There’s a reason the newest edition of Spotify Wrapped is always a highly anticipated event–even when it reminds you that Bluey was your most listened to artist in 2024. We love to reflect on who we’ve been over the past year and use that information to plan the upcoming year. (First order of business for 2025: Get the kids a separate music account.) Though we happily look through the year-in-review lists about our entertainment consumption, few of us take the time to look back at our financial choices. But a quick spending inventory of 2024 can be one of the best ways to set yourself up for a financially successful 2025–and it doesn’t have to be a chore.
Here’s what you can do in about an hour to save thousands of bucks in 2025.
Plug your 2024 budget leaks
You may not realize that money has been trickling out of your hands all year, which can add up to a significant amount of wasted dough. To make sure you only pay for things you want in 2025, take a few minutes to curate your subscriptions and your inbox.
Cancel unused subscriptions
The modern world allows us to subscribe to everything from meal planning kits to streaming services to news sites—but do you know all of the subscriptions you are paying for?
These easily-overlooked charges, known as gray charges, are usually for services you have completely forgotten you signed up for. In many cases, consumers sign up for a free trial and forget to cancel before the trial period ends. These charges are perfectly legal—and perfectly infuriating.
Conducting a spending inventory by going through your credit card and banking statements to identify and cancel gray charges is a worthwhile use of an afternoon. But you can also use one of the many apps that will do it for you and save yourself some time.
Get advertisements out of your email
There’s a reason online retailers give you a discount in exchange for your email address: a constant stream of cool new products in your inbox will earn them far more than the discount is worth. You may think you’re making a money savvy choice by signing up for the newsletter to get the discount, but you’re really agreeing to daily temptation.