It’s probably safe to say we’ve all experienced the feeling of trying to find that other matching sock, your birth certificate or even discovering that mouldy cheese in the back of the fridge. Decluttering helps us to find things easier. Whether it’s something you were trying to find, or weren’t too happy to find is another story.
Expenses can be a bit like that too sometimes. Most of us are time poor, but taking the time to sit down and clear away some common expenses you don’t need anymore, makes a financial cull way easier to get some riches back into your budget.
1. Review your bills regularly
Reviewing your bills may seem like a lot of effort. Logging into your energy, internet and mobile phone accounts can be time-consuming and enough to put anyone off. However, if you set some time aside and do so, you’ll know exactly what you’re paying on each account.
Keep a record of these whether you prefer spreadsheets or want to download a budgeting tool for easy reference. Look out for additional charges and , question them on it. It could save you a lot of money that you didn’t know you were spending.
2. Check your services
If you’ve had the same service provider for years then you may have additional services in your package that you don’t use, or there could even be a newer product that’s cheaper and more aligned to your needs nowadays.
If you’re happy with the product you’re currently on, get in touch with your provider and let them know what you are/ aren’t using to see if there’s any additional services that you’re wasting money on. Ask them to remove these features to reduce your bill moving forward.
3. Call your providers
If you’re a long-standing customer you should call your provider annually to ask what current offers and promotions they have on for being a loyal customer. You may be able to get a better service for a better price. Companies tend to change their pricing every so often so it’s worth picking up the phone and seeing if you can save yourself money.
4. Shop around
It can be easy to stay with the same bank, the same energy supplier, the same insurance company forever. Sometimes it may seem more hassle to swap but you could save yourself a ton of money by doing so. Do your research and look for the best deals. Plus, if you tell your current provider you are moving to one of their competitors they may offer you a better deal.
5. Check your bank statement
Having a set and forget payment of bills can save us time in our busy lives, but could be costing us more under the radar. If you have lots of direct debits going out of your account it’s essential to stay on top of your finances and check your bank and credit statement regularly.
You could be being charged extra that you weren’t aware of or perhaps late payment fees. Don’t be afraid to question these fees with your bank or service provider, you may be able to get the charge reversed which can sometimes equate to a lot of money.
6. Review your subscriptions
When did you last do an audit of your subscriptions? It’s easy to sign yourself up to lots of apps, streaming services, magazines and wine clubs over the years. The question is do you even use half of them? All these little charges add up to a significant cost and a wasted one if you aren’t using them.
Think of the savings on your everyday account if you sit down and check over your statement of what subscriptions are outgoing each month. Cancel any of them you don’t use and save money. You can also re-sign up if you’d like the service back later but even cancelling one of these for the 6 months you aren’t using it for, adds up.
Spending the time decluttering your finances now will help you find the extra money for more savings later, or allow you to feel good about that little treat in your week to week. Look to set some time up in your schedule to do this at least every 6 months to stay on top of it.