I wrote an article about hidden charges with a downloadable spreadsheet see here which was prompted by my experience of being caught out by a couple of experiences where I had taken advantage of a special offer but suddenly found I was paying full subscription before I knew it. I talked about how expensive it can be not just in business but in your personal life as well. Based on the advice I shared I thought that I would update you on some of the actions I have taken and their impact.
For starters I looked at two mobile phones we have and I thought that GoMo was great value compared to what we were paying in the past. So for the last eight months GoMo has saved me €40.00 per month which is not to be sniffed at. However, I found that Virgin Mobile are offering new customers a monthly subscription of €5.00 per phone per month for five months. This offer is saving me an additional €25.00 per month and I have marked my diary to review in five months’ time.
I discovered I was paying for two subscriptions to Campaign Monitor, one that I use regularly and the other one I use ad hoc. The latter is now on a pay as you use as opposed to a monthly subscription which is saving €12.00 per month.
I had a look at my broadband and home TV package including my sports package (I know, indulgent but we need our entertainment) and managed to get a deal that is saving me €70.00 per month.
My home insurance came up for review and I have used the same broker for over twenty years as they have always looked after me. I asked another broker to have a look and I got exactly the same policy for €90.00 less.
I know there are more savings to be made as I go through my other business subscriptions and will update you accordingly.
Some of you may think that this is small change but I believe you might be surprised at how it all adds up. More importantly it is about a mindset of ‘looking after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’ which was a motto of the great Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie.