Save money by managing your subscriptions

If you're like most people, there's a good chance you're paying for something you don't use: a gym membership you forgot about, a streaming service you only signed up for to watch one show, or a free trial that quietly turned into a monthly charge. In fact, a recent study¹ found that the average U.S. consumer has 12 paid subscriptions.

These small, recurring expenses can sneak up on you, a phenomenon known as "subscription creep." You sign up for a service with good intentions or a great deal, but months later, it's still quietly pulling money from your account. Multiply that by several subscriptions, and the impact on your budget can be bigger than you expect.

How much are unused subscriptions really costing you?

Between 2018 and 2021, the average U.S. consumer's spending on recurring purchases rose by $430 per year, a 15% increase. That might not sound like much at first, but when you're paying $5.99 here and $3.99 there, those small charges can quietly add up.

Why does this happen so easily? Because companies have made subscribing, and forgetting, incredibly simple. With just a few taps, you can sign up for a free trial or a discounted service, and before you know it, you're enrolled in automatic monthly payments. Sometimes, you may not even realize you've subscribed and what looked like a one-time purchase turns into a recurring delivery of razors, vitamins, or skincare products. If you're not regularly reviewing your bank statements or app activity, these charges can slip by unnoticed.

What's the best way to manage and cancel subscriptions?

Step 1: Audit your subscriptions

It may feel like a daunting task, but the best way to manage your subscriptions is to do a full audit of what you're paying for. You can start by combing through your emails and bank statements or filtering your mobile banking app by your debits or withdrawals to get a full picture of the recurring charges you have.

Step 2: Cancel what you don't use

After reviewing your subscriptions, identify what truly adds value to your daily life and cancel the rest. Do you really need a specific streaming service every month when you just signed up to watch one TV show, or that app subscription you hardly use? Once you've determined what you don't need, you can cancel.

Step 3: Consolidate payments for better visibility

Consolidating your payment method is another helpful way for you to manage your subscriptions once you've decided what products or services you're going to keep. This method also helps consumers manage recurring payments, which, like subscriptions, can be easy to lose track of. When your money comes out of one account or one credit or debit card, it helps simplify tracking and budgeting.

Chris Powell, Head of Checking and Deposits at Citizens, recently told The Huffington Post, "As more financial activity is spread across multiple cards, apps and accounts, it becomes harder to keep a clear view of where your money's going," He continued, "What used to be a single cable bill might now be split across five or six different streaming platforms, each billed separately and at different times."

Lastly, setting up an alert in your phone or calendar to reassess your subscriptions every three to six months can help you stay on top of what you're paying for and cut out the unnecessary spending sooner.

Can I update my subscriptions all in one place?

Payments, and switching them, can be made easy at Citizens. Managing your subscriptions doesn't have to mean juggling a bunch of different logins and forms. If you have our mobile app*, you can change the card that you have on file for multiple merchants. We've made the process quick, easy and secure with these four steps:

Step 1: Log into the app and select Switch Payment.

Step 2: Search for subscriptions and favorite retailers.

Step 3: Choose your Citizens debit card/checking account.

Step 4: Authenticate with the merchant – that's it! Just set it and forget it.

Having all your subscriptions in this one place can help you reduce the risk of missed payments, assist you with budgeting, give you better visibility into what's coming out of your account and provide you with peace of mind that you're not wasting money on unused services. It's great for online retailers, cell phone carriers, streaming services and more.

Take the guesswork out of your subscriptions

Subscription services are meant to make your life easier but they can cost you more than you thought they would. When you regularly review and manage your subscriptions, you can make sure that you're saving more of your hard-earned money and not letting it slip away on forgotten services.

Ready to take control? Use the Citizens app to manage your subscriptions in one place