The Hidden Money Audit: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Finding £100+ This Month
- Rachel Minns
- Dec 18, 2025
- 7 min read
Most people think finding extra money means earning more.
Working overtime. Starting a side hustle. Negotiating a pay rise. Selling things on Facebook Marketplace.
But what if I told you there's probably £100 to £300 sitting in your bank account right now, just waiting to be found?
Not hypothetical money. Not future money. Money you're already earning and then accidentally spending on things you don't want, don't use, and in some cases, don't even remember buying.
This is your complete guide to finding it.
No complicated spreadsheets. No financial jargon. Just a simple, step-by-step process that takes about an hour and could transform how your money feels every single month.
What Is Hidden Money?
Hidden money is money leaving your account that you:
Don't actively choose to spend
Don't get value or joy from
Wouldn't spend again if you thought about it
Often don't even notice is gone
It's not the groceries you need. It's not the bills you have to pay. It's not the things you consciously decide are worth the money.
It's the leaks. The autopilot spending. The forgotten subscriptions. The convenience purchases. The things that slip through unnoticed because you're busy and overwhelmed and just trying to get through the month.
And it adds up faster than you think.
Before You Start: The Mindset Shift
This isn't about judging yourself. It's not about shame or guilt or feeling like you've been "bad with money."
Everyone has hidden money. Every single person I've ever worked with has found some, usually more than they expected.
This exercise is about awareness, not punishment.
You're not doing this to feel terrible about past decisions. You're doing this to make better future decisions.
So before you start, take a breath and decide: I'm approaching this with curiosity, not criticism.
Right. Let's find your money.
Step 1: Gather Your Bank Statements (10 minutes)
You'll need the last three months of bank statements. Three months gives you enough data to spot patterns without drowning in information.
What you need:
Current account statements (where your salary goes and bills come out)
Any credit card statements
PayPal account if you use it regularly
How to get them:
Log into your online banking
Download statements as PDFs or view them on screen
If you use multiple accounts, get statements for all of them
Quick tip: If you share finances with a partner, you'll need their statements too. Hidden money doesn't discriminate.
Step 2: Highlight the Regular Payments (15 minutes)
Go through each statement and highlight everything that's a regular payment. These are the things that come out automatically every month.
Look for:
Direct debits
Standing orders
Subscription services
Insurance payments
Memberships
Anything that appears monthly, quarterly, or annually
Use different colours or make a list:
Red: Subscriptions and services
Blue: Insurance and protection
Green: Memberships and recurring payments
Don't judge anything yet. Just identify what's regular.
Step 3: The Subscription Audit (10 minutes)
Now focus specifically on subscriptions. These are the biggest culprits for hidden money.
For each subscription, ask three questions:
1. Am I actively using this? Not "might I use it one day." Right now, this month, am I using it?
2. Could I downgrade instead of cancel? Do you need Spotify Premium or would Free with ads be fine? Do you need the top-tier Netflix or would Basic work?
3. What am I actually getting for this money? Is the value worth the cost? If you're paying £9.99 for something you use once, that's £10 per use. Worth it?
Common subscription hiding places:
Streaming services (Netflix, Prime, Disney+, Now TV)
Music (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music)
Apps (meditation, fitness, language learning, meal planning)
Cloud storage (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox)
Software (Adobe, Canva Pro, Grammarly)
Delivery services (HelloFresh, Gousto, Amazon Fresh)
Beauty boxes and subscription boxes
Magazine and newspaper subscriptions
Podcast or audiobook services
Real example: Gemma found £380 a month in subscriptions she'd forgotten about. That's £4,560 a year.
Your action: List every subscription and mark it as Keep, Downgrade, or Cancel.
Step 4: The Convenience Spending Check (10 minutes)
This is where a lot of hidden money lives—the daily, unplanned purchases that feel small but add up dramatically.
Count how many times you:
Bought coffee or drinks out
Bought lunch or breakfast instead of bringing it from home
Grabbed snacks or meal deals from corner shops
Ordered takeaway instead of cooking
Paid for parking when you could have parked further away for free
Used cashpoints that charge (£2 here, £2 there)
Calculate the monthly cost:
Coffee 3 times a week at £3.40 = £40.80/month
Lunch twice a week at £7 = £56/month
Takeaway once a week at £25 = £100/month
Be honest: Which of these are you genuinely enjoying, and which are just convenient?
Your action: Calculate your convenience spending total and decide which ones to keep and which to replace with planning ahead.
Step 5: The "Just a Few Bits" Calculation (5 minutes)
Count how many times you went to the supermarket or corner shop last month.
If it's more than once a week, you're doing unplanned shops. And unplanned shops are expensive.
Why this matters: A planned shop for £80 buys what you actually need. Four "just a few bits" shops at £25 each = £100 for random stuff you didn't plan for.
Your action: Track how much you spent on unplanned shops. Could that money have been saved with one weekly planned shop?
Step 6: The Impulse Purchase Review (10 minutes)
Go through your Amazon, eBay, and online shopping transactions.
For each one, ask:
Do I remember ordering this?
Am I using it?
Did I need it, or did I want it in that moment?
Did an ad or email trigger this purchase?
Special attention to:
Late-night purchases (when you're tired, you buy things you don't need)
Sale purchases (buying something because it's on sale, not because you need it)
"Treat yourself" purchases after a hard day
Your action: Add up what you spent on impulse purchases. How much of that do you actually use and love?
Step 7: The Insurance and Contract Check (5 minutes)
These renew automatically, so you probably haven't looked at them in ages.
Check:
Phone insurance (is your phone even worth claiming for now?)
Breakdown cover (have you used it in the last two years?)
Extended warranties (are they still valid? Are you double-covered?)
Gym membership (when did you last go?)
Magazine subscriptions (do you read them?)
Your action: Call providers and ask for better deals or cancel what you're not using.
Step 8: Add It All Up
Now for the moment of truth.
Add up everything you've identified as hidden money:
Subscriptions you're cancelling
Subscriptions you're downgrading (add the savings)
Convenience spending you're replacing with planning
Unplanned shops you're reducing
Impulse purchases you're avoiding
Insurance and contracts you're cancelling or renegotiating
This is your monthly hidden money total.
Most women find between £100 and £300. Some find significantly more.
Step 9: Decide What to Do With It
This is the fun part.
You've just found money you were already earning. Money that was leaving your account without you noticing. Now you get to redirect it to something you actually want.
Your options:
Pay off debt faster (even an extra £100 a month makes a massive difference)
Build your emergency fund (so unexpected expenses don't derail you)
Save for something specific (holiday, house deposit, new car)
Invest in something that matters (courses, experiences, quality items)
Create breathing room (just knowing it's there reduces stress)
Your action: Write down exactly what you're going to do with this money. Make it specific and exciting.
Step 10: Make the Changes Now
Awareness without action changes nothing.
Right now, before you move on with your day:
Cancel or downgrade subscriptions (do it now, it takes 5 minutes) Set up reminders for convenience spending (pack lunch tonight) Make a meal plan for this week (so you're not doing unplanned shops) Unsubscribe from tempting marketing emails (you'll forget about sales if they're not in your inbox)
The momentum is now. Use it.
What Happens Next
Here's what changes when you find and redirect your hidden money:
Week 1: You notice you're not buying things you don't want. It feels lighter.
Week 2: You check your bank balance and there's more there than usual. The stress reduces.
Week 3: You start making decisions based on what you actually want, not just what's convenient.
Month 2: You've paid an extra £100 off debt, or added £150 to savings, or booked that weekend away you've been putting off.
Month 3: This is just how you manage money now. The changes have become habits.
This isn't about restriction. It's about redirection.
You're not spending less. You're spending better.
You're not depriving yourself. You're prioritising yourself.
You're not being boring with money. You're being intentional with money.
And that changes everything.
Your Next Step
If you've done this audit and you're excited about what you've found, brilliant. You've just discovered money that was always yours, you've simply redirected it to where it matters.
But here's the thing: finding hidden money is just the beginning.
If you want to keep this momentum going, if you want to stop the 3am money panic, know exactly where every pound is going, and finally feel confident making financial decisions, then Money Made Simple: Family Edition is your next step.
It's the complete system that helps you:
✓ See exactly where your money goes (in under an hour)
✓ Set up simple money pots so you always know what's available
✓ Plan for holidays, treats, and joy without guilt
✓ Stop the panic around debt and create a plan that actually works
✓ Build a 10-minute weekly check-in that keeps you on track
Within 7 days, you'll go from "I don't know what I'm doing" to "I've got this."
You've found your hidden money. Now let's help you keep it, grow it, and make it work for the life you actually want.
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