Small Win: Cancel one thing you don’t need….

I’m really excited to start a new little series on here called Small Wins. The idea is super simple: each week I’ll share one tiny, low-effort thing you can do that either saves money, reduces waste or just makes life feel that bit easier. Nothing dramatic, nothing overwhelming… just realistic, everyday wins that add up over time. 😀

January and February can feel like long, expensive months, so this feels like the perfect time to focus on the little habits that make a big difference. Each small win takes just a few minutes, but together they can have a huge impact on your budget and your day-to-day life.

Most of us have at least one subscription that slipped through the net at some point. Maybe it’s a free trial you meant to cancel, a fitness app you’ve not opened in months, or a monthly charge you don’t even recognise anymore. They creep in slowly and quietly…and they keep taking money until you tell them to stop.

Taking ten minutes to check your recent bank transactions, app store subscriptions or PayPal payments can be a real eye-opener. You don’t need to do a deep audit – just look for anything you don’t recognise or don’t use.

If it’s not adding anything to your life, let it go. Even cancelling one small £3, £5 or £8 monthly subscription can save a surprising amount over a year without you feeling the difference at all.

It’s such an easy win that sets you off on the right foot for the rest of the year.

Here’s what I cancelled this week:

• I cancelled a subscription to a magazine for my partner that cost him £4.99 a month. Not a huge amount but he rarely reads them, as evidenced by the three unread copies I found in his drawer last week. 😁 That’s £60 a year saved right away. 
• I also realised that I was still paying car tax on Miss Frugal’s car that was scrapped last year. No idea how as it was declared SORN at the time but I told her to make sure it was all done correctly and cancelled the Direct Debit. It wasn’t a huge saving as it was only a few pounds a month which was why I’d not noticed but that was another £36 saved. 
• I cancelled our National Trust membership which hurt me! I love a good National trust visit but we haven’t been in ages so the £15 a month is a waste right now. Hopefully, we’ll rejoin again at some point but for now, that’s £180 a year saved. 

That’s almost £300 a year saved in 10 minutes. 

So, please, open up your banking app and look at your recurring transactions and Direct Debits and then look at your Apple or Google subscriptions to see if there’s anything at all you can cancel and I hope that you can save even more than I did to save your family some money. 

If you do find something you can cancel, that’s money saved every single month going forward. And if you don’t find anything? That’s a win too – it means you’re already on top of things.

I’ll take that either way. 😀

I know this is a super simple little action for you to do this week but you know what?  Simple is the whole point of the series. Small wins that add up.

Join me next week for the next Small Win in this series – it’s another quick, easy little action that’ll save you money without any effort at all.

I’d love you follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉