Subscribing to a meal delivery service or a personalized clothing box is definitely convenient, but you may wonder whether it’s worth the cost of how best to keep track of everything you’ve subscribed to.
A recent survey by CNET found that Americans spend an average of $90 a month on subscriptions.
The problem is that many people can’t remember what they’ve subscribed to.
Savannah Innes is a coffee shop barista, who is great at keeping track of customer orders.
But she struggles to keep track of all the subscriptions she and her boyfriend have.
"I have Spotify, and I have Hulu," she said. "He has HBO Max, I think he has Disney Plus, and Netflix. So luckily we split them between us."
“People are spending money on subscriptions that they're also not using,” said Dashia Milden, Editor with CNET. “When we start looking at those numbers, it's on an average of $17 a month of just unused subscriptions.”
How to lower your costs
Milden advises subscribers to audit their bank accounts and make a list of what subscriptions they have. Then decide whether it’s something you really need or if there’s a way to get it cheaper.
Splitting the cost of subscriptions within one household is one way to save money. Milden also suggests the rotation method.
“If you are watching a show on STARZ and that show is expected to last maybe 3 months, consider the rotation method, where you're not paying for stars from January to December, but maybe only for those 3 months,” she said.
Watch as an expert shares tips to lower your subscription costs:
Another alternative is to use a budgeting app like Rocket Money.
It’s a one stop shop for keeping track of all of the services you’ve subscribed to. Consumers can upgrade to the paid premium membership and have Rocket Money cancel the subscriptions for you.
However, if the goal is to save money, Milden suggests canceling subscriptions yourself by calling the customer service phone numbers for each subscription.
“It takes a little bit longer,” she said, “but in my opinion, it's worth it if I'm going to be saving some money in the long run.”
Milden believes that subscriptions are here to stay because many consumers like convenience, but she says that convenience comes at a cost.
“When we start thinking about subscriptions, it depends on what you really want to pay for. Is it really going to save you that much time? Is it going to make that much difference in your day to day,” she said. “If you don't need that Instacart subscription, cancel it.”
That way you don't waste your money.
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