£15 here, £1.99 there: how small subscriptions quietly add up

It's easy to say "I'll put £40 aside for that." Then it's £40 here and £60 there — and that £15 direct debit for music you'd forgotten about pops up, along with a £1.99 app on your phone.

Do the maths once

Take four everyday subscriptions:

• Music streaming: £15.00
• A phone app: £1.99
• A TV service: £9.99
• Cloud storage: £6.99

That's £33.97 a month — £407.64 a year. None of them feel like a decision, but together they're a weekend away.

What to do about it

1. Go through your bank statement and list every recurring payment.
2. Cancel anything you haven't used in the last month.
3. Add the rest to your budget as one line, so the total is visible.

With PocketSorted Assistant you can save your small subscriptions once, and every calculator takes them into account automatically.