Most people spend between $100 and $300 a month on subscriptions they forget about
The exact number varies by household, but the pattern is consistent: you sign up for a streaming service, a meal kit, a fitness app, or a software trial. You use it for a month or two. Then life gets busy, you forget it exists, and the charge keeps hitting your bank account every month. A year later, you've paid for something you haven't opened since March.
This happens because subscription companies are built around making cancellation harder than signing up. There's no reminder that you haven't logged in. The charge is often small enough that you don't notice it individually. And the cancellation process — finding the right menu, entering a password, navigating a retention offer — is deliberately inconvenient.
The cost adds up faster than most people realize. If you have five subscriptions you've forgotten about at an average of $12 each, that's $60 a month or $720 a year. Many households have more than five.
Key Takeaways
- Forgotten subscriptions typically cost between $100 and $300 monthly across a household, though the actual amount depends on how many services you've signed up for and never cancelled.
- Subscription companies make cancellation deliberately difficult — no reminders, small charges that slip past notice, and multi-step cancellation processes designed to make you reconsider.
- The fastest way to find what you're paying for is to check your bank or credit card statements for the past three months and search for recurring charges.
- Setting a phone reminder to review subscriptions every three months catches services you've stopped using before they cost you hundreds of dollars.
- Some subscriptions can be paused rather than cancelled, which costs less than cancelling and restarting later if you want to return to the service.
How to find subscriptions you've forgotten about
Start with your bank or credit card statements. Go back three months and look for any charge that repeats on the same date each month. Write down the company name, the amount, and the date. Don't rely on memory — the point of forgotten subscriptions is that you don't remember them.
If you pay through a digital wallet like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or PayPal, log in and look for recurring charges there. Apple users can go to Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions to see everything tied to their Apple ID. Google Play users can check Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Permissions > Subscriptions. Amazon Prime members should check their account under Memberships and Subscriptions.
For anything you can't find through those routes, search your email for "confirmation" or "receipt" from the past six months. Subscription confirmations usually arrive when you sign up, and they often contain cancellation instructions or a link to manage the service.
Deciding which subscriptions to cancel
For each subscription you found, ask yourself: Have I used this in the past month? Would I miss it if it was gone? Is there a free alternative I could use instead?
If the answer to the first question is no, cancel it. You can always restart it later if you change your mind — most services let you reactivate an account without losing your saved preferences or watch history. The money you save by cancelling now is real; the money you might spend restarting later is hypothetical.
For services you use occasionally but not regularly — a streaming service you watch once every two months, a meal kit you use when you're too busy to cook — consider whether the cost is worth the convenience. If you're paying $15 a month for something you use four times a year, you're paying $3.75 per use. That might be worth it, or it might not be, but at least you'll know you're making a choice rather than bleeding money by accident.
Some subscriptions offer a pause feature instead of cancellation. If you think you'll want to return to a service in a few months, pausing costs less than cancelling and restarting. Not all services offer this, but it's worth asking before you cancel.
The cancellation process for common services
Most subscriptions can be cancelled through the service's website or app, usually under Account Settings or Billing. Some require you to call or chat with customer support — streaming services and gyms are common offenders. A few will try to offer you a discount to stay; decide in advance whether you want to accept it or decline and cancel anyway.
Keep a record of what you cancelled and when. Take a screenshot of the cancellation confirmation if the service provides one. This protects you if the company charges you again by mistake, which happens often enough that it's worth the thirty seconds to document it.
If a company keeps charging you after you cancelled, contact your bank or credit card company and dispute the charge. Most will reverse it and may issue you a new card number. You can also file a complaint with your state's attorney general if the company refuses to stop charging you.
Preventing the problem from happening again
Set a calendar reminder for every three months to review your subscriptions. When the reminder comes up, check your bank statement for the past quarter and look for any charges you don't recognize or services you haven't used. This takes fifteen minutes and will catch most forgotten subscriptions before they cost you hundreds of dollars.
When you sign up for a new subscription, especially a free trial, set a separate reminder for a few days before the trial ends. This gives you time to cancel before you're charged. Write down the cancellation deadline and the cancellation method — some services make you cancel through the app, others through the website, and a few require an email or phone call.
Consider using a separate credit card or digital wallet for subscriptions. This makes it easier to spot subscription charges at a glance and to cancel the card if a company won't stop charging you. Some people use a prepaid card loaded with only the amount they plan to spend on subscriptions that month, which forces them to be intentional about what they're paying for.
What to do if you're being charged after cancellation
If a subscription company continues to charge you after you cancelled, your first step is to contact the company directly. Explain that you cancelled and ask them to reverse the charges. Keep records of your cancellation confirmation and any emails you send to the company.
If the company doesn't respond or refuses to refund you, contact your bank or credit card company. Tell them you cancelled the subscription and the company is still charging you. Provide the confirmation of cancellation if you have it. Your bank can dispute the charge and usually will reverse it within a few days.
If the company has charged you multiple times after cancellation, you may be able to file a complaint with your state's attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission. These agencies track patterns of companies that ignore cancellation requests, and enough complaints can trigger an investigation.
Free alternatives to paid subscriptions
Before you pay for a subscription, check whether a free version exists. Many services offer a free tier with limited features — Spotify, Hulu, and Adobe all have free or ad-supported versions. Libraries offer free streaming through services like Hoopla and Kanopy, free e-books through apps like Libby, and sometimes free access to software like Microsoft Office.
YouTube, Tubi, and Pluto TV offer free streaming with ads. Canva offers a free design tool that covers most home projects. Grammarly has a free version that catches basic errors. The free versions often have enough features for casual use, and you can upgrade later if you find yourself hitting the limits regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a refund for subscriptions I've been paying for but not using?
It depends on how long you've been paying and the company's refund policy. Most subscription services won't refund past charges unless you can show you were charged after cancelling or that the service didn't work as advertised. Contact the company directly and ask; some will issue a one-time courtesy refund if you've been a customer for a long time.
What's the difference between cancelling and pausing a subscription?
Cancelling ends your subscription and usually deletes your account after a set period. Pausing temporarily stops charges while keeping your account active and your saved preferences intact. Not all services offer pause, but it's useful if you know you'll want to return in a few months and don't want to lose your watch history or saved playlists.
Do I need to call to cancel, or can I do it online?
Most services let you cancel online through your account settings, but some require a phone call or chat with customer support. Check the service's website or your cancellation confirmation email for the method. If you can't find cancellation instructions, search the company name plus "how to cancel" — consumer sites often have step-by-step guides for difficult cancellations.
What should I do if a company won't let me cancel?
Contact your bank or credit card company and dispute the charge. Explain that you attempted to cancel and the company refused. Your bank can reverse the charge and may issue you a new card number. You can also file a complaint with your state's attorney general if the company continues to charge you after you've disputed it.
How do I know if I'm being charged for a subscription I don't remember signing up for?
Check your bank and credit card statements for charges you don't recognize. If you find one, search your email for the company name to see if there's a confirmation email. If you find a charge you definitely didn't authorize, contact your bank immediately — this may be fraud rather than a forgotten subscription, and your bank can help you investigate.