Subscription audit
Small charges that renew on their own add up. One hour in December shows the yearly total and what you can cut before 2027.
Step 1: find every charge (20 minutes)
- Go through three months of bank and card statements. Some services bill quarterly or yearly, so also search the last 12 months for "annual" or for amounts you do not recognise.
- Check your app store subscriptions on your phone.
- Search your email for "receipt", "renewal" and "your subscription".
- Include memberships, software, cloud storage, news, streaming, delivery passes, gym, apps and donations.
Step 2: convert to a yearly cost (10 minutes)
yearly cost = monthly price × 12, or the yearly price as is
Example with made-up numbers: 4 streaming services at 9, 12, 15 and 7 per month = 43 per month = 516 per year
Seeing 516 instead of "about ten each" changes the conversation.
Step 3: decide (20 minutes)
For each line, pick one of four:
- Keep: used in the last 30 days and you would buy it again today.
- Downgrade: a cheaper tier, an ad-supported plan, or a family or shared plan.
- Rotate: keep one streaming service at a time and switch every month or two.
- Cancel: not used in 30 days, duplicated, or forgotten.
Example: cancel 2 services (22/month) and downgrade 1 (save 5/month) → 27 per month = 324 per year
Step 4: cancel properly (10 minutes)
- Cancel from the account settings, not by deleting the app.
- Take a screenshot of the cancellation confirmation.
- Check the next statement to make sure the charge stopped.
- For annual plans, note the renewal date and cancel a week before it.
Step 5: renewal alerts for 2027
Write down the next renewal date for everything you keep. A reminder a week before each annual renewal gives you time to decide. Free trials go on the list too, with the date they turn paid.
Where the savings go
Decide now: an extra payment on a card balance, a sinking fund for next December, or your emergency fund. Savings with no job tend to get absorbed by other spending.
Repeat twice a year
New subscriptions creep in. A quick audit in June and December keeps the list honest. The basics of keeping a tracker are in the subscription tracker spreadsheet guide.
A sample audit
A household finds 14 recurring charges: five streaming, two music, three cloud storage, a gym, a news site, a delivery pass and a forgotten app. Total: 198 per month. They cancel four, downgrade two and rotate streaming, ending at 121 per month. That is 924 per year freed up, from one evening's work.
The numbers are made up, but the pattern is common: duplicated storage, a forgotten trial and more streaming than anyone watches.
Watch for these
- Free trials that turned paid without you noticing.
- Price increases on existing plans: compare this year's charge with last year's.
- Duplicates: two cloud storage plans, or a service you pay for that is already included in another plan.
- Annual renewals for things you used once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find all my subscriptions?
Check three months of bank and card statements, search the last 12 months for annual charges, look at your phone's app store subscriptions and search your email for receipts and renewals.
How much do people spend on subscriptions?
It varies a lot, and many people underestimate it. Convert each charge to a yearly cost and add them up to see your own total.
How often should I audit subscriptions?
Twice a year is a good rhythm, plus a reminder a week before each annual renewal.
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Examples use made-up numbers.
Subscription Tracker
List everything that renews and see your monthly and yearly cost, with alerts before each renewal.