How do you manage reminders for annual things like MOT, insurance policies etc

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I am trying to be more organised this year and get some systems in place. I have just done a spreadsheet which lists which supplier provides our various utilities, insurances etc. I’d like a reminder which pops up somewhere of when insurance, MOT & things are due for renewal as, at the moment, I tend to rely on the relevant provider contacting me. I’d rather have an independent system too. DH& I have both got iPhones & both use Outlook if that helps.
Thanks!

I have a wall calendar and I write these things down beforehand. Apps and notifications never seem to work for me as when I see the notification I can't just drop everything I'm doing in the moment to do something else instead. Written reminders work better.

I have a proper diary which I check daily. At the front I write all the dates for dds etc.
No electronic reminders.

Wall calendar or diary

only ever have one. Any more and you won’t look in it / update them both.

you can mot your car (and keep the same renewal) a month before it’s due, so you can get that booked in early.

I like the idea of the WhatsApp group with photos of paperwork in it.
I think part of my problem is that, for years, I did rely on my memory and just did this stuff. And then you have DC and life gets more complicated but you manage it. And then both you & DH end up in senior enough roles to have a lot of responsibility but not so senior that you have a team to delegate everything to so there’s more to think about anyway and where sh** happens at random times so the evening you set aside for paperwork doesn’t actually happen but, with direct debits & auto renewal, you stay on top of it. And the DC become teens and, whilst a bit of you is delighted that they realise that everything has to go on the wall calendar if it is actually going to happen, the downside is that their plans constantly changed leading to lots of crossing out so everything on the calendar becomes less legible and possibly even a unintentional
victim of their crossing out or is written over. And then you hit peri and,
despite HRT, it’s goodbye chunks of memory. Plus you have all of this tech at your fingertips so know there must be ways to make life easier, you just don’t know what ways. Hence this thread and taking advantage of having a bit of time to put some systems in place so that, when things pick up again, life is just a bit easier and the 15 mins that would have been spent searching through emails or paperwork can be 15 seconds scrolling through a specific WhatsApp chain and the remaining 14mins & 45 seconds can be spent something more interesting (like MNing!)

I book my MOT when I pay the tax - they’re about a month apart.

I paid the annual tax on the 31st Dec, the car was MOT’d on 12th Jan. It’s not due til 4th Feb but I like to do it early.

The second car is leased, so the garage ring when it’s due and they sort it.

I always ask for paper copies, and I never sign up for direct debit, unless it is something like electricity or council tax or water or mortgage, which are ongoing. Everything else I pay in one lump sum, and request not to auto renew, and for a paper copy to be sent. Then I get a renewal reminder by post, remember to phone and ask why it has gone up in price, which causes them to offer me a lower price, and shop around if I see fit, or just accept. It is usually cheaper to pay yearly rather than monthly, and usually cheaper to shop around.

I have an app called know your car. You put your car details in, when the mot, insurance and tax is due and it sends emails/notifications a month before each is due. You can put several cars in it. Its very handy. You can also see things like MOT history in it.

I have a good old fashioned £2 diary which I keep in my handbag and write stuff in. I check it every few days for birthdays, appointments and expiry dates of stuff. It’s literally how it’s been done for the past 60 years. Not sure why it’s become so difficult recently for people to remember this.