System 02: Subscription audits
The full sweep: find every recurring charge, write down what each one really costs, and decide keep, cut or downgrade with a clear head.
The system guide
Working guides in this system
Subscription audits Annual Renewals and the Quiet Price Rises Annual subscriptions renew once, rise quietly and bill in a lump. Track renewal dates, compare the new price, and decide before the charge lands. Subscription audits Cancellation Dark Patterns: Getting Out Without the Maze Some cancellation flows are built to wear you down: hidden buttons, guilt wording, forced chats. How to prepare, persist and prove you cancelled. Subscription audits Family Plans and Shared Subscriptions, Done Fairly Family plans can cost less than separate accounts, but only with clear rules on who pays, who is included and what happens when someone leaves. Subscription audits Find Every Subscription You Pay For (Including the Hidden Ones) A systematic hunt for recurring charges across bank accounts, cards, app stores, email and payment services, including the easy-to-miss ones. Subscription audits Free Trials That Turn Into Charges, and How to Catch Them Trials convert on a date you chose in a moment you have forgotten. Diary the end date on day one, set the warning, decide before the charge. Subscription audits Keep, Cut or Downgrade: Deciding Each Subscription Three questions for every subscription: when was it last used, does something else cover it, and would you buy it again at today's price? Subscription audits Pausing Instead of Cancelling: The Middle Option Many services let you pause for weeks or months instead of cancelling. When pausing beats both keeping and cutting, and how to pause safely. Subscription audits Subscription Stacking: When Services Overlap and You Pay Twice Stacking is paying two or three services for the same job. How to spot overlap in streaming, storage, music and bundles, and choose one survivor. Subscription audits The Subscription List: What to Write Down for Each One The seven fields worth recording for every subscription, how to keep the list on one page, and how it powers every later decision. Subscription audits The Twice-a-Year Subscription Clean-Out A short, scheduled clean-out every six months keeps the subscription list honest. The four-step routine and how to pick the dates. Subscription audits What to Do With the Money You Stop Paying Cancelled subscriptions free money that drift re-spends unless you redirect it the same week. How to capture it into savings, buffers or goals.