Mom's bank statement is the quietest place where her money leaves the house. Nobody is shopping for her, nobody is calling about it, and the charges arrive on the same day every month. That is why the monthly total tends to creep up without anyone deciding it should. Before anyone cancels something or argues about who should have caught it, the first job is to list every recurring charge in one place.
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Pull three months of statements, not one
One statement shows what happened to fall in that month. Three months show what repeats. Look at every account that pays out from Mom's money, including checking, any savings that send transfers, and any card she still uses. Make a simple list with four columns: the name the charge shows on the statement, the amount, the day it hits, and what you think it is for. Mark anything that appears in all three months as recurring. Mark anything that appears once but looks like a renewal as a possible annual charge, since those are easy to miss until the next year comes around.
Sort each charge into keep, question, or stop
Keep means Mom uses it, it helps her, and the price still makes sense to the family. Question means you cannot tell from the name alone what it is, or you suspect the service has changed. Stop means nobody can say what it is for, or it duplicates something she already has. Common examples include magazine and streaming subscriptions, cloud storage, an extra phone line, a club membership she no longer visits, and an insurance add-on that was sold at the door. Ask the whole family before you stop anything, not just one sibling, because a charge that looks unused to one person may be the only thing another person relies on.
Check what authority you have before you act
Reading a statement and changing a payment are different permissions. Before you call the bank or a company to cancel, find out whose name is on the account, whether Mom can still give instructions herself, and whether anyone has written authority to act for her. If the answer is unclear, settle that question first and write down who you spoke with and what they told you. That record protects the person doing the cancelling if someone asks about it later.
Cancel in writing, then watch the next statements
Call to start, then ask for confirmation in writing or a cancellation number, and note the name of the person you spoke with. Ask whether the charge stops right away or at the next billing cycle, and whether a final charge is still due. Then check the next two statements. Some services keep billing after a cancellation is confirmed, and that is the most common reason a stopped charge comes back. If a payment still goes out after you have stopped it, ask your bank how to stop a recurring automatic payment and how to dispute a charge. Federal rules give consumers ways to do both, and the bank can walk you through its process.
Make the list a standing task
Once the first pass is done, the list is most useful as a monthly check. Assign one person to read the statement the same way you would assign any bill, and have that person post the total in the family thread. Flag any new charge the day it appears. A list that lives in one sibling's inbox goes stale, while a list reviewed on a set day stays accurate. If you need help finding local options for Mom's household costs, the Local help page lists places in the St. Louis area to start.