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Dec 21, 2023

Simple steps to cancel recurring subscriptions and save money

Chances are, your bank statement includes a few recurring monthly subscriptions

Chances are, your bank statement includes a few recurring monthly subscriptions in the ledger. Subscription services have become a convenient way of life for most of us. After all, it's nice having socks, makeup, movies, and groceries delivered.

It's less pleasant when you forget which companies have permission to bill your card each month after the free trial ends. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of Americans forgot to turn off at least one subscription service between 2020 and 2021. It also took half of the respondents at least three months to notice the subscription charges and take action.

From Apple to Amazon, every major company (and millions of small businesses) tempts you with subscriptions. The monthly charges are usually small, under $20, and designed to fly under the radar. Over time, these little charges do add up. Keep reading for easy ways to stay on top of your subscriptions.

Some subscription services are notoriously difficult to cancel. You might have to go through four or five rejection screens and then respond to an email or call customer service to cancel (we’re looking at you, IPSY).

Thankfully some banks have made it easy to track your monthly subscriptions right from your banking app. Once you see everything you’re subscribed to, you can cancel the ones you don't want. Here's how to do it on some of the most popular banking apps.

Privacy, security, the latest trends and the info you need to stay safe online.

The Chase mobile app will allow you to view a list of all your automatic payments and easily make changes.

Going through an app like this shows all the automatic payments you’ve set up with your financial institution. If you see any subscriptions you want to get rid of, contact the company and cancel the subscription.

Pro tip: Remember that turning off automatic payments doesn't cancel a subscription. You still need to do that through the company you’re doing business with.

Capital One makes it easy to manage auto payments and subscriptions.

TD account holders can review all of their upcoming scheduled payments and make changes as needed.

You can manage all of your Apple subscriptions directly from your iPhone. Unlike banking apps, canceling Apple subscriptions through Apple is sufficient.

To cancel subscriptions on a Mac:

Cancel an Apple subscription on a Windows PC:

Google will let you easily cancel any recurring subscription using its service. Remember, uninstalling an app does not cancel a subscription.

NOTE: Google says, if you have a subscription with an app and the app gets removed from Google Play, your future subscription will be canceled. Your past subscriptions will not be refunded.

There are other ways to cancel recurring subscriptions too. You can go directly to the manufacturers’ website. You could also use one of several popular apps to identify and stop recurring monthly charges.

Unfortunately, using third-party apps like that is not as secure. You expose your personal information and banking transactions to the app and developer. Unless you read the terms and conditions carefully, there's no way to know what they do with your information from there.

No, I'd rather dig around the internet myself.

You can better protect your privacy by dealing directly with your bank to stop your subscriptions. Check out these other ways to slash your monthly expenses and give unnecessary charges the boot.

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