It's not always the big expenses that eat away your ability to build wealth. Sometimes it's the small expenses that often are often unaccounted for that destroy your financial goals. There is one cost that most people take for granted. They pay it month after month and give little thought to the effect that it has on the financial well-being. The hidden costs that are killing your finances are late fees.Only payments made after 30 days ding your credit so most individuals figure that as long as they pay the bill within 30 days that things are okay. That is just not the case. Late fees look like tiny incidental expenses. A couple of dollars here and there. Late fees can be as small as five dollars or as much as forty dollars. Most people disregard the effect of late fees because they just figure it is the cost of doing business.

You could easily lose fifty to one hundred dollars each month in late fee payments alone. This is free money that is being given to your cell phone carrier, energy provider, cable company or credit card company. Late fees are killers because companies will often charge you interest on the late fee balance as well. You are not only paying extra money, but you are being forced to pay interest on top of it!

Most bills that are paid late within 30 days are due to an oversight. It can be difficult trying to keep track of so many different bills and their due date. Your credit card bill may be due the 5th while your car note payment is due the 27th. You can get around late fees by developing a plan to pay all of your bills by their due date. Automate the process and take the heavy lifting out of your hands. You can schedule your monthly payments through your financial institution by using automatic billing or online bill pay. This way you don’t have to worry about a payment being received after the due date.

Another useful method to use is online bill pay. Your creditor will likely offer you the option of scheduling future payments via online bill pay. This is a great option to use, but make sure it is free. If there is a charge for this service, don't use it. In some extreme cases it may even make sense to use your credit card to pay a bill if you can avoid a late fee. The only time that this is acceptable is if you are positive that you can repay your credit card bill in full before your grace period ends.

Remember that the extra money that you save by not paying late fees can be added to your retirement account or used to help fund an emergency savings account.

Mark Riddix is the founder and president of New Horizons Financial Management, an independent investment advisory firm that provides personalized investing and asset management consulting. Mark is a regular contributor to Seeking Alpha and has written financial columns for Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area newspapers. Mark publishes his own financial blog, BuylikeBuffett.com and has written the book Your Financial Playbook.

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