Honestly, I think you’re right to be a little paranoid. Those “miscellaneous” fees seem tiny until they stack up and suddenly you’re wondering where that hundred bucks went. I’ve had my own run-ins with weird charges—one time it was for “property inspection,” which turned out to be someone driving by and taking a photo of my house. No warning, just a $15 charge tacked onto my statement. Stuff like that makes me question how much oversight these companies actually have.
But here’s the thing: you can’t catch everything, and if you try, you’ll drive yourself nuts. My approach now is to set aside an hour once a month to comb through statements and jot down anything that looks off. If I see a pattern or something new, then I get on the phone. Otherwise, I let the little stuff slide unless it repeats.
Don’t beat yourself up for being thorough, but don’t let it eat your whole week either. At the end of the day, it’s your money—you’ve got every right to be “annoying” about it. Just don’t let it take over your life or you’ll burn out faster than you think.