How to audit subscriptions in thirty minutes
A pass through bank statements, a keep-or-cancel list, and one rule for the maybes. Most people find two or three charges they forgot.
Hristo Stefanov · Wildwood, New Jersey · Sep 23, 2026 · 1 min · Money
Pull ninety days, not memory
Open your checking and credit cards and search the last ninety days for repeats. Annual charges hide if you only look at this month — sort by name and scan for anything that appeared once and looks like a renewal. Write every recurring name and the amount. Include app-store charges. They are easy to miss because the label is the store, not the app.
Three piles
Give each line ten seconds, not a debate.
- Keep — you used it in the last thirty days and you would notice if it vanished.
- Cancel — you cannot name the last time you opened it. Cancel before you leave the chair. Future-you will not be more motivated.
- Maybe — you might use it. These get one test, not a permanent home.
The maybe rule
For each maybe, put a reminder seven days out titled with the service and the monthly cost. If you have not opened it when the reminder fires, cancel. Hoping you will “get into it this season” is how the charge survives another year.
Add up what you canceled. That annual number is the result of the half hour. Move it to the emergency fund on the next payday so it does not leak back into spending.
How do I find subscriptions to cancel?
One pass through two months of the bank statement. Keep, cancel, or a maybe with a date.
