How to Cut Subscription Fees You Don’t Realize Are Adding up
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You may be paying more in fees than you realize. It’s easy to lose track of your subscriptions. We’ve all signed up for a free trial of a streaming service, only to forget to cancel it before the time is up. After some time, all of these fees add up, not to mention the fees for services that we meant to be paying for.
In this article
What are subscription fees?
Subscription fees are regular payments made by individuals or organizations in exchange for access to a product or service. These fees can be charged on various schedules, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the service provider’s terms. Subscription models are commonly used for services such as streaming platforms (like Netflix or Spotify), software products (like Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Cloud), and membership-based organizations (like gyms or clubs). This model provides a predictable stream of revenue for businesses while offering customers ongoing access to products or services.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
Services requiring fees
Essentials
First off, there are the essential services that you’re paying fees for. When you’re budgeting your money for essentials, it’s normal to get caught up in all of the special deals for services that you think that you need. If it’s been a while since you signed up for these essential services, it might be worth looking into whether you can save money with another plan or even if you can cut the service out overall.
Cell phone
Paying a fee for your cell phone is more or less a necessary evil at this point. When you’ve had the same cell phone provider and/or plan for years, it’s normal to forget about it altogether. Fortunately, today there are some budget cell phone carriers that offer good coverage at lower prices when compared to some of the major wireless networks.
Related: Ways to Slash Your Cell Phone Bill
Internet providers
For most people, having reliable internet access is as important as having electricity in your home. Paying to keep your internet running smoothly can add up quickly, especially if you live in an area with limited options when it comes to internet providers.
Cable
Though not as common as it used to be, a cable TV subscription is still considered essential for some families. It’s also common to be lured in by internet and cable deals, which appear to offer a great deal. However, if you don’t make use of your cable subscription, the cost of the “good deal” can add up quickly for no good reason. If you’re not using your cable subscription, it may be time to look into alternatives and consider canceling to eliminate the cable bill.
Subscriptions
In addition to the household essentials, there are popular subscription services that can add up quickly. Most of these items are monthly subscriptions, and while $10/month doesn’t sound like a lot, once you get a few subscriptions going...it can put a dent in your monthly budget.
Streaming services
It’s no secret that if you’ve canceled your cable subscription, you may have replaced it with one or more streaming services. These days, while you may not be paying for special package channels, you do need to have more than one streaming service to have access to the most popular TV shows. There is no longer a top streaming service — Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are just the start. Now, with newer streaming services like Peacock and HBO Max offering exclusive content, it can be a battle to choose which subscriptions should are worth the monthly fees.
Music services
While you don’t necessarily need to rack up monthly bills for music streaming services, they are appealing. With benefits such as exclusive content ad-free streaming, and the option to download, it’s no wonder so many people pay for services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Wholesale stores
It seems silly to have to pay a membership fee to gain access to a store, but here we are. Wholesale retailers such as Sam’s Club and Costco are well-known for offering good prices on everything from big jars of peanut butter to store brand dog food. While you can save money over time by shopping at this type of store, it can also leave you with more quantity than you need.
Gym membership
Gym memberships and fitness classes can add up quickly. Some people sign up for this type of service aspirationally. You know how it goes — “if I’m paying for it, it will motivate me to get out of bed and get to the gym.” Whether you make it to the gym or not, paying for a gym membership can put a huge drain on your bank account if you’re not careful.
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Ways to trim on fees
Signing up for any subscription service will surely chip away at your bank account. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can save on these recurring expenses:
- Only pay for what you need. It sounds simple, but can be difficult to put into practice. For example, if you’re only keeping your cable subscription around for certain channels, see if you can find those channels or the content on those channels elsewhere.
- Be cautious of free trials. Personally, I like to set up reminders on my phone and in my calendar app so that I don’t forget to cancel before my trial ends. Some subscription services will tell you which day you’ll be billed if you don’t cancel, so be sure to make note of that information if it’s available.
- Share services. If possible, see if you can share streaming services with friends and family. A subscription to Spotify’s Family account is cheaper than two people each paying for an individual account.
- Use fee-trimming apps. Consider signing up for apps like Rocket Money or Trim to take the guesswork out of your recurring charges and help you keep track of where your money is going.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
Companies that can help you cut the costs
Finding yourself overwhelmed as you think about all of your monthly bills? Then you’ll probably be happy to know that there are companies out there that can help you figure out where your money is going and take back control of your budget.
Rocket Money
Rocket Money is an automated financial assistant that can help you take control of your finances. It allows you to review your subscriptions, unsubscribe from the ones you don’t need, and lower your bills if there’s an opportunity to do so.
Using Rocket Money is pretty simple, too. To get started, you connect the bank accounts and/or credit cards that you use to pay for your subscriptions and bills to the Rocket Money app. This allows Rocket Money’s software to analyze your transactions and identify recurring bills and subscriptions. After this process has been completed, you can view these recurring items in a “recurring” section of the app. You can also use the “TrueProtect" feature to add bills that you’d like to lower. For a fee, Rocket Money can negotiate with internet, cable, cell phone, and other providers to help you get better rates on the plans that you already have. If your internet and/or cable bill is connected to Rocket Money, you can also pay for a service that will advocate on your behalf to get a refund when an outage occurs.
Best of all, you can use the Rocket Money app for free. There are some services that you do need to pay money for, though. To access features including the cancellation concierge to cancel your unwanted subscriptions, you’ll need the Rocket Money Premium subscription. Rocket Money allows you to choose your price for Premium, within reason. You can pay between $6 to $12 per month. For the bill negotiation service, Rocket Money will charge you 35 to 60% of the first year’s savings if it can successfully negotiate a lower price on a bill for you. Although you get to pick the percentage. Rocket Money also charges 40% of the credit amount if it can get you a refund for internet outages.
Pros and cons of subscriptions
Pros
- Cost-effective: Subscriptions often provide access to products or services at a lower upfront cost compared to purchasing outright, making it more affordable for consumers to access high-value items or services.
- Convenience: Subscription services deliver products or content regularly without the need for repeated purchasing decisions, simplifying consumption and saving time.
- Access to premium content: Many subscriptions give consumers access to exclusive or premium content, features, or products that are not available to non-subscribers.
Cons
- Subscription fatigue: With many services now charging subscription fees, consumers can become overwhelmed by the number of recurring payments they must manage, leading to cancellation of some subscriptions.
- Lower entry barrier, higher long-term cost: While the initial cost may be lower, over time, the total amount paid can exceed what a one-time purchase might have cost, particularly if the subscription is underutilized.
- Complexity in managing subscriptions: Managing a large number of subscriptions can become complex and costly.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
The bottom line
There are countless subscriptions available today, from streaming services to meal kits and beyond. Unfortunately, as great as all of these options are, they have a habit of sneaking up on you and your bank account. To make things easier on yourself, it’s important to regularly evaluate your subscriptions to make sure you know where your money is going. You should also take into consideration how often you use the subscriptions that you pay for and decide whether it’s worth the cost. The easiest way to do this is to sign up for a service that will evaluate all of your recurring charges for you. By utilizing these useful services, you’ll be able to monitor your subscriptions and get rid of any that you no longer need in minutes.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
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Writer
Ashley Hart is a lead copywriter and digital marketing expert covering finance, law, real estate, music, entertainment, health and wellness.
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