4 out of 10 French people continue to pay for this “phantom” expense, without even realizing it or worrying about it. Result: an unnecessary hole in the monthly budget, which represents up to several hundred euros each year.
This is one of the main concerns of the French: inflation, and the decline in purchasing power that accompanies it. In recent years, consumer prices have continued to rise, and many households now have to tighten their belts to meet their monthly budget. Despite this, many continue to spend money unnecessarily every month… due to forgetfulness, lack of time or simply laziness. Because yes, these costs could be avoided much more easily than you might think!
This is not a question of giving up your morning coffee or reducing your outings with friends, but rather of tracking down a category of insidious expenses, often automated, which silently eat away at the bank account. These are fixed, recurring costs that we accepted one day and that we end up forgetting, convinced that they are essential or too low to really impact our finances. However, taken together, these “invisible” levies represent a considerable financial windfall which evaporates each year.
Electricity contract, mobile or internet plan, video or music streaming service, gym, home or car insurance, mutual insurance, transport, press subscription, fashion and beauty box, cinema, meal delivery… On our increasingly nebulous bank statements, subscriptions multiply and end up slipping through the cracks when the time comes to establish your budget.
According to an Ipsos study carried out for Papernest, 35% of the population do not even know precisely the number of subscriptions they pay for each month. Worse still, 4 out of 10 French people continue to pay for a phantom subscription, which they do not use or use very little. Result: unnecessary expenses which accumulate and which weigh on the monthly budget, in a context where purchasing power is already undermined. The main reasons? A forgetting of their existence, a commitment period still in progress, or an overly complicated termination process. Who has never forgotten to cancel a subscription after that famous first free month? ? Who has never said to themselves “I need to think about terminating the contract” but postponed it indefinitely after seeing the amount of information and steps requested?
For those who have neither the reflex nor the desire to check their recurring withdrawals from their bank account, there are solutions. Some free platforms – such as Papernest, or even Ideel – offer to centralize your contracts and subscriptions in order to manage them (and possibly cancel them) for you. All boast average savings of between 750 and 850 euros per year, simply by eliminating these forgotten expenses.
