Stop ignoring that Apple charge: Clean up your budget and save big

In a world of tap-to-pay and automatic subscriptions, it's easy to lose track of who has your credit card information handy. 

Follow our 5-step plan to clean up and improve cashflow by removing unwanted or unnecessary subscriptions.  

1. Check your phone’s subscriptions.  
If you have an iPhone, it’s highly likely that you have subscriptions sneaking out of your wallet every month. Whether it's for apps you’ve downloaded and no longer need, for extra iCloud storage, or for a premium subscription to Apple TV they offered you for free with your iPhone (that you forgot to cancel), it’s a great starting point that can easily save you a little bit every month.  

Simply go to your Settings > Apple ID > Media & Purchases > View Account > Subscriptions.  

For Android users, you can check your subscriptions by accessing the Google Play Store app > Profile Picture > Payments & Subscriptions > Subscriptions.  

2. Make a list.
Now’s the time to go through your bank statements and find all your subscriptions. It might be helpful to note these down or take screenshots of when they come out, what they're for, and how much they cost.  

We made an example below, but this can be as simple as a note on a piece of paper.  

3. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes.  
Once you have an idea of where your money is going, it’s time to go through the ways you can save.  

For example, consolidating streaming services you don’t often use. There are also services that can package subscriptions together to save on costs.  

Ask yourself when you last used each subscription. Decide which ones you need, and which ones can go.  

 
4. Reducing costs.  
Even after going through your subscriptions, you may notice that you still require a lot of them, either for work, other members of your household, or simply because they're useful or enjoyable to you. 

Another great way to save on subscriptions is to pay annually. If your cashflow allows it, paying annually is almost always cheaper. If you know that you’re going to need the service anyway, you may as well pay for it upfront and save.  

5. Subscription Purge. 
Once you know which subscriptions you’d like to keep, you can begin cancelling the ones you no longer need.  

Depending on the platform you may need to navigate several pages of offers attempting to lull you back into a good deal. The truth is, if you’ve gotten this far, you’ve likely already decided you don’t need it anymore. A discount sounds great until it’s three months down the line and you’ve forgotten to cancel it again! 

 

Now that you’ve cleaned up your subscriptions you can bask in the joy of savings, improved cashflow, and the knowledge that no one is slyly taking money from your account every month.  

If you’d like some more personalised recommendations on budgeting and cashflow, our advisers can help you out.