Subscriptions are easy to start and easy to forget. A free trial turns into a paid plan, an app you used once keeps billing, and a streaming service you no longer watch charges you every month. A subscription audit is a short, focused check that finds these charges and helps you decide what stays.
Before you start
Set aside about twenty minutes. You will need access to your bank and credit card statements for the last two or three months, and a note on your phone or a sheet of paper.
Step 1: Gather your statements
Download or open the last two or three months of statements for every account you pay from: checking, credit cards, and any payment apps. Looking at more than one month helps you catch charges that only come every few months.
Step 2: Find the recurring charges
Go line by line and mark anything that repeats. Typical places they hide:
- Streaming, music and games
- Apps and cloud storage
- Gym and fitness memberships
- News and magazine subscriptions
- Software and website tools
- Delivery and shopping memberships
- Free trials that converted to paid plans
Write each one down with its name, the amount and how often it is charged. Check the annual charges too, which may not appear in a short window of statements. Think back to anything that bills once a year.
Step 3: Add it up
Total the monthly cost. Then multiply by twelve to see the yearly figure. Seeing the full-year number is often what motivates people to cancel.
Step 4: Decide keep, pause or cancel
For each subscription, ask three questions:
- Have I used it in the last month?
- Would I notice if it disappeared?
- Is there a cheaper plan, or could I share one?
If you have not used it and would not miss it, cancel. If you are unsure, pause it or set a reminder to decide in a month. Keep the ones that clearly earn their place.
Step 5: Cancel properly
Cancel through the service itself or the app store where you subscribed, then look for a confirmation email. Check your next statement to make sure the charge has stopped. Keep a note of the cancellation date in case you need to dispute a charge.
Step 6: Make it a habit
Set a reminder every few months to repeat the audit. Before you sign up for a free trial, set another reminder for a day or two before it ends. That small step prevents most surprise charges.
Common mistakes
- Only checking one account. Subscriptions are often spread across several cards.
- Forgetting annual charges. They are easy to miss.
- Cancelling in the wrong place. If you subscribed through an app store, you cancel there.
- Not checking afterward. Confirm the charge stops.
If you would like to speed up step 2, Cashflow: Budget Manager can read a bank statement PDF and turn it into a list of transactions you can review, which makes recurring charges easier to spot.
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your situation is different, so talk to a qualified professional before big decisions.
Related: Bank statement import
Track it in Cashflow
Cashflow: Budget Manager is a free app to scan receipts, set budgets and savings goals, and see where your money goes.