Save Money By Not (Automatically) Spending It
Believe it or not, it’s nearing the end of the year. Getting closer to the end of the year anyway, and it makes me think– didn’t we all have some New Year’s resolutions where we purchased a subscription to Audible to force us to ‘read’ more, Masterclass to learn something new or any of a hundred apps to encourage weight loss and exercise? Did you put the annual subscriptions on auto-renew?
Sure, you might’ve put it on auto-renew anticipating that this will be a habit that sticks this time and do it forever, when the reality may have been that you tried it for half the year and gave up somewhere along the way. Or maybe you don’t need that exercise app because you can finally go back to the gym! Whatever the change of circumstance, it’s time to look at your subscriptions, especially the ones you have on auto-renew and evaluate whether you want to keep them before the next payment is due.
You may be able to cancel it and get a refund, however you need to look at the fine print and know the cancellation rules before you leave it up to chance. Some allow a pro-rated refund and some have a deadline to act or you’d be charged for the full year. Also, and most importantly, addressing these unwanted charges in advance prevents the extra time and hassle of canceling after the fact.
Usually, an annual subscription is less expensive compared to a monthly subscription so you thought you were saving money. This is true if you actually use it, and if you do use it, automating your bills is actually a smart move. The downside of annual subscriptions set up for auto-renew is that you are likely to forget about it until the next annual payment posts.
You can remember these subscriptions by making sure you have them listed in your spending plan, and if you set up an auto-renew, create a reminder on your calendar before the subscription year or trial period is up. Either way, review all your subscriptions annually to see if they still fit in your budget and fit in your life. A penny saved really is a penny earned!
