Forgotten subscriptions pushing up household expenses

Many people are hugely underestimating what they’re paying on household bills, partly because of subscriptions they’ve forgotten to cancel.

According to research by broadband firm Trooli, billpayers estimate that their household bills, excluding rent or mortgage, come to an average of £1,132 a month.

But the actual total is £1,355.

That’s over £200 more than they think they’re paying each month.

Worse still, almost a fifth of those polled (17%) couldn’t even attempt a guess at how much they were forking out on bills.

People have lost track of their subscriptions

Half of those polled admitted they’d never added up all of their bills before, which may explain why so many were way off with their estimates of what they’re paying.

But the survey also identified another common problem.

Almost one in five (19%) revealed they have so many subscriptions that they’ve lost track.

As a result, millions of people are needlessly paying for services that they don’t want, don’t use or aren’t happy with.

Review or cancel services you don’t use

The fact that people are paying out for unwanted subscriptions is particularly alarming since so many are also worried about the cost of living.

In fact, more than half of the people surveyed (57%) said they’re worried about rising monthly bills.

So now could be the perfect time to take a look at what you’re paying for and make sure you’re not spending a penny more than you have to.

A recent poll by TSB found that nearly one in five (17%) people have never reviewed or cancelled a subscription.

That was despite many people also saying they’re concerned about their wider financial situation, and almost a quarter describing their finances as “uncomfortable”.

Try our household bills calculator

If you’re worried about bills and want to regain a sense of control, it can help to see the bigger picture.

Our free and interactive household bills calculator gives you a personalised forecast of how your monthly costs could change.

It only takes a couple of minutes to use and shows how bills may change based on where you live.

Once you’ve done this, you can take the next step by using our handy budget planner to map out your monthly finances. 

It’s free and easy to use.

And if you’re struggling to keep up with household bills, remember that you might be entitled to some support.

We can check you’re getting all the benefits you’re eligible to claim with our benefits calculator.