End-of-month budget check: 3 things to review before October

September ends tomorrow, and a lot of autopays and renewals reset with the new month. Ten minutes with your bank or card app tonight is enough for a useful check. Scroll through September once and look for three things: a charge you do not recognize, a subscription you forgot about, and a category that grew more than you expected.

Forgotten subscriptions are the easiest to fix. A free trial that rolled into a paid plan or a streaming service added for one show can quietly repeat every month. The Federal Trade Commission suggests looking up the company that runs the subscription and following its cancellation steps, keeping a copy of your cancellation request and notes on any calls, and then watching your statements to make sure the charges stop.

If a charge keeps coming after you cancel, or you do not recognize it at all, the FTC says to dispute it with your card issuer through its website or the phone number on the back of your card, and to follow up in writing. Keep any letters and emails, since they can help show you are owed a refund. Problems can be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or to your state attorney general.

The last step looks forward. Rent, utilities and other bills often land in the first days of the month, and knowing those dates keeps you from spending money that is already committed. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a free printable bill calendar for listing each bill, its amount and its due date. For advice about your own situation, a bank, credit union or nonprofit credit counselor is a good place to ask.

Tonight, choose one recurring charge and ask whether you would sign up for it again today. If not, cancel it and save the confirmation before October 1.