7. Mutual fund sales fees
Next on the list of fees you should never pay is the mutual fund sales charge. Also called a load fee, it’s like a commission, and you may have to pay it in certain situations, depending on the fund: when you sell shares (it’s called a back-load fee), when you buy shares (front-load fee), and when you hold on to shares (level load fee).
These fees are basically a percentage of the amount you invest, which means they are proportionate to the amount of work you put into making the money, not to the amount of work a broker puts into moving it.
One way to avoid paying these hefty fees, which, by the way, are fees you should never pay, is to invest in no-load funds.
8. Seat selection fees
When we fly somewhere, it’s pretty much obvious that we’re going to pay for where we park our luggage, our car, and our posterior. But airlines have also started trying to charge for the option to pick whichever remaining corner of the plane you want to jam yourself into when you book a flight.
The thing with seat selection is that it’s presented in a way that may make these charges seem inevitable, but these are fees you should never pay, because you can! There’s usually a button or link somewhere on the page to skip choosing a seat and simply let the airline give you one randomly.
Another option is to go with an airline that doesn’t mess around with assigned seating.
If you liked our article on fees you should never pay, you may also want to read 8 Types of Insurance That Might Be Money Down the Drain.
