Everybody makes mistakes. But when it comes to money, even little errors can be devastating.

Bruce McClary, communications director for Clearpoint Financial Solutions, recalls a senior on a tight budget who was getting along fine until a $250 car repair sent her into a tailspin. She borrowed money at double-digit rates that she couldn't pay back, which was then compounded with late fees. Her mistake was simple: She had no emergency fund.

What are Americans' most common financial mistakes, and how can they be fixed?

DOLLAR DRIBBLING

At the end of the month, consumers' pockets are empty and they're confused. "Where did the money go?"

David Jones, president of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, knows the answer: It went to dozens of little, regular expenditures.

"We have customers who are living paycheck to paycheck, but they're buying two cups of Starbucks coffee every morning, renting movies at Blockbuster and going to fast-food places for lunch," he says.

McClary calls these expenses "dribblers" because of the slow leaks they create in a monthly budget.Plugging these leaks is easy once you find them, McClary adds. The solution: Keep a notebook with you and write down every expense, from the $1 candy bar to the $3 latte. At the end of the month, add them up and decide whether the expenses ought to be eliminated.

FORGETFUL BUDGETING

Some big bills land just a few times a year and wreak havoc with the finances of the forgetful, McClary says.

Auto insurance can be paid just twice a year, for example. Bills for home and life insurance, property taxes, car registration fees - even some water and waste collection bills - may be sent annually, quarterly or on a bimonthly schedule. And then, of course, there are holidays and birthdays.

"We see people all the time who think they've got all this extra money some months, so they go out to dinner or fly to New York," McClary says. "Then the periodic expense that they've forgotten about comes up. They're suddenly not feeling so good anymore."

CUTTING THE CUSHION

When budgets get tight, many consumers stop setting money aside for a rainy day. Even if all you can save is $5 a month - or the change collected from couch cushions - bank it, McClary advises.

MAKING THE MINIMUMS

Credit card minimum payments can leave you in debt - at double-digit rates - for the rest of your life, Jones notes. If you make only the minimum payment on a $10,000 loan at 18 percent, it will take 42 years to pay off that debt. And it will cost you many times the amount you originally charged.

MISSING SIGNS OF TROUBLE

If you're able to pay only the minimum payments on credit cards for two months in a row; if your credit card debts exceed 15 percent of your take-home pay; if you're making payments late or juggling bills because your paycheck isn't stretching far enough, then you need help, experts say.

Create a budget. If you find that you can't do it alone, seek help from a nonprofit credit-counseling service. But be careful when choosing counselors.

The Federal Trade Commission offers a guide on finding credit counselors that includes questions to ask and warning signs to watch for. The link: www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml. Click on credit counseling.

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Los Angeles Times staff writer Kathy Kristof welcomes comments but cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Personal Finance, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com.