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How to stop self-renewing subscriptions
It's easy to forget those self-renewing subscriptions even though you keep paying for it, year after year. The FOX 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle wants you to break the cycle, and she shares some easy ways to stop those recurring fees.
ATLANTA - Automatic subscription renewals are moneymakers for companies. For consumers, they can be a big waste of money. The big reason is that we forget we have subscribed.
According to Quicken, a personal finance tool, it reported that in 2023 the average person spent $220 a month in recurring subscription costs. This can range from a gym membership, television apps, magazine subscriptions, all sorts of things. Another research study found that 74 percent of people asked said they forgot about their subscriptions. But even if you don't forget that gym membership you pay for but don't use, skipping the actual action of paying a monthly or annual bill means "out of sight, out of mind," so you just keep spending money with automatic payment on something you don't use.
Fixing this unnecessary spending is something you can easily do. Use a single credit card for renewing subscriptions. That way you know where to look monthly to keep an eye on charges. You may have a credit card that will alert you to renewing charges. Or, you can try apps that will track this like Rocket Money, Trim by Main One, or Credit Karma. There are a lot out there.
This is really easy to do and a great way to start saving some money in the new year.