To enthuse you before we begin, here’s an example of the hundreds of tweets I got after talking about it on This Morning a few days ago… Louise tweeted: “Literally a five minute check on my online banking and found a phone bill I was paying for a phone I don’t own anymore and a subscription that I don’t even think I receive any more! Just cut out about £100 a month! Thank you, Martin!”
Many wouldn’t sign up for a movie service that they don’t really need if they had to pay for it, but would for a free month’s trial, so go in with a view to cancelling it when it ends, but at that point they become accustomed to it and now getting rid of it means a loss – and we don’t like loss.
The lust for such things doesn’t bounce back like elastic.
We tend to feel the loss of a service far more potently than the joy at its gain in the first place.
So, be brutal with yourself, especially at a time like now.
2. Things you don’t need but do want, ask is it worth it? If not, cancel or try and find something cheaper. As Jo said: “Sorted my bills in Jan & cancelled the gym (went twice in 2019), saving £300/yr.”
3. Things you definitely need – can you do it cheaper and get the same. Check if it’s a good price online or via comparison sites and consider haggling.
If it’s not good value use it as a spur to switch whether it’s energy bills, broadband, water bills or more look, at what you can do to save. Full help for all of those at www.moneysavingexpert.com/moneymakeover
Martin Lewis is the Founder of MoneySavingExpert.com. To join the 13 million people who get his free Money Tips weekly email, go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip