I recently went through my credit card statements and did a complete review of my monthly commitments, subscriptions or payments.  These are the things that hit my credit card each month.  Too often we sign up for something and use our credit card.  We get hit with this charge every month and sometimes we’re not even using the product/service anymore.

My results of this review were pretty good.  First, I finally cut my cable TV service.  I switched over to another provider and was able to save $45 per month for similar service – not sure what the heck I was doing for so long.  Second, I cut an internet service that I was using for this blog that was $20 per month.  The value added from this service was minimal at best.  Lastly, I had another small $6.95 per month charge for an internet program that was not providing much value either.

The total amount I cut from my monthly automatic spending was $71.95.  This adds up to $863.40 per year.  Not bad.

It’s amazing how much spending we do without even realizing it.  I repeatedly say this, but tracking every dime of your spending is the best money management exercise you can do.  Truly knowing where every single cent goes should be priority #1 in moving forward with your financial life.  Part of this process will reveal the auto-spending you do on your credit card as I’ve described above.