Subscription Tracker: How to Find and Cancel Subscriptions

Subscriptions are the bills that hide. Each one is small, they renew on their own, and some come from a free trial you forgot about. Together they can add up to a real share of your monthly bills. A once-a-year subscription check, finding every one, keeping what you use and cancelling the rest, is one of the quickest ways to lower your bills.

Step 1: Find every subscription

Subscriptions are charged in different places, so check all of them:

1. Bank statements. Go back two or three months and note every charge that repeats.
2. Credit card statements. Some subscriptions are billed to a card rather than your checking account.
3. Your iPhone. Apple-billed subscriptions are listed in Settings: tap your name, then Subscriptions.
4. Your email. Search for “subscription”, “renewal”, “receipt” and “trial”.

List each one with its amount, how often it charges and the date. Annual subscriptions are easy to miss, so look back a full year for those if you can. Our bills spreadsheet template has a layout you can use as a subscription tracker.

Step 2: Decide what to keep

For each subscription, ask:

• Did I use it in the last month?
• Would I sign up for it again today at this price?
• Do I have another service that does the same thing?

Cancel anything that gets a “no”.

Step 3: Cancel with the company

Cancel through the company’s own account settings, app or customer service. Cancelling the payment alone doesn’t end the subscription: the CFPB notes that canceling automatic payments doesn’t cancel the underlying contract, so end the subscription itself.

Subscriptions billed by Apple

Apple’s steps on iPhone:

1. In Settings, tap your name.
2. Tap Subscriptions.
3. Tap the subscription.
4. Tap Cancel Subscription.

If you’re being charged but don’t see the subscription, Apple suggests searching your email for “receipt from Apple” or “invoice from Apple” to see which Apple Account it’s on. If you find no Apple receipt, the subscription may have been bought from another company, so check your bank or card statement to see who bills you.

Step 4: If charges keep coming

From your bank account

The CFPB explains two steps for stopping an automatic debit:

1. Revoke authorization with the company. Tell the company you’re taking away permission for automatic payments.
2. Give your bank a stop payment order. For the next payment, give the order at least three business days before the payment is scheduled. If your bank asks for a written order, provide it within 14 days of telling them by phone.

If you see a payment you didn’t allow, the CFPB says to tell your bank right away.

From your credit card

The CFPB advises calling your card company right away and sending a written billing error notice “within 60 calendar days after the charge appeared on your statement.” The company then has 30 days to confirm it received your dispute, unless it resolves the dispute within that time. Keep copies of everything and note the dates of follow-up calls.

Free trials that turn into charges

A free trial that renews into a paid plan is one of the most common surprise charges. When you start one:

• Put the end date on your calendar the same day, with a reminder two days before.
• Check how to cancel before you enter your card details.
• If you decide not to keep it, cancel before the end date. Check whether cancelling early ends the trial straight away.

Step 5: Stop the next one before it starts

• Note trial end dates on your calendar the day you sign up.
• Keep one list of every subscription and its renewal date.
• Review it once a year, or whenever money feels tight.

Keep subscriptions with your other bills

Subscriptions are bills, so they belong on your bill list with their amount and renewal date. A bill tracker like Billo handles monthly and yearly subscriptions alongside rent and utilities, and reminds you 3 days before each one renews, which is often just enough time to cancel one you no longer want.

Summary

• Check bank and card statements, your iPhone’s Subscriptions list and your email.
• Cancel with the company; stopping the payment alone doesn’t end the contract.
• Revoke authorization and give your bank a stop payment order at least three business days ahead.
• Dispute card charges in writing within 60 days of the statement.