When was the last time you looked at the direct debits that are coming out of your account every month? So many of us are paying for things that we no longer use. This is simply throwing your money away as you are paying for a service you no longer need. Now is the time to cancel direct debits and start clawing back your funds.
Insurance Plans
Did you cancel that old life insurance policy when you found a better deal and started a new one? If not, you’ve been paying for two policies and you’re still not dead! Maybe you’re still shelling out every month for a car insurance policy for a car you have sold! There are so many different insurance policies that you might be paying for every month that you don’t even need anymore. What about that annual travel insurance policy that renews every year? Maybe you haven’t even been abroad for 2 years because of global events, so that money you’ve paid out was wasted. In fact, any renewals are usually more than you need to pay. You can usually find a new customer deal which is cheaper, especially when you factor in cashback.
Magazine Subscriptions
Remember that magazine subscription you signed up for that used to drop through your letterbox every few weeks? It was great at the time right? But since then you’ve moved house and didn’t start forwarding your mail. Why are you still paying for it?! You’re handing over cash for something you’re not even receiving. You need to cancel direct debits!
Gym Memberships
Gym memberships can be one of the biggest black holes of personal finance. We sign up with the best of intentions and then over time, barely even visit. However the thought of not having it there seems scary. Let me tell you this, being a member of a gym does not make you fit. You actually have to make time, go to the gym and work out. If you don’t use the membership, you’re likely paying up to £50 a month for nothing. That’s £600 a year! You’d be better finding pay as you go gym for those infrequent occasions you fancy lifting some weights. If you want to run, jog on the streets for free!
TV & Music Subscriptions
Many of us sign up for TV and music free trials with the best intentions of cancelling. If you start a free trial and forget to cancel, the company have got that first payment off you. Then you’re going to make use of it for a month, get comfortable streaming what you like when you like and maybe consider keeping it. What is £9.99 a month for Netflix anyway? Well, it adds up to £120 a year! So what else could you do with that money? You might have four of five streaming services that you are paying out for every month. You can only use one at any given time! None of us can watch Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, BritBox and Netflix all the the same time. Look at what you are paying for every month and cancel direct debits!
Charitable Donations
This might be one that you don’t want to cancel, however when you are skint yourself, you need to look to cancel direct debits to ensure your own finances stay in shape. Charitable donations are great. We support charities that mean something to us. However that £10 a month might be something you have forgotten about. It’s all too easy to sign up to give to charity, fill in the form and then see the money come out your account every few weeks. It’s tricky to pull the plug, because it’s charity! However when you need to reassess your finances, it might be stopping some donations to charity. It’s a hard thing to do but something you might need to do in order to relieve your current situation.
You know as well as I do that it is all too easy to sign up and forget. The stats say that the average family spends £70 a month on stuff they no longer need or use. The money just trickles out of our accounts each month. But with the cost of living rising, we need to redirect that money into other areas of our lives. Let’s cancel direct debits and reclaim our cash!
