In addition to overeating crackers, one of my favorite holiday traditions is transferring money that reliably cuts my monthly expenses by hundreds of dollars. It’s called check-in and it saves me over $200 per month through 2023.
Here’s how it works: Every December, I spend about 30 minutes going through my credit card statement for unused subscriptions, whether it’s a phone app, a streaming service, or a mobile phone. online picture or newsletter. Then I cancel them, one by one.
Subscription costs can be as small as $1 per month, but they add up quickly too: Average monthly spend on subscriptions increased to $273 last year, According to a survey by consulting firm West Monroe. And nearly 90% of those surveyed underestimated the total cost of their subscription, often hundreds of dollars.
I’m no exception, as unused subscriptions seem to accumulate like oysters on my balance sheet throughout the year.
But with my annual end-of-year subscription check, I made $209 out of my monthly budget by canceling or reducing a subscription. Here’s a look at my savings:
- fuboTV: $79
- Substack message: $40
- Adobe Creative Cloud Membership (reduced plan): $36
- AMC stub: $24
- sound: $15
- Criteria channel: $11
- Nintendo Switch Online: $4
Of course, checking the subscription helps me eliminate unnecessary expenses. But more importantly, they forced me to think about whether each expenditure was for something I really needed. I can’t say I ever thought about whether my Nintendo Switch Online membership was worth the cost—even with using it—until the end of the year when I did my annual audit. . When I finally thought back, I realized I could live without the service.
Some obvious cuts are based on my changing habits, such as canceling my AMC Stub membership. The $24 movie subscription includes three screenings per week, but I’ve seen fewer movies in theaters this year than usual, so it’s not worth it.
In the case of fuboTV, I originally subscribed to live sports. But then my wife watches live sports through her free Hulu subscription, which she got as an add-on to her new cell phone plan, so I don’t need fuboTV anymore.
Other cuts I just need to file under the name “duh,” such as a Criterion Channel subscription I thought I canceled earlier in the year. I simply omitted the line item in the previous billing statement.
Another tip if you’re wondering: Companies often offer discounts when you try to cancel, so you can keep costs down without losing any service. Plus, you can save money by switching to a cheaper plan with fewer services, as I did with my Adobe Creative Cloud membership.
All told, I’ll save over $2,500 next year and it only takes 30 minutes.
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