Did you know the average household is paying for four to eight subscriptions they've completely forgotten about? This episode, Maya and financial counsellor Dr Linda expose the two deliberate tactics companies use to keep money quietly draining from your account — and walk you through exactly how to take it back.

You'll learn how to run a 3-month bank statement audit, decode charges listed under holding company names you don't recognise, use Dr Linda's three-question test to decide what stays and what goes, and find out if your utility provider owes you money right now.

YOUR BABY STEP: Open your bank app. Go back 3 months. List every recurring charge. For any name you don't recognise — Google it + 'subscription'. Cancel anything that fails the 3-question test. Then call one utility provider and ask about your rate and any account credit. You might find twenty dollars. You might find ninety. Either way — that's your money.

Full show notes at lighterwithmaya.substack.com • Instagram @lighterwithmaya

The first episode of Lighter. Host Maya introduces the show and who it's for. Guest Sarah — a single mum three years on from where you might be right now — shares the moment she first faced her finances alone. And what changed when she stopped running from the numbers.

YOUR BABY STEP: Find out what comes into your bank account each month. Your take-home pay, any support payments, any benefits. Add it up. Write it down. One number. That's it. This is your foundation number. Keep it.

NEXT EPISODE: The Subscription Leak — the money quietly leaving your account every month that you forgot you were spending.