Is It Time to Unsubscribe?

It seems like everything comes with a monthly subscription these days. It’s not just TV and music anymore. Subscription pricing is used for many things, and you may have even opted into one or two that you forgot about. Cutting back on our subscriptions can save you a lot of money, but how do you get started if you’re not even sure what you’re paying for? This guide can help.

Identify your subscriptions: Get started by pulling up your credit card and bank statements for the last several months and look for recurring payments. If you shop with Amazon or other online stores, open those accounts and look for “Subscribe & Save” to see what you have subscribed to. Don’t forget to check the App store and/or your “Settings” on your smartphone as well.
Cancel, Pause, or Rotate: Once you find out what subscriptions you have, do a quick assessment of what you are really using and how much you are paying. You may find several that you have not used recently. Ask yourself, is it worth it? If not, it is time to cancel. Maybe you have a service like NFL+ that you are currently not using, but you know you will once football season starts. That’s okay! Cancel for now and start it up later. Your service may even allow you to pause your account temporarily. If you watch a streaming service for a single show and it ends, rotate! There may be something else on another provider that you’ve been dying to watch. You don’t have to subscribe to them all at once.
Don’t Go: When you cancel a service, providers will often try to keep you hooked with special deals-a free trial period or discount for a limited time. If you decide to stay, set a reminder on your calendar to re-evaluate before the trial period is up.
Free Services: With the convenience of all these subscriptions, it’s easy to forget that we can get this stuff for free. Consider taking a break from some of your services and check with your local library for audiobooks, eBooks, music, digital magazines, podcasts, movies, and more. Often, they have the same titles as the apps you subscribe to, and you’ll feel good because it didn’t cost anything!

Once you trim your subscriptions back, you will have found a little extra money! Don’t let that go to waste (and please don’t use it on another subscription). Instead, tuck that money away into your savings or use it to help pay down debt. Free up that money for something you really need (or want)!

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(August 2024)