Audit your bank account

A simple step towards making saving money easier is to review everything that gets taken out of your bank account every month. That may seem like an obvious thing to say, but it is something the majority of us aren’t doing often enough.

The definition of ‘avoidance’ is the action of keeping away from or not doing something. As a coping mechanism, it can be easier to keep your head in the sand and avoid frequently checking your bank balance or recent transactions. However, starting a habit of checking your account will help you highlight any unused subscriptions and unnecessary auto-renewals.

Start the habit with the mantra of ‘little and often’ – set a reminder to spend 15 minutes checking your transactions once a week, perhaps every Wednesday evening or Sunday morning, whatever works best for you. Your contactless taps on coffees or trips to the supermarket may add up, and checking your bank account can make bad spending habits easy to spot. One of the biggest benefits of reviewing frequently is that unknown payments will become more obvious, along with payments for things you don’t use and unnecessary subscriptions, perhaps for streaming sites, insurance or magazine deliveries.

As time goes by and the habit becomes ingrained, managing your finances will become much easier. Those recurring costs are expected and the smaller, frequent payments can be reduced if necessary.

Saving money may seem like a daunting task. However, reviewing and monitoring your bank account is an easy way to catch those unneeded payments which are draining your cash. You’ll also be able to identify areas where you are spending more than you need to and make changes to benefit your future financial self.