Your Family Subscription Audit

Subscriptions hide in a lot of places. Check each one, and add what you find to your list in step 2 as you go.

• Check your iPhone or iPad. Everything you pay for through Apple is in one list. Tap each one to see the price and when it renews. Where to find it: Settings›, then Your name›, then Subscriptions

  Can’t find one? Search your email for “receipt from Apple” to see which Apple Account is paying for it. My 30-second Short shows the taps on iPhone and Android.

• Check Google Play on Android. Same idea: one list of everything billed through Google Play. Where to find it: Play Store›, then Your profile picture›, then Payments & subscriptions›, then Subscriptions

  Not there? Google says it may be on a different Google account, so switch accounts and look again.

• Check every kid’s device, together. Their subscriptions are billed to their own Apple or Google account, and Apple doesn’t let you cancel a family member’s subscription from your phone. Sit down with each device and look.
• Check Amazon. Prime, Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Kids+, and any channels you’ve added in Prime Video show up in one place. Where to find it: amazon.com›, then Your Memberships & Subscriptions

  Got a Fire Kids tablet? The Amazon Kids+ subscription that came with it starts charging automatically when the included time runs out.

• Check PayPal. Anything you’ve set up to pay automatically with PayPal is listed here. Where to find it: PayPal›, then Settings›, then Payments›, then Automatic Payments
• Print your bank and credit card statements. Grab a highlighter and mark every charge that repeats. Anything you pay a company for directly only shows up here.

  Look back a full year so you catch the ones that only charge once a year. And watch for weekly charges: $4.99 a week is about $260 a year.

• Check your phone and internet bills. Streaming perks and add-ons can be billed through your wireless carrier or internet provider, and those get canceled with them.
• Think past the phone. Game consoles, security cameras, fitness trackers, even the oven: if it has an app, check whether it has a plan.

Tap a name to add it, or add your own. Type what it costs, and the totals update as you go. You can decide Keep, Cancel, or Rotate now or in step 3.

Nothing on your list yet. Tap a name above, or add your own.

Cutting subscriptions doesn’t have to mean cutting what your family loves. These are the easiest places to trim.

• Give every subscription a Keep, Cancel, or Rotate. For each one, ask: do we actually use this? Paying $1.99 to unlock a feature you use every day is money well spent. Paying for one you forgot existed isn’t.
• Rotate your streaming services. Streaming services don’t reward loyalty, and price increases hit everyone the same. Pick one a month, binge what you want, cancel, and move to the next.

  I’ll have Peacock during the Olympics and Hallmark+ over the holidays, and neither one the rest of the year.

• Look for overlap. Paying for Spotify and YouTube Premium? Full YouTube Premium already includes YouTube Music Premium (the cheaper Premium Lite doesn’t). Two cloud storage plans or two password managers work the same way: pick one.
• Check your plans for perks. Your phone plan, internet plan, or credit card might include a streaming service or a discount on one.

  Verizon, for example, offers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ as a plan perk. If you already pay Disney directly, that subscription keeps billing until you cancel it yourself.

• Share instead of doubling up. If two people in your house pay for the same thing, a family plan often costs less. With Apple’s Family Sharing, you and up to five family members can share services like iCloud+, Apple Music, and Apple TV.
• Swap in something free. Your library card might cover what you’re paying for. The free Libby app lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library, so it can stand in for Kindle Unlimited.

  You might wait a while for a really popular book, but it doesn’t cost a thing.

A few habits so next year’s audit takes ten minutes instead of an evening.

• Cancel in the same place you pay. Deleting the app doesn’t cancel the subscription. Cancel wherever it’s billed: the Subscriptions list from step 1, Amazon, PayPal, or the company’s own website.

  On Android, some apps let you pause instead, for anywhere from a week to three months. Look for Pause payments on the subscription in Google Play.

• Cancel free trials right after you sign up. Then you never have to remember to do it later. The same goes for a yearly plan you’re not sure about: cancel the renewal now, and sign up again later if you love it.

  Most of the time you keep access until the trial ends, but some services cut you off as soon as you cancel, so check. Apple says to cancel at least 24 hours before a trial ends.

• Put renewals on your calendar. Add a renewal date to each yearly subscription in step 2, then download reminders for a week before each one renews, plus a family subscription checkup every six months.

  Download calendar reminders
• Turn on purchase approvals for the kids. Then nothing new gets added without you seeing it first. It’s Ask to Buy on an iPhone and purchase approvals in Family Link on Android.
• Ask one question before you buy a gadget. Does it need a subscription to work? Security cameras, health trackers, and even kitchen appliances can come with a monthly plan, so add it to the price before you buy.