was able to find contract work fairly quickly, but not a full time job with benefits. Because he no longer has direct deposit, the bank has started tacking on a monthly fee to his checking account.

Now if there’s one thing no one needs to be doing, it’s paying the bank a monthly fee of $10 per month. I can think of a whole slew of things that would be more fun to do with $10 a month than pay a bank fee.

But, it’s kind of a pain to get changed. They don’t want to waive it. He doesn’t want to keep a large minimum balance, etc. Changing banks can be a pain.

Getting rid of that fee is the kind of thing that could easily slip through the cracks, but it’s worth it to do what it takes to eliminate the fee.

So for today, take a few minutes to think about any fees you might be paying that you probably don’t have to. Typical examples include bank fees, cell phone insurance fees, credit insurance fees, private mortgage insurance if you have more than 20% equity in your home, subscriptions that you no longer use, etc. If you can’t think of any fees that you might be paying off the top of your head, examine each bill as you receive it for any unnecessary fees.

Make a list of those fees, and start canceling the ones that aren’t benefiting you. A few phone calls can save you hundreds of dollars per year.

Note: This post is a part of the 31 Days to a Better Bank Balance series.