How to stop wasting money on unused subscriptions

Once upon a time, subscriptions referred to magazines and newspapers. In the 80s, surprise monthly CDs expanded our music collections. Then, streaming movie subscriptions came along. Nowadays, a membership or subscription service is offered for every corner of our lives, and keeping up is just plain exhausting. 

We’ve all done it. There’s a new miniseries everyone is talking about, and you go to catch up only to find it’s on a streaming service you don’t have. Maybe you sign up for the free week-long trial… and then perhaps you also forget to cancel once the week is up.

Whether it’s streaming entertainment, custom shampoo, meal prep kits, monthly wardrobe boxes, food trackers or dog toys– chances are you, like the average Canadian, have signed up for a membership or subscription and haven’t thought about it since.  

These days, busy schedules make it easy to get lured into the seeming ease of a ‘set it and forget it’ lifestyle, and the subscribe and save options are vast. If we have our toilet paper delivery on autopilot, we’ll never run out of it at the wrong time again! The problem for many is that we lose track of which subscriptions we have and where we signed up for them. Before you know it, you have more disinfectant wipes, dog treats or misshaped fruit than you can possibly get through. Not only does this lead to overspending, but it also leads to waste. Forgetting to stop for milk on the way home becomes far less of a problem than the excess of milk going bad in your fridge. Sometimes, it’s enough to make you want to cancel them all and hide off the grid. 

That said, it is fun to talk to your coworkers about the newest TV show, and it’s reasonable to want easy access to an easy-to-prepare healthy dinner every night (as long as the recipe and ingredients are provided and pre-measured, of course).

What’s the solution?  The answer is moderation. It is possible to get organized and cut back without missing out entirely.

First things first– find out what you’re paying for. You may know exactly which subscriptions you have and what they cost. But in a recent survey, the average Canadian believed they were signed up for only four subscriptions, and upon review, found out they had closer to 8. 66% of those surveyed admitted they had discovered they’d been billed for a membership they’d completely forgotten they had.¹

If you don’t have a list of your subscriptions and their individual monthly costs, there are a few ways to track them down. You can start by reviewing your bank statements in your bank app to see which recurring charges appear. Some memberships may bill monthly, quarterly or even annually, so be diligent. Your device may also keep track of subscriptions in your account details (and even allow you to cancel or pause them directly). Several popular tracking apps can help you keep track of and even cancel unwanted or repeat subscriptions.

Once you have located them, make a list or spreadsheet and add totals by category (entertainment, food, household items). If you sign up for something with a week-long free trial, get in the habit of setting an alarm to cancel it before you enter your payment info.

Find out how much you can afford to spend each month on various subscriptions, and then see where you can cut back. Budgeting for your household is a smart way to feel in control of your money. If you’re already someone who knows how to set and stick to a spending budget, this should be an easy step to incorporate. Once you grasp your monthly spending comfort zone, see how these subscriptions fit in. For example, if you are someone who spends a lot on takeout, perhaps a meal kit is a way for you to save, but if you find you aren’t always getting around to cooking, this is not great for your fridge or your budget.

Scotia Smart Money by Advice+ is a great place to start learning to manage your expenses. It’s a free money management tool in the Scotia app that will make it easy to track your bills, monitor your spending and manage your cashflow.²

Once you find out what you are spending and where you are overspending, it’s time to cut back. Most of these services will allow you to cancel directly through their website or app. Others (intentionally) make it more complicated with forms to fill out or long holds to customer service.

Of those recently surveyed, 55% of Canadians said they still held onto certain subscriptions simply because of the complexity of cancelling.³ But stay on top of it- don’t give up! It’s your money, and you should protect it.

If your subscriptions are vast and this process becomes too daunting, it may be the right time to enlist one of those tracking and cancellation apps. Perhaps you want to do a full cleanse and cancel them all to see which ones you really miss before signing up again. In the end, however you choose to trim down, it will be worth it to get your money back where it belongs.    

If the goal is to keep some subscriptions but cut back, there are ways to get creative and save.

• Regularly review your subscriptions to see if they have new offers or bundles that will help you save.
• See if certain memberships offer a family plan you can share with family members in other households.
• Cancel or freeze streaming subscriptions when the specific shows you watch are off-season.
• Look for lower-tier, more affordable versions of the subscriptions you don’t want to let go of completely.
• If you want to keep a membership or service long-term, pay for the full year in advance. This usually leads to a cheaper monthly cost.
• Find free versions through your local library. In addition to your books, many Canadian public libraries offer free audiobooks and movie and TV streaming services with your library membership.

With so many subscription options trying to convince you they’re simplifying your life, it’s easy to feel tangled. But if you can get organized and streamline what you sign up for, you’ll have less stress in your life and more money in the bank.