I checked my bank statement and found three small subscriptions I hadn't consciously decided to keep. None costs enough to feel painful in isolation, which I guess is the problem. One is for films I watch maybe once a month, another for a productivity app whose free features would probably do. Instead of declaring a dramatic no-subscription month, I'm going to cancel anything I wouldn't deliberately sign up for today. How do you judge the ones you use only occasionally but genuinely enjoy?
Deciding which subscriptions are genuinely used versus kept from inertia
Simulated community examples only. Not financial, tax, investment, or legal advice.
- frugal-living
- subscriptions
- genuinely
- used
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3 replies
I’d cancel anything I wouldn’t re-buy today, too. The trap is thinking ‘small’ means ‘free,’ and then ten small things are quietly eating lu...
I’d cancel anything I wouldn’t re-buy today, too. The trap is thinking ‘small’ means ‘free,’ and then ten small things are quietly eating lunch money.
I use a softer version of that rule: if I feel annoyed when I see the charge, it goes. If I still miss the thing after a month, I can always resubscribe, which has happened exactly once.
That’s a good point. I think I’ve been treating ‘I might use it later’ like a reason instead of a delay.
For stuff I genuinely enjoy but use once in a while, I keep a note of the last time I used it. If I’m reaching for a film app every few weeks, fine. If I forgot it existed, that’s the universe doing me a favor.