Life is complicated, and sometimes it can be an achievement to get our lives running the way we like without constantly keeping an eye on the bills for all our services. But, with inflation going up, it is time to stop being complacent and check in on your outgoing expenses to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck.

This means going through all your dull utility bills and other expenses you may have set up as direct debit payments. It can be tedious and frustrating to look through all that, but it is also rewarding to find that you have extra money without changing how you live your day-to-day life.  

When we first sign up for utilities and services like electricity, private health care, or the Internet, we often spend quite a lot of time making sure we are signing up for a plan that will make the most sense for us and our budgets. But despite putting in that initial time and energy, many of us just set and forget it, paying the bills as they start coming in. 

As time goes on, plans that we sign up for change and evolve - the plan that may have been a great deal when you signed up five years ago may now not necessarily tick all the boxes for you.

Most companies will not contact you to update your plans. It often is not in their interest to deal with customers who are routinely updating their plans - if they can get you on their books, that is mission accomplished. The only way you will move onto a different plan is to reach out to them.

Consider your electricity bills, water, gas, and private health care. When was the last time you browsed the competition to ensure that the plans you signed up for are providing you with the value and the service you need?

The good news is that some sites do a lot of the work in searching plans. For electricity, for example, you can find commercial sites like Finder, Compare The Market, and Canstar Blue. Often these sites have corporate partnerships with different energy retailers, so it still pays to do some additional research and use a couple of these sites before making your mind up. 

There is also the Australian Government-run Energy Made Easy website that can help you find the right plan.  

Examining your phone bill will save you money

These days, you have a mobile phone, but you may still have a landline. Add on top of that Internet, and that is quite a bit of money going out to your telecommunications provider each month. When was the last time you checked your plans? Are you still on the best plan for the money you spend vs the data you get on the plan?

If you are still using a landline, look at current plans. Many plans include phone line rentals at no charge or even cheaper local phone call rates. You may even find that you are paying a monthly rental fee for a landline phone. For example, Telstra sells several landline phones with prices starting at $48, but it will also rent them for $2 per month. Over two years, you would be better off having purchased your phone outright.

You may even find you can save money by checking competitor prices, especially your Internet bill. Shop around and see what is on offer.  

Many of the bills you pay will offer a discount for those who pay on time. If you can take advantage of that, it will reduce your expenditure. But that is not always possible. For those who are stretching their finances, it is not always possible to make that on-time payment. 

For those who know they may have payments where this is an issue, it may pay to shop for service providers who do not have expensive late-payment fees.

It is the making of the best of dreams - being told that you have the money you did not know you had. The good news is that some dreams can come true. There are all sorts of lost and forgotten money that you can search to see if you have a claim to.

Unclaimed money is cash from lost bank accounts, shares, investments, and life insurance policies. This money is lost when someone moves home without updating their details with a financial institution or company. The MoneySmart website has a search tool you can use.

Lost superannuation can often occur when people start a new job. People are usually provided with the choice to sign up with the superannuation fund favoured by their new workplace or to pass on the details of their established super fund. This can result in people having multiple superannuation accounts with different funds - each with its administration fees. 

It is easy to consolidate your super all into one account. Most superannuation funds offer a consolidation search tool on their websites. You can log in and consolidate your super accounts. There is also a tool from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) once logged into MyGov.

Money held by state governments 

The MoneySmart site has a guide to claiming money from deceased estates, share dividends, salaries and wages, cheques, trust money, over-payments, and proceeds of the sale. 

Held Medicare benefits  

Medicare needs your bank account to pay any benefits owed to you. Without those details, Medicare will hold the money for you until you give them that information. Services Australia has a guide on how to have these benefits paid out.