Keep Your Wallet Healthy: Analyze Your Subscription Habits
Review Your Recurring Auto-Pay Services for Potential Savings
Are you carelessly spending your hard-earned cash on subscriptions each month, while wondering why your bank account seems to be draining? The average American forks over $77 per month (or a whopping $924 annually) on subscriptions. But are all these charges worthy? Let's dive into a personal subscription audit.
The Pile-Up of Subscription Fees - A Silent Threat
Subscription services offer unparalleled convenience, but they can slip away unnoticed when left unchecked. Renewal payments get the name "evergreen" for a reason - they sprout up again at the end of a subscription term without you even realizing it. Moreover, it's all too easy to get trapped by a free trial or be blindsided by a sudden price hike.
To make things worse, subscription services are set up for automatic renewal unless you decide to cancel. So if you abandon a service, you might forget it even exists, allowing charges to pile up silently.
Time to Get Organized: Your DIY Subscription Audit
While there are dedicated subscription tracking apps out there, why not try an affordable, DIY approach? Here's how to conduct a free subscription audit on your own.
Finding Those Elusive Charges
- Investigate Bank and Credit Card Statements: Track down recurring charges on your credit card, debit card, or online banking accounts over the past year.
- Explore Emails: Search your inbox for subscription confirmations, payment receipts, and renewal notices.
- Scour App Stores and Payment Services: Examine your App Store (Apple, Google Play) and payment services like PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App for active subscriptions.
- Look Closer at Amazon: Don't forget to review recurring orders or subscriptions on platforms like Amazon.
Organize Your Findings - Creating a Subscription Tracker
- Create a Subscription Inventory: Make a list of every active subscription, including the service name, cost, frequency, and payment method.
- Stay Organized: Use a simple spreadsheet or even a notebook to help you visualize your total monthly or annual expenditure.
Evaluate Your Subscription Value - Determine What Stays and What Goes
- Take Stock: Ask yourself if each subscription is worth the cost, taken in the context of your usage.
- Identify Unnecessary Services: Assess whether some subscriptions overlap or are rarely used.
Action Time: Cancel, Pause or Negotiate
- Kiss 'em Goodbye: Eliminate services you don't need or use frequently.
- Stay on Top of It: Schedule regular reviews to stay informed about new or forgotten subscriptions.
The Final Takeaway
By performing an audit on your subscriptions, you'll gain a clearer picture of your monthly expenses and identify areas for potential savings. A single cut of $50 in monthly subscriptions results in $600 saved annually. Implement a systematic approach, schedule regular reviews, and consider using a dedicated credit card for subscriptions to keep tabs on your spending. Take an hour this weekend to audit your subscriptions, and your future self - and bank account - will thank you!
- To avoid unexpected costs from subscription charges, investigate recurring payments on your bank and credit card statements from the past year.
- In addition, explore your email inbox for subscription confirmations, payment receipts, and renewal notices.
- Don't forget to examine your App Store (Apple, Google Play) and payment services like PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App for active subscriptions.
- Moreover, review recurring orders or subscriptions on platforms like Amazon.
- After finding those elusive charges, create a subscription inventory, including service name, cost, frequency, and payment method, to evaluate the value of each subscription, negotiate, pause, or cancel unnecessary services for potential savings in your personal-finance budgeting.
