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Marie Alcober
Updated Jun 24, 2026
The price of almost everything – from a carton of eggs to a pound of steak – remains stubbornly high.
According to a report by Edelman Financial Engines, 58% of Americans say they need a minimum salary of $100,000 to avoid worrying about everyday expenses.
While you may not have much control over the price of most necessities, here are five things in your monthly budget you may be overpaying for – and how you can cut back.
Car insurance
When was the last time you checked your car insurance rate? If it’s been a while, you are likely losing money every month.
By using a comparison platform like Insurify, you can instantly view quotes from top-rated providers to ensure you aren't paying a hidden ‘loyalty tax’ to your current insurer.
With Insurify, you can securely compare accurate, real-time quotes from 100+ top insurance companies in one place.
Just answer a few basic questions, and the platform will show you the most affordable deals in your area in as little as 5 minutes.
The process is 100% free, and there is zero obligation to switch unless you find a better rate.
Plus, you could find even more savings if you consider bundling your home and car insurance together.
Insurance providers love it when you bring them more business, and they will often offer substantial discounts to win both accounts.
With Insurify, for example, you could also save up to 15% by bundling your car insurance and home insurance together.
It takes just a few minutes to check, and it is one of the easiest ways to strip hundreds of dollars off your annual fixed costs.
Bank accounts
Most banks charge somewhere between $5 and $35 a month in account fees alone – especially if you bank with a big brick-and-mortar institution.
Online banks, on the other hand, typically charge lower or $0 fees and higher interest rates due to lower overhead costs.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your uninvested cash, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your money when you need it.
A Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base APY of 3.30% through program banks, and new clients can get an extra 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total variable APY of 4.05%¹.
That's ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC's March report².
Additionally, Wealthfront is offering new clients who enable direct deposit ($1,000/mo minimum) to their Cash Account and open and fund a new investment account an additional 0.25% APY increase³ with no expiration date or balance limit, meaning your APY could be as high as 4.30%.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, you get access to up to $8M FDIC Insurance eligibility through program banks.
A high-yield savings account is a smart place to park your emergency fund or cash you'll need right away. But if you're setting money aside for a goal that's still a year or more away, keeping those funds in a traditional savings account could come with a hidden cost: missed interest earnings.
Even a small difference in rates can add up over time. Earning 0.40% instead of 4.00% on a five-figure balance could mean leaving hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars on the table. That's why it pays to match your savings strategy to your timeline.
If you’re saving your cash for a medium-term or long-term financial goal, consider a certificate of deposit.
A platform like CD Valet can help you find higher-yield options that work for you, whether you’re saving for a house down payment or for a wedding.
CD Valet tracks over 40,000 verified rates from FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions nationwide. Unlike other websites, they show every publicly available rate, ensuring you have a comprehensive view of the market.
To help you save smarter, CD Valet provides free, specialized tools.
- Earnings calculator: See exactly how much interest you’ll accrue by the end of your term. Adjust different rates and terms to see how much you can earn with a 12-month vs. a 24-month CD.
- CD rates map by state: See real-time offers of the best CD rates across the country. Many institutions allow you to open an online account, so you can take advantage of a great CD rate without being located in that state.
Plus, their CD rates are updated continuously, so you can shop, compare and open CDs with ease.
Life insurance
Global life insurance premiums are set to increase at an annual rate of 3% in 2025 and 2026, according to a report by Swiss Re Institute.
If you have life insurance in place – especially a term policy – it may be worth comparison-shopping to find a more affordable option. You can typically cancel a term life policy without incurring any penalties.
With Ethos, you can get term life insurance in 5 minutes, with no medical exams or blood tests.
You can get a policy with up to $2 million in coverage, starting at just $2/day.
Ethos’ application process ensures you get flexible coverage options quickly and transparently, allowing you to focus on what matters most.
Investment fees
Most people don't realize how much investment fees are eating into their returns every year. Even a seemingly small difference — say, 1% versus 0.15% in annual fees — can shave tens of thousands of dollars off your portfolio over a few decades.
If you want professionally managed investing without the premium price tag, Vanguard Digital Advisor takes the guesswork out of the equation and puts the investing expertise of one of the world’s largest asset managers right at your fingertips.
It builds a personalized portfolio using Vanguard’s well-known low-cost ETFs and mutual funds, then keeps things running with automatic rebalancing — so your money stays on track even when markets shift.
With a minimum investment of just $100, it’s an easy way to get started with professionally guided investing.
For every $10,000 in an all-index portfolio, you'll pay approximately $15 to $16 per year⁴.
You can even test-drive the Vanguard experience with no advisory fees for the first 90 days.
Pet insurance
For pet owners, the average cost for a routine visit to the vet ranges between $50 to $250 depending on where you live in the U.S., according to data from 2023 in a report by Care Credit.
And that doesn’t take into account expensive emergencies that could suddenly pop up and throw off your monthly budget. For example, emergency surgery could cost anywhere between $1,500 to $5,000.
Thanks to BestMoney, it’s easy to shop for affordable pet insurance to give you peace of mind.
You can instantly compare the coverage benefits, any deductibles, geographical availability and reviews — all in one place.
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The Base Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is 3.30%, as of 01/30/26, and is subject to change. If you are eligible for the overall boosted rate of 4.05% offered in connection with this promo, your boosted rate is also subject to change if the base rate decreases during the three-month promotional period. The Cash Account is offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Wealthfront is not a bank. The Base APY is representative, subject to change, and requires no minimum. Wealthfront Brokerage sweeps cash balances to Program Banks, where it earns the variable base APY and is eligible for FDIC insurance. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.
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Based on the national average savings accounts interest rate of 0.39% as posted on FDIC.gov, as of March 16, 2026. Wealthfront doesn't charge wire fees for transfers to title and escrow companies or your accounts at other institutions, but the receiving entity or institution may charge a fee. For more wire info, visit wealthfront.com/transfer-agreement.
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The Direct Deposit Plus Investing Program ("DDI Program") from Wealthfront Advisers LLC and Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (collectively, "Wealthfront") provides eligible clients a 0.25% annual percentage yield ("APY") increase above the current base APY (paid by Program Banks) on total eligible Cash Account balances. Wealthfront may change or end the program at any time and determines eligibility at its discretion. See Terms and Conditions at wealthfront.com/promo-terms.
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Vanguard Digital Advisor is an all-digital service. Digital Advisor charges brokerage accounts an annual gross advisory fee in the amount of 0.20% for an index portfolio option or 0.25% for an active portfolio option. That gross advisory fee is reduced by a credit of the actual revenue The Vanguard Group, Inc. ("VGI"), or its affiliates retain from investments in each enrolled account, resulting in a net advisory fee. The net advisory fee is the actual fee collected from your account(s) and will vary based on your unique asset allocation, portfolio option, account type, and specific holdings in each enrolled account. Note that this fee doesn't include investment expense ratios charged by a fund, such as fees paid to the funds' third-party managers which are not credited. While we generally recommend using low-cost Vanguard funds to build your portfolio, actively managed funds will have higher expense ratios than index funds. For more information on the services, find VAI's Form CRS and each program's advisory brochure here for an overview.
Marie Alcober
Commercial Content Manager
Marie Alcober is a commercial content manager at Moneywise, where she develops branded content that helps readers make smarter money decisions.
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