How much am I really spending on subscriptions?

Step 1: List every subscription

Check your card and bank statements, your Google Play or App Store subscriptions, and your email for receipts. Our guide to finding every subscription walks through each place.

Step 2: Convert everything to a yearly cost

A charge of 199 a month is 2,388 a year. Seeing the yearly figure makes it much easier to ask whether a service is really worth it.

• Monthly: multiply by 12.
• Weekly: multiply by 52.
• Quarterly: multiply by 4.
• Annual: use as is.

Step 3: Add them up, then compare

Total the yearly costs, then compare that figure with something concrete: a month's rent, a flight home, your savings last year. That comparison does more to change behaviour than any rule.

Step 4: Keep it in check

• Cancel anything you haven't used in 30 days.
• Rotate streaming services instead of paying for all of them at once.
• Switch to annual billing only for services you're sure you'll keep, since it's cheaper but easier to forget.
• Set a reminder before free trials end.
• Review the list every three months.

Seeing it in Balance

Balance's subscription tracker lists every recurring payment with its monthly total and next due date, and flags repeat debits it notices in your spending so forgotten ones surface. You can ask "how much do I spend on subscriptions?" and get the monthly total and the number of active subscriptions.