The iPhone actually has a subscription feature in the settings. You can go in there and see all the apps you are subscribed to, how much they cost, when they renew, and you can also cancel them right there!
This is always where I look first! Just a reminder that certain subscriptions don’t process this way and are only within the apps, so are a little hidden.
My pro tip is to cancel immediately after subscribing. Almost always the subscription is for a determined amount of time, regardless of when you cancel. If something is set to renew 4 months from now, I can cancel it now and it won’t renew but I’ll still have access for 4 months.
Also, making a list of all the places where you’ll find your subscription info: Roku, Apple, Amazon, email, bank statements, PayPal, ApplePay…
Starting July 1, California Assembly bill 2863 goes into effect. It is designed to help consumers cancel subscriptions. The new law requires businesses to receive a consumer’s "affirmative consent" to renew or continue a paid subscription.
The new law will require businesses to get permission from the customer to extend a subscription when the free trial or contract ends.
The legislation applies to subscriptions that start, are amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025.
My husband and I do an annual review of our finances in September, including a breakdown of every subscription we have. Our key trick? Doing it in September instead of at the end of the year when everything is nuts with the holidays. Highly recommend setting an annual date to have this kind of conversation -- we go out to breakfast with laptops while the kids are at school.
We cancelled our video streaming subscriptions earlier this year. We only have the ones we have for free through family members, etc. and we have an upgraded (paid) monthly subscription to our local video store. It’s so fun to walk down the street with our kiddos and pick out a movie. In doing this we are supporting a small local business that is actually a non profit trying to keep physical media alive. Bonus is that there are a lot of fun special features on DVDs! Shout out to Movie Madness in Portland, OR.
I keep a running list of subscriptions in my notes app on my iPhone. And for some, i also have a reminder to go off that is set for one or two weeks before they actually renew, so that I can consider if they are worth my budget. If I don’t still want them, I cancel before they auto renew.
This was a good reminder for me to go into my NYT account, they had started charging me $25 a month. As soon as I hit "cancel my subscription" it was like WAIT! How about $4 a month for a full year!? LMAO, ok fine! Thanks for the reminder, just saved me $21 a month, Shira.
Also, I just cancelled the trickiest subscription ever this month- stopped paying for embryo storage ($900 a year!) because my family is complete and I'm turning 40. That was a tough one but I'll be glad to not see the auto debit anymore!
I would also check PayPal and applepay- those are how I pay for some tv subscriptions and you are right- I totally forgot I had impulsively subscribed to Britni’s for a whole year and hadn’t watched it once!
Another recurring “fee” is charitable donations. Just yesterday I cancelled monthly donations I was making to two different organizations. While they’re worthwhile, I had begun these automatic contributions five years ago had forgotten about them even as our priorities had shifted.
Such a necessary exercise! I agree about looking over 3 months of bills as things do get invoiced quarterly. Love your weekly letter, so many practical and juicy bits of advice!
I use the YNAB budgeting app (which is a paid subscription but well worth the price tag for me because it actually teaches a different way to control your spending and goes way beyond just a budget tracker!) and have all of my bank/card accounts linked so I have every single transaction categorized and tracked. It also has spending reports you can generate to look at how much you’re spending on things like subscriptions. It helped me tremendously a few years ago to find those pesky forgotten expenses and cut back. Now if I do decide to subscribe, I also set a calendar reminder to cancel before the free trial ends or before it auto renews.
But I will admit to being a serial online personal and professional growth course enroller. I have so many paid courses I haven’t finished, thinking the next one will be the silver bullet, but they never are, of course!
The iPhone actually has a subscription feature in the settings. You can go in there and see all the apps you are subscribed to, how much they cost, when they renew, and you can also cancel them right there!
This is always where I look first! Just a reminder that certain subscriptions don’t process this way and are only within the apps, so are a little hidden.
Culture Studies
TY!
My pro tip is to cancel immediately after subscribing. Almost always the subscription is for a determined amount of time, regardless of when you cancel. If something is set to renew 4 months from now, I can cancel it now and it won’t renew but I’ll still have access for 4 months.
Also, making a list of all the places where you’ll find your subscription info: Roku, Apple, Amazon, email, bank statements, PayPal, ApplePay…
I also do that!
Starting July 1, California Assembly bill 2863 goes into effect. It is designed to help consumers cancel subscriptions. The new law requires businesses to receive a consumer’s "affirmative consent" to renew or continue a paid subscription.
The new law will require businesses to get permission from the customer to extend a subscription when the free trial or contract ends.
The legislation applies to subscriptions that start, are amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025.
This should help those in CA.
This is so great - thanks for sharing! xx
I hope other states follow suit. Michiganders have nothing to do in the winter except subscribe to crap 😆
Ha ha. And watch Weather Channel. I never knew that was a thing until I went to college there.
I especially love the tip to set calendar reminders for annual renewals
My husband and I do an annual review of our finances in September, including a breakdown of every subscription we have. Our key trick? Doing it in September instead of at the end of the year when everything is nuts with the holidays. Highly recommend setting an annual date to have this kind of conversation -- we go out to breakfast with laptops while the kids are at school.
Great tip! x
We cancelled our video streaming subscriptions earlier this year. We only have the ones we have for free through family members, etc. and we have an upgraded (paid) monthly subscription to our local video store. It’s so fun to walk down the street with our kiddos and pick out a movie. In doing this we are supporting a small local business that is actually a non profit trying to keep physical media alive. Bonus is that there are a lot of fun special features on DVDs! Shout out to Movie Madness in Portland, OR.
I LOVE that you have a local video store!!
I keep a running list of subscriptions in my notes app on my iPhone. And for some, i also have a reminder to go off that is set for one or two weeks before they actually renew, so that I can consider if they are worth my budget. If I don’t still want them, I cancel before they auto renew.
Brilliant!
This was a good reminder for me to go into my NYT account, they had started charging me $25 a month. As soon as I hit "cancel my subscription" it was like WAIT! How about $4 a month for a full year!? LMAO, ok fine! Thanks for the reminder, just saved me $21 a month, Shira.
Also, I just cancelled the trickiest subscription ever this month- stopped paying for embryo storage ($900 a year!) because my family is complete and I'm turning 40. That was a tough one but I'll be glad to not see the auto debit anymore!
WOW, congrats all around! x
I would also check PayPal and applepay- those are how I pay for some tv subscriptions and you are right- I totally forgot I had impulsively subscribed to Britni’s for a whole year and hadn’t watched it once!
Ooh hot tip - TY!
Thanks for the post. Motivated me to finally cancel Hulu. We rarely stream anything over the summer anyway.
Love that!
Thanks for the reminder, I have just cancelled Apple TV which I haven't used since Easter! £8.99 a month saved, took me about three minutes.
Love it!! x
Another recurring “fee” is charitable donations. Just yesterday I cancelled monthly donations I was making to two different organizations. While they’re worthwhile, I had begun these automatic contributions five years ago had forgotten about them even as our priorities had shifted.
Subscribe and save left me with handsoap refills for the next decade!
LOL!!
Such a necessary exercise! I agree about looking over 3 months of bills as things do get invoiced quarterly. Love your weekly letter, so many practical and juicy bits of advice!
I use the YNAB budgeting app (which is a paid subscription but well worth the price tag for me because it actually teaches a different way to control your spending and goes way beyond just a budget tracker!) and have all of my bank/card accounts linked so I have every single transaction categorized and tracked. It also has spending reports you can generate to look at how much you’re spending on things like subscriptions. It helped me tremendously a few years ago to find those pesky forgotten expenses and cut back. Now if I do decide to subscribe, I also set a calendar reminder to cancel before the free trial ends or before it auto renews.
But I will admit to being a serial online personal and professional growth course enroller. I have so many paid courses I haven’t finished, thinking the next one will be the silver bullet, but they never are, of course!