Should I cancel my subscriptions?

The Subscription Audit: Stop Paying for Things You Don’t Use

The average American now pays for 8-12 subscriptions they’ve accumulated over years of “free trials” and “just $9.99/month” promises. It’s time for an honest audit.

The Subscription Creep Problem

Subscriptions are designed to be easy to start and easy to forget:

• Sign up during a free trial
• Forget to cancel before it charges
• Get charged monthly for years
• Never really notice the individual amounts

A few dollars here and there seems harmless, but it adds up:

That “cheap” $9.99 service costs $1,200 over a decade. Now multiply by 8-12 subscriptions.

How to Audit Your Subscriptions

Step 1: Find Everything

• Pull 3 months of credit/debit card statements
• Check App Store/Google Play subscriptions
• Search email for “subscription,” “recurring,” “receipt”
• Check PayPal, Venmo, or other payment apps
• Don’t forget: domains, cloud storage, professional memberships

Step 2: List Every Subscription Create a spreadsheet with:

• Service name
• Monthly cost
• Last time you used it
• How often you actually use it
• Your enjoyment level (1-10)

Step 3: Calculate Cost Per Use This is the key metric:

High cost-per-use items are prime cancellation candidates.

The Subscription Categories

Essential Subscriptions (Usually Keep)

• Music streaming (if you use it daily)
• Cloud storage (if you need it)
• Password manager
• Primary streaming service

Lifestyle Subscriptions (Evaluate)

• Gym membership (calculate cost per visit)
• Meal kit services (compare to grocery shopping)
• News/magazine subscriptions (do you actually read them?)
• Software subscriptions (could you use free alternatives?)

Duplicates (Usually Cancel One)

• Multiple streaming services
• Multiple music services
• Multiple cloud storage
• Multiple news subscriptions

Forgotten Subscriptions (Almost Always Cancel)

• Free trials you forgot about
• Services you signed up for once
• Apps you no longer use
• Memberships to places you don’t visit

The Streaming Optimization Strategy

Most people don’t need 5 streaming services simultaneously. Try this:

The Rotation Method:

1. Keep your primary service year-round (Netflix/Hulu/whatever you use most)
2. Subscribe to a second service for 2-3 months
3. Binge what you want to watch
4. Cancel and rotate to another service
5. Repeat with different services throughout the year

This can cut streaming costs from $60-80/month to $25-35/month while still watching everything you want.

Cost-Per-Use Benchmarks

When is a subscription worth it? Some guidelines:

Entertainment (streaming, music):

• Under $1/use = Excellent value
• $1-3/use = Good value
• Over $5/use = Consider canceling

Fitness (gym, apps):

• Under $3/visit = Good value
• $5-10/visit = Questionable
• Over $15/visit = Cancel and find alternatives

Software/Tools:

• If it saves you 1+ hour/month = Worth it
• If you use it daily = Worth it
• If you used it once 6 months ago = Cancel

What to Do With Savings

Canceling subscriptions isn’t about deprivation—it’s about redirecting money to what matters:

• Pay down debt faster
• Boost emergency fund
• Invest the difference
• Spend on experiences instead
• Save for something specific

$100/month in saved subscriptions = $1,200/year = $12,000 over 10 years (more with investment growth).

The Psychological Trap

Subscriptions use psychological tricks to keep you paying:

Sunk Cost Fallacy: “I’ve been paying for months, I should use it.” No—past payments are gone. Only future value matters.

Just-In-Case Thinking: “I might need it someday.” You probably won’t. You can always resubscribe.

Loss Aversion: “What if I miss something good?” You’ll survive. FOMO costs real money.

Low Pain of Payment: Small recurring charges don’t “feel” expensive. But they add up.

Building a Sustainable Subscription Stack

After your audit, build a intentional set:

The Minimalist Stack (under $50/month):

• 1 streaming service: $15
• 1 music service: $11
• Cloud storage: $3
• Password manager: $3
• Total: ~$32/month

The Comfortable Stack (under $100/month):

• 2 streaming services: $30
• Music + podcasts: $11
• Cloud storage: $10
• News/content: $15
• Fitness app: $15
• Total: ~$81/month

The Premium Stack (under $200/month):

• Multiple streaming services: $50
• Music/podcasts: $15
• Software/productivity: $30
• Fitness: $40
• News/content: $25
• Specialty content: $30
• Total: ~$190/month

Choose your tier intentionally based on income and priorities—don’t accumulate randomly.

Action Steps

1. This week: Export credit card statements and find all subscriptions
2. This weekend: Calculate cost per use for each
3. Next week: Cancel everything with poor cost-per-use ratios
4. Monthly: Review new subscriptions before committing
5. Quarterly: Repeat this audit

The goal isn’t to cancel everything—it’s to pay only for what you genuinely use and value. That might be 3 subscriptions or 10. What matters is intentionality.