Want to avoid some of life's most common admin errors? Read on

A time comes when you will take a look at your electric bill and get quite a surprise. This 'electric shock' comes in the form of a steep price, and you wonder how you hadn't noticed it climbing. A bit of further investigation will probably show you that your electricity supplier raised their prices quite a while ago, and this is the first you've noticed. Now is the time to jumpstart into action and start looking for cheaper energy.

If this situation sounds familiar, you are in good company. There are plenty of UK householders wondering how much they could save if they got around to making the switch to a new electricity supplier. Moreover, it's not just with electricity that the UK is procrastinating over.

Portafina did a little bit of investigating into the situation. They surveyed 2,000 UK adults to discover which simple tasks they routinely put off and how much money automatic renewals or late-payment fines cost them.

Top Ten Tasks Brits Put Off That Costs Them Money

Switching to a cheaper electricity supplier (41%)
Switching to a cheaper internet provider (36%)
Switching to a cheaper phone contract (33%)
Making a monthly budget (27%)
Saving a little each month (27%)
Keeping up-to-date on their pension performance (27%)
Managing their bank accounts (23%)
Managing monthly subscriptions e.g. video streaming, music, gym memberships, etc. (22%)
Paying bills on time to get discount - direct debits, for example (20%)
Switching to a cheaper home insurance provider (17%)

Start Now or Later?

Did you notice anything that surprised you in the list above? Maybe there was, and taking a little closer look, you might recognise some other trends in the way you approach such administrative tasks.

Switching Suppliers:

41% of Brits refuse to seek an alternative, cheaper energy supplier.
Compared to the rest of the UK, people in Scotland appear to be the least likely to look for a cheaper broadband provider - 41.21% remain with their original supplier.
36% of over-55s stay with their current phone supplier regardless of better offers being available. This compares to only 30% of 25-34 year-olds.

Money

When it comes to procrastinating over paying bills, men and women are neck-and-neck at 19.7% and 19.69%, respectively.
Regular pension checks are more popular with the 18-24 age group (13% avoidance) than 45-54 year-olds (34% avoidance).
37.5% of Northern Ireland residents do not prepare a budget regularly.

Penalties and Fines

Around one-in-three people end up paying a fine because of failing to pay a bill, subscription, or some other sort of administrative payment.
As a result of avoiding a short administrative task, men (19.18%) are more likely to be fined between £10-£14.99 than women (13.37%).
Fines over £500 for avoiding such tasks are picked up by 2% of adults (18-55+).

Reviewing Subscriptions

32% of people earning between £35,000-£50,000 avoid reviewing their video streaming, online shopping, gym memberships, and other subscriptions.
The age group most likely to avoid reviewing their monthly subscriptions are 18-24 year-olds.
Women (23.46%) are slightly less likely to avoid reviewing their subscriptions compared to 21.06% of men.

How Did You Get On?

Now that you've had a chance to see some of the everyday and simple administrative tasks that get put off by people, you can compare them to your administrative performance. Can you remember the last time you put one of these tasks off yourself? Or, are you struggling to recognise a time when you got to grips early with any of them!!

Putting these types of simple administrative tasks off might not only cost you in financial terms; failing to pay bills or repayment can be stressful. There is plenty of help available to assist you in changing your attitude to getting thighs done. A switch to a cheaper supplier first requires you to make a switch to your administration.