5 Ways to Lower Spending Instantly & Painlessly

Here are 5 ways you can instantly and painlessly lower your spending this month.

1. Cancel unused subscriptions
2. Return unwanted, unused items
3. Catch and eliminate fraud
4. Avoid bank fees
5. Reduce unintentional spending

Cancel unused subscriptions

Check your credit card, debit card, or bank account statements. Look for any subscription charges for services you aren’t using anymore. If you find any, cancel them to get some money back into your pocket.

Return unwanted, unused items

Look around to see if you’ve made any purchases recently that you maybe never opened or used. If you find any items you haven’t used yet and don’t think you will use, you can return them to get a refund. 

It’s a quick, painless way to clean your home and get some money back.

Catch and eliminate fraud

Monitor your credit card, debit card, and/or your bank account statements to check for any suspicious expenses. Red flags include purchases made in states you haven’t been in or small repeating amounts. 

If you have a good credit card, some will monitor fraudulent transactions for you. Discover is one of those credit cards. If you don’t want to worry about fraud and like cashback bonuses, consider a Discover credit card.

If you want to learn more about a Discover credit card, request more information here. As a bonus, you may be able to redeem a $100 cashback bonus offer if you decide to apply for a Discover card and get approved. Request more information and the $100 cashback bonus here.

Eliminate bank fees 

Does your bank charge you fees simply to have an account? The fee may be a monthly maintenance fee or something along those lines. A 2020 Bankrate study revealed the average monthly maintenance fee is over $15. Over a year, that adds up to ~$180.

Luckily, there are banks that offer accounts without monthly maintenance fees. If you switch to one of those, you could potentially save over a hundred dollars over a year.

Reduce unintentional spending

Reduce spending on wants that don’t bring you joy. This could mean saying no to dinner with your frenemies or not attending an event you don’t care about. You could then allocate that money towards something that would bring you happiness.

To understand what spending decisions bring you happiness, try the Personal Finance Planner.

This planner monitors your spending habits so you can see what decisions make an impact. Then you can allocate more money towards the decisions that bring you happiness and less towards decisions that don’t.

The planner shows the impact your spending, earning, and investing decisions have on your progress towards your financial goals. Since it connects all your decisions to your goals, it’s clear how even small decisions can make an impact. 

If the planner could help you spend intentionally and reach your goals, get your Personal Finance Planner here.

Next Steps

The 5 ways to instantly and painlessly lower your spending include canceling unused subscriptions, returning unwanted items, eliminating fraud, avoiding bank fees, and reducing unintentional spending. Which of these can you try?

If you want to outsource fraud detection, the Discover card could be a good fit. Request more information and a special offer here.

If you want to spend more intentionally, learn how the Personal Finance Planner can help you.

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