Financial Spring Cleaning: The Subscription Audit You Can’t Afford to Skip

How much does your household spend every month on subscriptions?  Annually?

The subscription economy is booming.  According to MarketingLTB, it is a $2.1 trillion industry and is still growing.  Did you also know that more than 20% of subscriptions go unused?  Research shows the average consumer spends $219 a month—more than 2.5 times what they estimate.  Between streaming services (averaging 2.8 platforms per household), health and wellness apps ($91/month), food delivery, cloud storage, and countless other auto-renewals, over half of us (54.9%) are paying for subscriptions we don’t even use.   The good news? A simple subscription audit can help you reclaim that money—and it’s easier than you think.

How to Audit Your Subscriptions in 30 Minutes or Less

• Check your bank and credit card statements – Review the past three months of transactions and highlight every recurring charge. Look for company names you don’t immediately recognize—many subscriptions use their parent company names for billing. Common subscription categories include streaming services, entertainment, wellness, food delivery, cloud storage, meal kits, and more.

• Use your bank’s subscription tracker – Most banks and financial institutions now offer built-in subscription tracking tools that automatically identify recurring payments and show you what you’re spending at a glance.

• Search your email – Type keywords like “subscription,” “membership,” “recurring,” “auto-renew,” and “trial” into your email search bar. You’ll be surprised by what pops up.

• Create a master list – Document each subscription with the service name, monthly cost, annual cost, renewal date, credit card, and whether you’re using it. A simple spreadsheet works perfectly.  Bonus use:  🤔could be a good estate planning record to have on hand!

• Make the tough calls – For each subscription, ask yourself: Have I used this in the past 30 days? Does it genuinely add value to my life? Could I resubscribe later if I really miss it? Be honest: 42% of people admit they’ve stopped using a service but forgot they were still paying for it.

• Cancel or pause strategically – Many services offer the option to pause rather than cancel. Use annual plans only for services you use consistently, and stick with monthly billing for everything else to maintain flexibility.

• Set a calendar reminder – Schedule a subscription review every six months to keep spending in check and look out for any sneaky price increases.

Let us know if this works for you and how much you save!  Email info@mosaicfi.com 

Sources: 

MarketingLTB 

C & R Research 

Self 

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