The cost of living crisis is an ongoing issue for millions across the country, with many looking into their usual spending habits in a bid to save money.
And with the new year now here and Christmas having passed, it may be a good time start looking into finances and what you can do to help spread your cash further.
To help out, experts at Money Saving Expert (MSE) have said that it’s wise going “back to basics” and learning how to “stop cash leaking from your bank account.”
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Taking to Instagram the experts said that they have seen many stories of people stating that they’re paying for items they no longer need to citing one story of someone who was paying £16 a month over the last six years for white goods they no longer were using.
Because of this, they are stressing the importance of doing a direct debit audit “because it can save you a lot of cash.”
So what do they recommend? Here’s what they say you should be doing.
Do you really need it?
You should be giving your regular payments a once over, say MSE. If you don’t use it, then you should be cancelling it right away.
Unwanted standing orders
MSE says that you should “play detective” to hunt down any unwanted standing orders and direct debits. They cite the case of someone who said they were paying for white goods they no longer used with them paying £16 a month for six years. That’s over £1,000.
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Can you get it cheaper?
If you don’t want to cancel, look if you can get it cheaper elsewhere.
Before you cancel
If you want to cancel however, don’t do it without checking the T&C’s first.
MSE warn that you will want to make sure that you are not in breach of your contract by doing so.
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