Managing finances can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to keeping track of bills and subscriptions. Overpaying on bills and having unwanted subscriptions can lead to unnecessary expenses and financial stress.
In this blog post, we will discuss how to manage and get rid of unwanted subscriptions and overpayments on bills, with a focus on anyone between 23-55 years old in the USA or CA. We will also introduce the best apps that can help manage finances.
Why Managing bills and Subscriptions is important
Managing bills and subscriptions is an essential aspect of personal finance. Here's why it's important:
- Avoid overpaying: By effectively managing your bills and subscriptions, you can ensure that you are only paying for what you need and not overspending on unnecessary services or products.
- Save money: Many people are unaware of the subscriptions they are paying for each month. By keeping track of your subscriptions and canceling the ones you no longer use, you can save a significant amount of money over time.
- Stay organized: Managing your bills and subscriptions can help you stay organized and on top of your financial responsibilities. This can reduce stress and make it easier to plan and budget for your expenses.
- Improve credit score: Paying your bills on time is crucial for maintaining a good credit score. By managing your bills effectively, you can ensure that you are making timely payments and avoid any negative impact on your credit.
- Identify fraudulent activity: Monitoring your bills and subscriptions can help you identify any fraudulent activity or unauthorized charges on your accounts. This can help you take immediate action to protect your finances and resolve any issues.
- Simplify financial planning: By having a clear understanding of your monthly expenses, you can better plan for your financial future. This includes setting savings goals, creating a budget, and making informed decisions about your money.
Overall, managing your bills and subscriptions is an important part of maintaining financial stability and achieving your long-term financial goals. Using apps can help streamline this process and make it easier to stay on top of your finances.
4 Best Apps for Managing Bills and Subscriptions
Here are some of the best apps available for managing bills and subscriptions:
1. RocketMoney
RocketMoney, formerly known as Truebill, is a comprehensive money-tracking and money-saving service that allows you to easily cancel unwanted subscriptions, track your spending and credit score, automate savings, and get help lowering bills.
The app automatically tracks different accounts and helps you navigate your finances each month in order to provide a clear picture of your income and expenses. RocketMoney finds recurring subscriptions and cancels them for you. It tracks all your bills and notifies you when they're soon to be due. RocketMoney can even negotiate bills on your behalf to get you much lower rates.
Use RocketMoney as a spending tracker to see where your money goes and how your net worth changes. Connect your investment and retirement accounts to view how your holdings have grown. Use RocketMoney to monitor your credit score and credit report to start thinking about long-term financial goals. The app tracks all your bank, credit, and investment accounts so you don’t have to – just link them once and let the app handle the rest.
2. Mint
Mint is another popular app that offers similar features, such as categorizing your expenses and linking to your bank and credit card accounts. It can be linked to multiple bank accounts and credit cards to review spending across categories.
Subscription Management is one of the app’s free core features, and it identifies and tracks recurring expenses. However, if you want the app to cancel those subscriptions, you’ll need to update to Mint Premium.
3. PocketGuard
PocketGuard is a personal finance app that helps to manage bills and subscriptions. It allows users to track expenses, create a budget, and receive alerts when bills are due1. PocketGuard syncs with many banks but you're unable to link PayPal and other third parties like the Google Play Store.
4. Subby
Subby is an Android app that lists your subscriptions, the associated monthly charges and what credit card is billed for each one. You can add an unlimited number of subscriptions to the list. The app lists a grand total of your monthly charges, and you can have it alert you when bills are due. You can back up your subscriptions to the cloud using a Google Drive account.
5 Best Subscription Trackers
In addition to the apps mentioned above, here are some of the best subscription trackers available:
1. RocketMoney (formerly Truebill)
RocketMoney is a well-rounded budgeting app with the option to track your streaming subscriptions. There are free and paid versions available. The app automatically tracks different accounts and helps you navigate your finances each month in order to provide a clear picture of your income and expenses. RocketMoney finds recurring subscriptions and cancels them for you. It tracks all your bills and notifies you when they're soon to be due. RocketMoney can even negotiate bills on your behalf to get you much lower rates.
2. AskTrim.com
Trim looks through your bank or credit card records to find recurring subscription charges, and it can then cancel any unused subscriptions for you. It can also be used to negotiate lower utility bills on your behalf.
3. PocketGuard
PocketGuard is another useful app that offers features such as bill categorization and linking to your bank and credit card accounts.
4. Chase Saved Account Manager
Chase Saved Account Manager is a free service that helps you track your subscriptions and recurring payments. It allows you to set up alerts for upcoming payments and view your payment history.
5. Eno®—Capital One® Assistant
Eno®—Capital One® Assistant is a free service that helps you track your subscriptions and recurring payments. It allows you to set up alerts for upcoming payments and view your payment history.
Best Bill Negotiation Services
If you're looking to save money on your bills, consider using one of the following bill negotiation services:
1. BillCutterz
BillCutterz is a bill negotiation service that can help you lower your monthly bills by negotiating with your service providers on your behalf. They typically charge a fee based on the amount of money they save you, so make sure to weigh the cost against the potential savings.
2. Trim
Trim looks through your bank or credit card records to find recurring subscription charges, and it can then cancel any unused subscriptions for you. It can also be used to negotiate lower utility bills on your behalf.
3. Billshark
Billshark is a bill negotiation service that can help you lower your monthly bills by negotiating with your service providers on your behalf. They typically charge a fee based on the amount of money they save you, so make sure to weigh the cost against the potential savings.
4. RocketMoney (formerly Truebill)
RocketMoney can even negotiate bills on your behalf to get you much lower rates.
Other Useful Apps for Managing Bills and Subscriptions
Here are a few more apps that can help you effectively manage your bills and subscriptions:
1. Bobby
Bobby is a handy app that allows you to set up individual billing dates and amounts, helping you manage your regular outgoings alongside your digital subscriptions. It’s really handy to have a central place to keep track of and see exactly where your money for subscriptions is going, as well as when and how much your next bill is going to be.
2. Simplifi
Simplifi is another useful app that offers features such as bill categorization and linking to your bank and credit card accounts.
Tips for Managing Bills and Subscriptions
Here are some tips to help you effectively manage your bills and subscriptions:
- Differentiate between bills and subscriptions: Make sure you understand the difference between your recurring bills and your subscriptions, as this will help you prioritize your payments.
- Cancel unwanted subscriptions: Use the subscription trackers mentioned earlier to identify any subscriptions you no longer need and cancel them to save money.
- Negotiate bills: Consider using a bill negotiation service or try negotiating your bills yourself to lower your monthly expenses.
The Problem with Overpaying on Bills and Unwanted Subscriptions
Overpaying on bills and having unwanted subscriptions can lead to financial stress and unnecessary expenses. It is important to keep track of bills and subscriptions to avoid overpaying and to cancel subscriptions that are no longer needed.
Here are some tips to help manage bills and subscriptions:
Create a budget
Creating a budget is an essential practice in managing your finances effectively. By creating a budget, you can gain a clear understanding of your income and expenses, allowing you to track where your money is going. This enables you to identify areas where expenses can be reduced or eliminated, helping you to save money and prioritize your spending. A budget acts as a roadmap for your financial decisions, ensuring that you are living within your means and working towards your financial goals.
Review bills regularly
Regularly reviewing your bills is an important habit to develop. It allows you to carefully examine each bill for accuracy and ensure that you are not overpaying for any services or products. Mistakes can happen, and by reviewing your bills, you can catch any errors or discrepancies and take the necessary steps to rectify them. This can save you money by avoiding unnecessary charges or overpayments. Additionally, reviewing your bills can also help you evaluate the value you are receiving from certain services or subscriptions, giving you the opportunity to make adjustments if needed.
Dispute any errors
If you come across any errors on your bills, it is crucial to take immediate action. Contact the relevant service provider and provide them with the necessary information to dispute the error. This may involve providing evidence or documentation to support your claim. By disputing errors promptly, you can avoid paying for services or products that you did not receive or were charged incorrectly for. Resolving billing errors ensures that you are only paying for what you actually owe, helping you to maintain control over your finances and prevent unnecessary expenses.
Assess Your Subscriptions
To effectively manage your subscriptions and expenses, you can utilize Truebill, a comprehensive money-tracking service. Truebill analyzes your financial transactions and identifies unnecessary subscriptions and expenses that you may be unaware of. By using this service, you can gain a clearer understanding of where your money is going and make informed decisions about which subscriptions to keep and which ones to cancel.
Cancellation Tools
Subscription management apps like Trim and Truebill can be valuable tools in helping you cancel unwanted subscriptions and negotiate bills. These apps streamline the process by providing a centralized platform where you can view all your subscriptions, easily identify the ones you no longer need, and initiate the cancellation process. Additionally, these tools may even negotiate with service providers on your behalf to potentially lower your bills and save you money.
Stop Unordered Subscriptions
If you find yourself faced with unordered subscriptions, it is important to follow the guidelines set by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to the FTC, if you receive merchandise or services that you did not order, you have the right to treat them as a gift and are under no obligation to pay for them. If the company refuses to acknowledge your request to cancel or continues to charge you, you can dispute the charges through your bank. By taking these steps, you can protect yourself from unauthorized charges and prevent financial losses.
Regularly Review Finances
It is crucial to periodically review and reassess your financial situation to ensure ongoing optimization and cost reduction. By regularly examining your expenses, you can identify areas where you may be overspending or have unnecessary subscriptions. This habit allows you to make adjustments and prioritize your spending based on your financial goals. By staying proactive and mindful of your finances, you can make informed decisions that align with your budget and overall financial well-being.
Cost of Living Crisis
As the cost of living continues to rise, canceling unnecessary subscriptions becomes an effective strategy to save money. By eliminating subscriptions that are no longer essential or providing value, you can free up funds to allocate towards more crucial expenses or savings. With the increasing financial pressures of a cost of living crisis, being mindful of your subscriptions and actively managing them can help alleviate some of the financial burden and provide more financial flexibility.
Conclusion
Managing finances can be a daunting task, but with the right tools and strategies, it can be made easier. By creating a budget, reviewing bills regularly, and canceling unwanted subscriptions, it is possible to avoid overpaying on bills and subscriptions. RocketMoney and other related apps can help to manage finances and to reduce expenses. If you are looking for a personal finance app to help manage your finances, RocketMoney is a great option. Use our affiliate link to sign up for RocketMoney and start managing your finances today!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is RocketMoney?
RocketMoney is a personal finance app that helps to manage bills and subscriptions. It allows users to track expenses, create a budget, and receive alerts when bills are due. RocketMoney also offers a feature that helps to negotiate bills to reduce expenses.
2. How can I avoid overpaying on bills?
To avoid overpaying on bills, it is important to regularly review your bills and dispute any errors. Creating a budget and assessing your subscriptions can also help to identify areas where expenses can be reduced or eliminated.
3. What is Truebill?
Truebill is a comprehensive money-tracking service that analyzes your financial transactions and identifies unnecessary subscriptions and expenses that you may be unaware of. By using this service, you can gain a clearer understanding of where your money is going and make informed decisions about which subscriptions to keep and which ones to cancel.
4. How can I protect myself from unordered subscriptions?
If you receive merchandise or services that you did not order, you have the right to treat them as a gift and are under no obligation to pay for them. If the company refuses to acknowledge your request to cancel or continues to charge you, you can dispute the charges through your bank. By taking these steps, you can protect yourself from unauthorized charges and prevent financial losses.
