Luke Marsden: Check those direct debits

No matter your household income, everyone is feeling the pinch at the mo and things are only going to get worse.I know those on lower incomes will feel the cost of living crisis far worse than the ones who bring in more money every month.

Martin Lewis posted a list of 100 things you can do to cut costs, he calls it “heat the human not the home” and what I found shocking was some of the comments to the article. Some shared stories about only being able to boil the kettle once a day and skipping meals to save on gas.

I can’t recommend enough checking exactly what you’re paying on your direct debits, and if you have luxuries like Sky call them and see what they can do, customer service has (rightfully) got a bad reputation these days but when I called Sky they were happy to listen and helped me save money.

I found I was also paying for insurance products that even if I lost my job the pay out would be temporary and wouldn’t really cover the bills, I’ve scrapped this and even managed to get a rebate.

All those “save the dolphin” subscriptions you may have taken out just to get the caller off your back should be axed, giving to charity is important but you can’t give to charity before you’ve given to yourself.

Streaming is the way of the world but you’d be bankrupt pretty quickly if you subscribed to them all, instead I chuck in with a few mates for a Disney+ subscription, I also share my Amazon account with my parents as a family member, these sort of savings may be little to start but over a year could equal a weekend away to Blackpool.

If reading this helps you think about that one direct debit that you’re unsure what it is, then my work is done.