Around £1,000 was saved by a Martin Lewis’ fan after reviewing their bank account and in particular, direct debits and standing orders. The fan’s story was shared in the latest MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) newsletter, following a call to action it over checking regular payments, according to the Mirror Online.
The MSE reader, known only as Sarah, said: “I have just reviewed all my direct debits, prompted by MSE, and have saved just over £1,000/yr. I used to work for a bank and assumed no savings could be made but the review was well worth it. Thank you for the help and your app, it is much appreciated.”
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Direct debits fall into three categories – those which are automated payments set up by a company, using your sort code and account number, normally to pay household bills; then there are standing orders, which are typically set up by yourself to make regular payments, such as your rent, to a person or business.
But Martin Lewis explained how there is a third type of payments – recurring payments, which are often “hidden” in your bank statement. Recurring payments are taken using your long card number, typically for subscriptions and other services such as the gym or membership of organisations.
Martin said: “The thing about regular payments – money, direct debits and similar – that drips out of your account is they are passive transactions, we spend our money but we don’t do it consciously it happens behind our backs.
“Some of these are useful, they give us discounts or they make sure that we don’t miss crucial bills, but the fact is if you’re not checking them regularly millions of people are paying for stuff they don’t want stuff they don’t need or stuff that is absolutely pointless.”
Martin added that you can check your direct debits and standing orders either on your paper or digital bank statements, or through online banking. But recurring payments can sometimes be trickier to find. Martin explained how some banks do have subscriptions or regular payment tabs on their apps or websites, but not all of them do.
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Source: Martin Lewis explains how making a simple bank check could save loads of money
