Bill Blindness: Why Kent Locals Are £3,000 Worse Off Than They Think
New research has found that Kent billpayers underestimate their household bills by £254 a month, on average. That’s £3,048 a year quietly slipping through the cracks.
Image Photo by Emil Kalibradov on Unsplash
The main cause of this confusion is people losing track, with two fifths (41%) of locals confessing that they have never added up all of their bills before. For many, it’s not about overspending, it’s about losing visibility.
The sheer number of subscriptions the average Kent household has is adding to this confusion. According to the research, conducted by ultrafast broadband provider Trooli, a quarter (24%) have so many subscriptions that they have lost track. A further 12% say that they are too busy to keep on top of what they are paying for each month.
As a result, 21% of Kent residents admit they still pay for subscriptions or services they no longer use or are unsatisfied with, just because they are too busy to cancel or explore other options.
Unclear billing and changing costs are also contributing to the confusion, with two fifths (41%) claiming they misjudged their outgoings because their monthly costs weren’t as straightforward as expected.
This is impacting people’s mental wellbeing. This lack of clarity isn’t just financial, it’s emotional.
Over half of billpayers in Britain (57%) are worried about rising monthly bills, whilst 41% feel overwhelmed by the task of keeping in control of their monthly bills.
It’s also having an impact on people’s long-term financial security. Almost a third (30%) of Brits say they have gone into their overdraft because of an unanticipated bill, leaving them at risk of unexpected interest or penalties.
The confusion about the cost of bills is even worse amongst people paying for services, like broadband and TV, as part of packages. In fact, nearly half (44%) say they are not sure if they are getting a good deal on bundled services, whilst a fifth don’t even know the price of the individual services they’re buying. What starts as convenience can quickly become uncertainty.
Lee Probert, Managing Director of Trooli, says: “Life is busy, and it’s no surprise that many Kent locals have lost track of their outgoings, especially with misleading contracts and package deals making bills even more confusing. A clearer view of your monthly outgoings, paired with a provider that is open, straightforward and transparent about costs, can make a real difference to everyday life.”
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Top tips for keeping track of your monthly bills
- Create a monthly tracker – It’s almost impossible to stay on top of bills if they’re not all written down in one place. Using a basic spreadsheet or budgeting app is a great way for billpayers to get their finances out of their head and organised. Once they’ve all been logged, it’s easy to revisit and edit in future months if things change.
- Cancel unused subscriptions – With so many subscriptions, apps and services available, it can be easy to lose track. Once all the household outgoings are written down in one place, Trooli recommends reviewing how many of these services are used and enjoyed regularly. The rest can be cancelled to free up extra cash every month.
- Check your bundles – Paying for services, like broadband and TV, as part of a bundle can seem like a good way to simplify bills. However, these packages don’t always offer a better deal. So, it’s worth taking the time to calculate how much each service would cost individually. It could well save some money.
- For more advice on keeping track of your monthly outgoings, check out Trooli’s helpful guide.
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