You signed up for a free trial three months ago. You used it twice, maybe three times. You definitely meant to cancel before the trial ended. And yet, here you are, scrolling through your bank statement, staring at another $14.99 charge for something you forgot you even had.
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. According to a recent survey of Australian millennials, 66% admitted they had subscriptions they forgot about, with 55% reporting between four to ten active subscriptions.
But here's the thing: you're not forgetting because you're careless or bad with money. You're forgetting because subscription services are structured in ways that make them easy to sign up for and easy to overlook once they're running.
Understanding why we forget subscriptions can help us build better systems to manage them.
The friction imbalance
Signing up typically takes seconds. Cancelling? That often requires logging in, navigating through multiple menus, and sometimes contacting customer service. The effort required to cancel is usually much higher than the effort to subscribe.
Out of sight, out of mind
Unlike traditional purchases where you hand over money and receive something tangible, subscriptions happen automatically in the background. You authorised the payment once, months ago, and now it just continues. There's no monthly moment where you consciously decide to spend that money again.
The "I'll do it later" pattern
You notice the charge. You think "I should review that." But you're busy right now, you'll look at it later. Except later doesn't come, or when it does, you've moved on to other things. This cycle can repeat for months.
The mental accounting effect
Research in behavioural economics shows people tend to categorise a $15 monthly subscription differently than a $180 annual payment. The monthly amount feels manageable, even trivial, which can keep inactive subscriptions running longer than they otherwise might.
You've probably tried setting reminders before. "Review Netflix subscription" sits in your phone, waiting for you to action it. But reminders can fail for a predictable reason: they alert you to a task without reducing the effort required to complete it.
Seeing a reminder is passive. Actually logging in, navigating menus, and completing cancellation requires active effort. When the reminder appears and you're in the middle of something else, you dismiss it. The reminder has alerted you, but it hasn't made the task easier.
This is why the same "review subscription" reminder can pop up for months without being actioned.
Free trials present a specific challenge: when you sign up, you're making a decision in the present (yes, I want to try this) while planning for a future action (I'll remember to review this before I'm charged).
Behavioural research shows people commonly underestimate how busy or distracted they'll be in the future. The free trial feels like pure benefit now, and it seems reasonable that you'll remember to review it later. However, your future self faces the same time pressures and distractions as your present self.
Entertainment subscriptions can add another layer of complexity: irregular usage patterns.
You might use a streaming service intensively for two weeks, then not open it for six weeks. During those six weeks, you're paying for something you're not using, but you're also not thinking about it because you're not engaging with it. The subscription typically only enters your consciousness when you want to watch something, at which point you're glad you still have access.
This creates a pattern where you think about the subscription when you're actively using it, not when you're passively paying for it.
Forgetting to cancel subscriptions isn't a willpower problem; it's often a system problem. Here's an approach that works for many people:
Create a subscription inventory
Consider reviewing your banking transactions from the last three months. Look for recurring charges and create a list. Transaction history provides an objective record that doesn't rely on memory.
Many people find they have subscriptions they'd genuinely forgotten about.
Document the cancellation process
For subscriptions you want to keep using, consider locating where the cancellation option is now, before you actually need it. Taking a quick screenshot or note of the path (Settings → Account → Manage Subscription) means you won't need to hunt through menus later.
This might feel like extra work now, but it saves significant time and frustration when you actually want to make changes.
Use calendar blocking, not just reminders
The difference matters. A reminder says "remember this task exists." A calendar event blocks actual time to do the work.
Consider creating a 15 minute calendar event called "Review subscriptions" that recurs monthly or quarterly. When that event arrives, you've allocated the time, not just acknowledged the task.
Try the annual payment perspective
When deciding whether to keep a subscription, consider multiplying the monthly cost by 12. Ask yourself: "Would I pay this amount upfront, right now, for a full year of this service?"
If the answer is uncertain, that might indicate the subscription isn't providing enough value to justify the ongoing cost.
Consider aligning billing dates
If most of your subscriptions renew around the same time each month, you only need to review statements once to catch everything. Some services allow you to change your billing date, which can make tracking simpler.
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If you'd like to get a handle on your subscriptions, here's an approach that takes about 30 minutes:
This systematic approach works better than trying to remember everything or relying on willpower alone.
A decade ago, most Australians had perhaps two or three subscriptions: internet, phone, maybe pay television. Now, with the growth of streaming, music, fitness, news, productivity apps, and cloud storage, many people manage significantly more.
The subscription economy has grown faster than most people's informal tracking methods. What used to work (basically, remembering things) doesn't scale well when you're managing 8 to 10 different recurring payments.
This is why tracking subscriptions benefits from being as systematic as tracking major expenses like rent. The financial impact has become too significant to leave to memory alone.
Many subscription services now offer a "pause" option instead of cancellation. While this sounds convenient, it's worth understanding the implications.
When you pause instead of cancel, the subscription remains in your list of active services. You still have login details and haven't fully disconnected. This makes it easier to resume later, but it also means the subscription stays in your mental inventory.
If you genuinely plan to return in a specific timeframe, pausing might make sense. But if you're pausing because cancellation feels too final, consider whether you actually plan to use it again. You can usually resubscribe later if you genuinely miss the service.
This isn't about eliminating all subscriptions. Many provide genuine value. But value is personal and requires honest assessment.
Consider whether a subscription is worth keeping by asking:
These questions can help clarify whether a subscription is providing real value or just continuing out of habit.
Individual forgotten subscriptions might seem minor, but they add up. If you have three $15 monthly subscriptions you're not using, that's $45 per month or $540 per year.
Beyond the financial cost, there's also a psychological aspect. Each time you discover another forgotten subscription charge, it can be frustrating. That frustration is preventable with a systematic approach.
The first subscription audit often takes the longest because you're creating a system from scratch. But regular reviews become quicker because you're maintaining a system rather than building one.
After a few months of regular reviews, you'll have a clear picture of your subscription landscape. After six months, the process becomes more automatic. The goal isn't perfection—you might occasionally miss a trial deadline—but you'll likely catch issues after one paid month instead of six.
Subscriptions aren't inherently problematic. They provide access to services that would have been expensive to own outright a decade ago. However, they benefit from active management rather than passive acceptance.
When you know exactly what you're paying for, when charges occur, and how to make changes if needed, you're making conscious choices rather than simply continuing payments out of inertia.
This article contains general information only and is not personal advice. Everyone's situation is different, and you should consider whether the approaches mentioned are appropriate for your circumstances.
Managing multiple subscriptions manually can be time consuming. WeMoney automatically categorises your recurring payments, helping you see all your subscription charges in one place. Track your spending patterns and identify subscriptions you might want to review. Download WeMoney free for iOS and Android.
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