5 money mistakes to avoid

You drive miles to save 2¢ on a gallon of gas, but when you buy a house or a car, you overlook hundreds in fees.

Why: It's easy to base your thinking on the size of a purchase (what's called anchoring). When it's big, you don't scrutinize every additional dollar.

The fix: Consider every part of a deal separately. When you buy a $40,000 car and are offered a $500 navigation system, for example, imagine you already own the car and ask yourself whether you would pay $500 simply to have a GPS.



NEXT: Don't know when to cut your losses