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Let anyone who doesn’t subscribe to any content and music platform raise their hand! In 2021, these expenses are commonplace: it’s so easy to subscribe to several things at the same time! But have you ever concretely assessed the impact they have on your finances by accumulating them?
Content (Netflix, Disney + …) and music platforms (Spotify, QUB radio …), applications (Uber Eats, DoorDash …), lunch boxes, mobile telephony, restaurants … all these expenses that are added to those called “essential” (groceries, electricity …) add up and increase your monthly bill – and often without your knowledge!
It is important to clearly identify these “small” monthly expenses and to be very vigilant when it comes time to make your budget. Here’s how to stay in control to get a better picture of your finances.
Small expense will become big
“We underestimate them!”, Deplores Nathalie Jacques, financial security advisor and partner of the Sun Life. “Very often people believe that these small amounts have no real impact on their budget.”
She advises you to keep all your invoices and to do the count at the end of the month, to have a better overview of your small expenses and subscriptions.
Amélie, one of the customers she recommended to, realized she was spending $ 300 each month on daily visits to Tim Hortons. While a friend of his son realized that he was spending no less than $ 150 per month on games and mobile applications!
While other clients, like Laurence and her spouse, include all common monthly expenses, large and small, in their budget. Their goal: to succeed in saving enough to buy a condo in the coming years.
“I recalculate our budget quite often (2-3 times a year and when there is a significant change, for example, when electricity or insurance costs go up). That way, our transfers to the joint account reflect reality as much as possible, ”she explains.
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A matter of choice
While we often spend to save time, this kind of practice can have the opposite effect. “It’s convenient to have at our fingertips the services and tools that allow us to save time and money,” says Martin Huard, group savings representative for the Sun Life. But what do we do with this saved time / money? And this money, where do we get it?
If you buy a lunch box, you have less shopping to do and preparation is easy. So you have more free time. But what to do with it? Listen to a series?
It’s good to have time to relax. But now that you have more time to devote to your shows, you may quickly browse the content on Netflix and take out a new subscription (Disney +, Apple TV …). As a result, you end up spending more on food AND entertainment.
On the other hand, if you use the time that the lunch box saves you to complete training that will allow you to advance in your career, then the lunch box is worth its weight in gold! “
How to stay the course?
First, you need to make a list of your expenses, then analyze which ones are really useful to you. To do this, the financial security advisor proposes to:
– Validate the degree of use of your subscriptions after a few months;
– Ask yourself if the satisfaction felt and the benefits collected are worth the monthly expenditure envisaged;
– Limit yourself to the magic number of three: for example, three small monthly expenses / subscriptions of $ 20 and less;
– Choose online payment with monthly invoice instead of automatic payments to closely monitor your expenses each month;
– Take advantage of an overall price by grouping together services from the same supplier.
Finally, a simple trick to keep control over your finances is to clean up your subscriptions twice a year, which allows you to adjust the shot more quickly and avoids you having to pay fees in a vacuum for long months. », Concludes Nathalie Jacques.
Now is the time to add this good habit to your routine and clean up your subscriptions!
To help you manage your expenses even better, do not hesitate to ask for the help of a financial security advisor from the Sun Life!
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