Today, we pay subscription fees for everything from our favorite music streaming services and food delivery apps to social media and gym memberships. And there’s a good chance those services are eating into your budget.
Take video streaming services. Subscribers spend an average of $69 each month on these streamers, which is up only 13% from last year, according to a report from Deloitte. While you don’t want to be too restrictive on your budget and cancel a membership you use and enjoy, it’s a good idea to regularly review what you’re paying for, and whether you’re using the service enough to make it worth the price tag. Here’s how to get started.
Subscription services to cancel or downgrade
Each person’s credit card statement will look different when it comes to what they spend on. But here are some tricky payments you can cancel or reduce the cost of:
- Free trials that renew automatically: Sometimes platforms will offer you a free trial but require you to enter your payment information. If you’re not careful, you might forget to cancel after the free trial ends and end up paying every month or year.
- Services you do not use: Say you finished your favorite television show, you stop going to the gym or you haven’t read a news website for months. Are you still paying for that service? Review your bank statements to be sure.
- Premium Offerings: You can downgrade to a lower cost tier in exchange for viewing ads. If you don’t mind ads or don’t use the service often, you may need to cancel the more expensive premium membership and use the free or low-cost version.
Still paying for a subscription you’re not using? See what you can cancel
How to find hidden subscriptions
The best place to spot hidden subscriptions is on your most recent credit card or bank statement. This statement lists all the expenses you have incurred.
You can also check the settings on your iPhone or Android to see which monthly subscriptions you pay through the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Some people also pay for subscriptions through other platforms like PayPal, so be sure to review all of your different payment plans.
How to cancel a hidden subscription
Personal finance apps like Rocket Money can help you see and cancel monthly subscriptions.
You can also go through the normal process and cancel each subscription after you see it on your credit card balance. Most companies let you cancel your subscription when you go into your account settings, but you may have to call or email the company, especially if you’re trying to cancel something like a gym membership.
The benefit of finding hidden funds
In general, you can cancel or downgrade a subscription without missing out — especially if it’s a service you don’t use.
The more money you save by eliminating unused subscriptions from your budget, the more money you should spend on things you enjoy or save for your future. Take that $69 average fee for video streaming services: That figure is $828 in savings over a year.
