Proverbs 27:23 tells us to “mind our herds and flocks.” Today, that means keeping an eye on your bank account. In ancient Israel, you had to be on the lookout for wolves trying to get your sheep. In the digital age, you may have little wolves going unnoticed as they gnaw away at your bank balance. Rob tells you how to stop it. This is MoneyWise Live - biblical wisdom for your financial journey. <ul><li>These “little wolves” are recurring monthly subscriptions that you might have forgotten all about. Perhaps you signed up for a free trial period and after that, the provider began charging you $1 per month or more. Do that a few times and it adds up quickly which is made worse if you’re not even using them anymore.</li><li>Streaming subscriptions - when was the last time you thought about how much you’re actually viewing the programs provided by a streaming service? You could be paying from $10 to nearly $100 a month for something you’re not using. Providers often raise their prices and the new, higher prices are simply deducted from your bank account. The less you pay attention, the more money they make. And they don’t always make it easy to unsubscribe. </li><li>Canceling your credit card and opening a new one won’t make these wolves go away. Many issuers will now simply transfer the charges over to the new card automatically thinking that you want the charges to continue.</li><li>Need help canceling unwanted subscriptions? Fortunately, there are several apps that make the process easier. Some of these charge for the service but many are free:</li><li>Truebill will go through all of your transactions and create a list of your subscription services. Then, you can tell Truebill to cancel the ones you no longer want. The app then does it automatically. Truebill says it has canceled more than a million subscriptions for its users. (As an added feature, it will monitor your regular bills and let you know when payments are due.)</li><li>Chase Account Manager - if you’re not sure what a subscription is for, and oftentimes it’s difficult to tell, the Chase Account Manager will identify what company is charging you so you can easily determine if you want to continue a service or cancel it.</li><li>Trim is another online tool that will cancel old subscriptions for you. Using artificial intelligence, Trim will also contest bank fees. Keep in mind that no app can cancel fees that are still under contract, but Trim has features that can help you lower bills that are contracted with vendors like Xfinity, Time Warner and Verizon. It's pricey $99 a year but they claim to save the average user over $600 the first year. </li><li>Hiatus is another that will assist you in canceling unwanted subscriptions but it will also go over your banking transactions looking for unfair rates. Finding any, Hiatus will advise you on how best to negotiate lower your bills.</li><li>Eno from Capital One monitors customer accounts to track your spending and prevent fraud. It will also notify you when a free trial is about to end so you can cancel and avoid any surprise charges to your account. </li><li>DoNotPay - If you’re looking for the “world’s first robot lawyer,” it's how DoNotPay bills itself. In addition to canceling unwanted subscriptions, DoNotPay lends assistance in challenging parking tickets and getting refunds for late deliveries. It will also make it easier to sign up for free trials without getting hit with a recurring charge.</li><li>Ideas - </li><li>Unless you plan to never sign up for another subscription you need a game plan to avoid recurring charges. Start by setting a reminder whenever you sign up for a free trial. Put the expiration date on your calendar or use Google Tasks to remind you to cancel the subscription before you get charged.</li><li>If you want to subscribe to a service add the expense to your monthly budget before you sign up. Seeing where you might have to cut somewhere else to make room for the new expense will probably make you think twice before committing.</li></ul>Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at Questions@MoneyWiseLive.org:<ul><li>If your current car is breaking down and you owe $5,600 on it, you've have a found a good deal on a used car and have the money in the bank, should you pay off the current car loan or add the payoff to the new car loan?</li><li>Is giving to charities that are not necessarily faith based a wise thing?</li><li>Is it safe to have your payroll directly deposited in an online bank?</li><li>What should you do if disputes arise as the result of inherited property?</li><li>When would a person want to use a balloon mortgage?</li><li>If you're interested in buying a home near your kids as a rental property and have a primary residence that's valued at $600,000-$650,000 in value for which you owe $75,000, would it be better to refinance your primary home and use some of that money for the purchase or just go with a new loan?</li><li>If you're helping with your father-in-law who has sold property for which capital gains comes to $38,000, is the tax rate really zero?</li><li>Can a ESOP or employee stock ownership plan of a previous employer be rolled into an IRA without a taxable event happening?</li><li>If you have about $20,000 in credit card debt and, after paying off your son's college giving you about $2,000 a month extra, is there a better way to pay the cards than just applying more per month that the minimum?</li><li>How do iBonds work?</li><li>If you have an aunt with about $180,000 in her savings account, what should she use instead of that savings account that is earning so little?</li></ul>Be sure to check out the rest of MoneyWise.org to connect with a MoneyWise Coach or access our books and our many free helpful resources. You can also find us on Facebook (MoneyWise Media) and join the conversation. Thanks for your prayerful and financial support that helps keep MoneyWise on the air. And if you'd like to help, just click the Donate tab at the top of the page.

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Proverbs 27:23 tells us to “mind our herds and flocks.” In ancient Israel, you had to be on the lookout for wolves trying to get your sheep.  In the digital age, you may have little wolves going unnoticed as they gnaw away at your bank balance.

Stop Recurring Charges

FaithFi | Apr 7, 2022

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