How to save money by getting rid of ‘gray charges’ on your credit card

PITTSBURGH — When was the last time you took a deep dive into your credit card statement and did a credit card detox?

You could be throwing money away with so many recurring charges and subscriptions you signed up for or don’t remember you signed up for.

Kaimeco Fairfax is a Ph.D. student, a Navy vet and a busy mom of two and she’s trying to buy a house. She decided to detox her credit card and got an eye-opener.

“Every single day something was happening, and I did not know,” said Kaimeco.

Fairfax’s son had purchased games. She had subscriptions she didn’t use and had signed up for the same streaming service twice.

“Oh, that’s just 11 dollars, but it happens twice a month so that’s 22 dollars!” she said.

It’s easy for these charges to slip through the cracks. These so-called “gray charges” are often recurring, but in small amounts, so they fly under the radar.

If someone wants to detox their credit card, what’s the best way to start?

Credit card expert Sara Rathner from NerdWallet says the best place to start is by looking at your credit card statement.

“It’s so easy to pay your credit card and not look at it or give it a glance, but dive in, look at it, it’s available on your phone, on the app or online all the time,” said Rathner.

Here are some other tips to avoid recurring charges:

Use calendar reminders to know when a free trial expires or when a subscription renews.
Get a confirmation when you cancel.
Avoid saving your credit card information on websites.
Sign up for credit card alerts so you are notified every time a charge is made.
Use budgeting apps, like NerdWallet or Rocket Money, to track your spending.

It takes the guesswork out of where your money is going and trends over time of your spending.

In the end, Fairfax cut out $52 a month in subscriptions, plus her son is no longer buying games.

Here’s one last great tip – you can call your credit card company and ask them to tell you where you have your credit card information stored. You might be surprised how many places have your credit card number. You can ask them to remove your information manually and really detox that card.

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