We're spending too much money on monthly subscriptions and here's why

last updated 21 April 2022

There’s no shortage of companies wanting you to part with your hard earned cash, with many using the allure of paying in monthly instalments as a more attractive option to spread the cost.

But the £9.99 you pay a month for your Spotify subscription, or the £40 plus you part with so you can have all the Sky TV channels, even though you probably only watch about one third of them, all adds up.

In fact, according to new research, we’re completely in the dark when it comes to subscription fees, with the average Brit believing they’re only spending £29 each month, when they are actually paying an average of £149.

According to the study conducted by the UK’s largest TV platform, Freeview, two of our costliest subscriptions are TV services, which average £28 a month, and mobile phone contracts, which have an average spend of £19 a month.

These figures have actually risen over the last few days, thanks to many companies using the start of the new financial year, April 1st, as their cue to raise bills.

Sky have increased their TV and broadband costs, with the average bill increasing 5.1 per cent, but Sky says all changes will be limited to just £1 or £2 per product.

Three major phone networks have also increased their monthly tariffs – Sky mobile customers are seeing bills rise 5.1 per cent, while O2 and Vodafone customers are seeing their bills rise 2.5 per cent.

Owen Jenkinson, marketing director at Freeview said, ‘Subscriptions can be great, but if you don’t keep track of them, they can soon mount up. With so many bills going up this month, we wanted to help people make better financial choices.’

So if you’re part of the 22 per cent of the public who are looking for new ways to tighten their purse strings and review their monthly outgoings, shop around other companies to see if you’re missing out on a great deal.