How to do a subscription detox

First Nations Foundation

Credit & Debt, Money Lessons
May 20, 2024

Have you ever signed up for a free trial, then forgot to cancel before the payment date? Or subscribed to a streaming platform to watch one show, then accidentally left the subscription active?

These are pretty common scenarios, especially when the number of subscription platforms is multiplying by the year. The problem is, if you’ve got a handful of different platforms running at once, you could be paying out hundreds of dollars a year for services you don’t want or need.

Instead, consider these few steps to trim down your subscriptions and potentially save some extra cash.

List all the subscriptions you know about

Write down all of the apps, streaming platforms and memberships you subscribe to. The list should include all of the subscriptions you’re charged for on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly basis.

Check your bank statements for forgotten subscriptions

Most of us have had a sneaky app or two we’ve forgotten about in the past. Consider running through your bank statement for the past couple of months with a highlighter or on the screen to find any subscriptions you may have missed. Don’t forget to look at PayPal payments and remember that the descriptions don’t always directly match the service, so you may have to do a little bit of digging.

Choose the subscriptions to keep

Think about the subscriptions you’ve used in the past month and the ones you plan to use in the next month. Remember, if you drop something and miss it, you can always re-subscribe at a later date and may even be able to get a better deal.

Set aside time to cancel others

Spend a bit of time going through each unused app or service one by one and cancelling them. Sometimes, you’ll need to give a month’s notice.

Set reminders

For the apps or subscriptions you’ve chosen to keep, note down when the next payment date is. This will give you another chance to cancel if you change your mind or find you haven’t been using it as much as you thought you would.

Like every article on this website, this is not personal financial advice.