Save money from unnecessary subscriptions with this simple exercise

People saving money

This blog post was originally written as an email to my list with a practical exercise to get people to look at their numbers.

Following this email I received responses like this:

"...already eliminated 3 subscriptions and saving $4k annually..."

"omg the timing of this eran!

just this last week my husband and i have done steps 1-3 on this email for our life expenses. literally, i have a canva spreadsheet i made and have been meticulously laying it all out.

we are still in the process of it (about step 4) but have been tackling it a little bit each night.

its SO GOOD!

we have already eliminated 3 subscriptions and saving $4k annually and we JUST started.

last year (november timeframe) i did this for my business and ive elimated over $30k of annual expenses."

"...saving over $2,000 AUD a month."

"Hi Eran,

I have been meaning to do this for a while. It was planned but never executed.

Thank you for your email as it motivated me to do it… finally.

Now I am saving over $2,000 AUD a month.

That makes a difference. :)"

Quick back story

Years ago I bought a domain name with the idea to launch a free challenge called “Shiny Object Syndrome Detox Challenge”.

I sent an email about this topic at the end of 2023 with a survey and asked people “do you feel you suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome?"

The overwhelming majority said YES.

I am talking about 100s of email replies saying YES.

This is a HUGE problem in the market.

One of the biggest problems is people buying stuff they don't need.

This blog is going to cover what to do AFTER THE FACT, i.e. you already bought stuff you don't need.

In a different blog post, I'll share my thoughts about not falling into this trap in the first place.

But for now, let's tackle the problem at hand - you are wasting money every month on unnecessary subscriptions!

How to save money on subscriptions

This practical exercise might take you more than a few hours to do.

But dedicate an afternoon to focus and get this done - you won't regret it!

Step 1: Create a spreadsheet

Open up a google sheet (type into the browser sheets.new) or open up an excel spreadsheet. Whatever you prefer.

(here is an example of a Google Sheet template you're welcome to use)

Or DIY this and create several columns as follows:

Column 1: Name of Subscription
Column 2: Website of subscription
Column 3: Monthly payment amount (if it's a monthly subscription you are paying)
Column 4: Annual payment amount (if you are paying annual for that subscription)
Column 5: Yearly amount (if you're paying annual, just type the same amount) (if you are paying monthly, multiply the monthly amount by 12)
Column 6: Date due. The date that the payment card out of your account/credit card every month/year.

Step 2: Outline your subscriptions meticulously

Pull out your credit card statement (the physical copy of you have it), or the mobile app. Wherever you see all your transactions.

Go ahead and audit these one by one and see what money is coming out of your account and why.

When you see a subscription, e.g. Amazon Prime, or Netflix, or whatever.

Start filling out the grid properly and being attentive to detail.

Then pull out the credit card statement from the month before as well, there might be recurring charges, that's fine - but there might be some annual charges.

Keep going through that and really take the time to outline every single one of your subscriptions.

Gyms, utilities, software, entertainment, etc.

It does not mean they are all bad.

It means you are raising your awareness to how many you have…

Step 3: Confront your numbers

Calculate the total costs of subscriptions from your monthly income.

Are you profitable?

Are you losing money?

You don't need to tell me.

You need to confront what is actually going on with your finances.

Step 4: Status update

I created another column called “Status” and I have 3 dropdown options:

Dropdown A = Essential (e.g. rent, utilities, internet, etc)
Dropdown B = Not needed/used (that Gym membership you haven't attended in a year? something else?)
Dropdown C = Optional/to evaluate (a software tool you are using that you're not sure you need or not)

Go ahead and review these and mark them correctly.

Step 5: Cancel ruthlessly

Go ahead and cancel the “Not needed/used” options.

Find the website, billing section, support email, etc. And request cancellation or do it yourself from the back office.

Do this 1 by 1.

When I did this practical one time, I discovered an auto-bill I had set up few months ago as a test for a marketing service, totally forgot about it and it's been charging me an embarrassing amount of money without much results to show for it.

I fall into this trap too.

Just ruthlessly cancel.

Step 6: Evaluate the maybes

Some subscriptions are unclear.

Maybe it's a founding member price you got, a really good deal, for something truly valuable.

Maybe you are subscribed to something you TRULY need and have just been lazy at making use of it.

Maybe it is time to put it into use to make your life easier.

Don't be tempted by too many of these, but there could be some legit things.

Step 7: Optional pausing of subscriptions

In some cases, you may have an option to pause a subscription and maybe it is warranted.

For example, I am subscribed to Audible, I love audiobooks and you cannot deny the need to continue to learn.

But I find myself accumulating credits for audio books faster than I am consuming the books.

So I pause the subscription for 3 months and come back to it when I “caught up”.

Nothing wrong with that.

Step 8: Replacements, maybe?

If you went through ALL the steps above and honestly cancelled everything you thought was not essential, great.

You are going to repeat Step 3.

Calculate the total costs of subscriptions from your monthly income.

Are you profitable?

Are you losing money?

You don't need to tell me.

You need to confront what is actually going on with your finances.

If you are STILL in the RED…

You need to get more ruthless with your cancellations and repeat steps 4-7.

And if you truly did all of that and STILL are in the RED…

It might mean that some of your essentials need cheaper alternatives…

Or it might mean you need to make more money… (don't we all) 🙋🏻‍♂️

Was this helpful?

So there you have it.

My challenge for you today.

Come back to me in a couple of days and let me know how much money this blog post SAVED YOU PER MONTH.

I want to know.

Reply with that number.

That's my challenge.

If you found this helpful or valuable, do not hesitate to share this blog post with a friend - even if they are not in business.

This is an essential activity for ANYONE to do.

Eran Bucai

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