I Took These Bills Off Autopay: Here’s What I Learned About My Money
Written by
Laura Beck
Edited by
Carly Brashears
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Susan Thompson had relied on the convenience of autopay for her bills for many years.
As a busy attorney, she appreciated how the automated payments simplified her finances without demanding much time or attention on her part. However, Susan eventually began to feel disconnected from her own money and financial choices.
So she decided it was time to make a change — Susan took some recurring bills off autopay.
An Empowering Change
Removing bills from autopay quickly proved to be an empowering shift for Susan.
“I wanted to feel more connected to my finances,” she said. “Autopay made everything seamless, but I realized I was losing touch with the details.”
Susan started to manually review and approve certain bills each month instead of letting payments automatically withdraw without scrutiny.
While admittedly more time-consuming, Susan found that the simple act of logging in to assess and authorize transactions kept her actively engaged with her expenses in a meaningful way. “It was like taking the wheel after being on autopilot for too long,” she described.
Rather than indifferently cruising through her finances, Susan learned to steer with focus and intention again.
Five Bills She Cut
When reviewing her finances, Susan identified five key bills that seemed to be good candidates to take off autopay:
1. Gym Membership
Susan was startled to realize she was paying $60 per month for a gym membership she rarely used anymore. By canceling, she saved $720 per year.
2. Video Streaming Subscriptions
With autopay set up, Susan didn’t even notice she had subscribed to three different video streaming services. Removing the extra two saved her $15 per month or $180 annually.
3. Cloud Storage
Susan had signed up for expanded cloud storage years ago but had stopped needing that much space. Downgrading to a basic plan cut that bill in half for $96 in annual savings.
4. Magazine Subscriptions
Susan canceled two magazine print subscriptions that she always intended to read but never had time for, freeing up another $100 per year.
5. Morning Coffee Shop Visits
Susan had her coffee shop gift card account set to auto reload. When she turned this feature off, she began to kick her coffee shop habit in favor of home brew, saving Susan around $300 per year.
In total, Susan saved roughly $1,400 annually by taking these five bills off autopay and assessing if she truly needed to keep paying for these services and habits. Her story shows that seemingly small changes can really add up.
Mindfulness Realigned her Spending
Part of what made seizing control over her bills empowering was the accompanying shift it inspired in Susan’s spending habits. With autopay, it had been easy to passively approve recurring payments without considering the impact or alignment with her priorities. But now she carefully tracked monthly expenses and made conscious spending choices.
As Susan put it, “I became much more intentional about where my money went. It wasn’t about drastic cuts or depriving myself of anything. It was about realigning my spending with what I value most.”
For instance, she scaled back habits that had drained funds without adding meaning, like frequent online shopping. And Susan felt newly purposeful about allocating money to causes and passions that gave her a sense of fulfillment.
Hidden Subscriptions Revealed
Additionally, removing bills from autopay unveiled overlooked subscriptions and services that had fallen off Susan’s radar. “I found a few subscriptions that I had honestly forgotten I even had. It really opened my eyes to how easily costs add up month after month when we aren’t paying close attention,” she admitted.
With autopay functioning smoothly behind the scenes, it had been simple for recurring fees to fade into the background of Susan’s consciousness. And she emphasized that regularly reviewing account statements is valuable in order to catch surprise expenses before they snowball. “Autopay can definitely conceal costs piling up over time if we aren’t extremely careful,” she noted.
Overall, Susan believes she saves several hundred dollars a month with all of the lifestyle changes she implemented.
Weighing Convenience Against Awareness
In the end, reflecting on her experience taking bills off autopay taught Susan a deeper lesson about the hidden price tag that accompanies convenience. While automated payments certainly streamline financial management in valuable ways for busy people, they can also enable a risky detachment from money flowing out.
As Susan put it, “I had to weigh convenience against consciousness when it came to my financial lives.” While automation eases the burden on some levels, it can simultaneously perpetuate an autopilot mentality that feels benign until problems crop up.
By courageously reclaiming control of her bills, Susan forged a new path to financial mindfulness and liberation.
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