Recently, I decided it was time to save money and cancel Spokeo, so I thought how it is important to cancel subscription and services to save money.
Are you looking for ways to save more money? Start by evaluating your active subscriptions. Unfortunately, most people spend a lot on subscription costs they no longer use or need. Phone plans, streaming services, and gym membership are silent expenses that can easily slip through your budget and drain your finances. Therefore, a lot of money is lost paying for these subscriptions. Go through your monthly subscriptions and services and identify services or subscriptions you no longer need. Our article will guide you on canceling these subscriptions and services to manage your finances better and save more.
Once cancelling, you may need to confirm that it’s cancelled. In some cases, you may look to dispute a transaction. Also, there are many scams out there such as the Domain Listings scam that sends unwanted mail that looks like a bill to small businesses, churches, etc. You can opt out of those mailers.
How to cancel subscriptions on your Android and iOS device
In this deep-rooted era of smartphones and with the internet serving as a marketplace, mobile-app subscriptions are on the rise. Mobile subscriptions offer convenience and numerous other benefits to consumers. Unfortunately, most subscribers forget about these subscriptions as they are linked to card payments.
Most phone subscriptions are bought through the iOS smartphone and Android app store, where you can easily maintain track of the payment through your account history. So you can easily go through them and cancel those you no longer need. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to cancel mobile subscriptions:
- On an Android Phone
- Go to the Google Play Store
- At the top left corner, click on “Menu”
- Select the relevant account
- Click on “Subscriptions”
- Terminate subscriptions you don’t need
Use the Google Help Center if you cannot cancel your subscription or need additional information on cancellations.
- On Your Apple iPhone
- Click on “Settings”
- At the top, find your name, and tap it
- Go to the subscriptions section
- Find a subscription you no longer use and choose “Cancel Subscription.”
Please note that most phone subscriptions run for a month so they will end at the end month. You can visit Apple’s Help Page to learn how to manage your subscriptions best.
Separate accounts to save more
Subscriptions offer convenience, but not all services are the same. Sometimes, we enroll in a subscription as a temporary solution, and sometimes, we subscribe to a service for the long term. Keeping track of how much you spend on your subscriptions manually can be tiring, exhausting, and overwhelming.
Having a separate account makes it easier to manage your subscriptions. For example, you can open a PayPal account to pay for subscriptions or connect it to a credit card for subscription expenses. Then, you can have your main account, where you deposit your savings without constant unnecessary withdrawals to pay off subscriptions.
Financial Products
Here are guides how to cancel financial products and services.
How to cancel Acorns subscription
Other Subscriptions
Use these three apps to cancel subscriptions and services
As technology advances, you can get an application for anything, including an app to cancel subscriptions and services. You can use a money-saving app to budget and cancel services to help you save more. Here are some apps which will help monitor your spending by reviewing your bank statement and highlighting recurring charges:
- Trim – it is a web-based service that you can use to cancel subscriptions by simply sending a text message
- Rocket Money – this is an app that identifies unwanted or rarely used subscriptions and helps you cancel them. It makes it easy and efficient to immediately cancel unwanted subscriptions.
- Truebill – it is an app that keeps tabs on all your subscriptions and shows you a detailed breakdown of the change in prices for each subscription as a percentage. You can cancel a subscription by choosing the cancel button.
If you canceled a product or service, and they still charged you, you may want to consider the differences between refunds vs chargebacks.
Occasionally go through your inbox
When attempting to cancel a subscription, most service providers will send you an email asking you to confirm the cancellation. Also, it is not always that you will subscribe to an app. There may be other subscriptions you made in the past which aren’t visible on the app, but you can find the subscription forms in your email.
Mostly, subscription confirmation emails are sent to the spam folder, which most people rarely open. When reviewing your active subscriptions, go through your emails in the inbox and spam folder to check if there are subscriptions you may have made and forgotten about. If there are any, send an email to the service provider requesting a cancellation, or click on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email. If these two options don’t work, you can contact the company directly and ask them to cancel.
Do you know about the cloud?
Most subscription services you add to your electronic gadgets have embedded productivity tools and cloud storage. When looking to save on costs, you should reconsider your storage requirements.
For example, if you are using iOS, go to the device settings at the top of the screen, hit the Apple ID section, and choose iCloud. You can alter the cloud storage package by going to the “Manage Storage” section. Besides the 50Gb and 200Gb plans, you can choose the 2Tb plan that goes for $9.99 every month. If you have enough space on your phone, consider downgrading to a free storage package.
On the other hand, if you are using Google’s products, you are using Google One, formerly known as Google Drive. On your Android device, go to Google One, launch the app, choose settings, and opt for Cancel Membership.
If you are using a desktop, go to Google, go to the Google One Subscription, and visit your account page. At the top right, click on the cog icon and choose “Change storage plan” or the “Cancel Membership” option.
Unfortunately, cloud services are an everyday part of people’s lives, and they don’t recognize it. While you may feel obligated to use the plans, be realistic about your storage needs. You can save more by canceling subscriptions you don’t need.
Always Shop for the Best deal
How often do you compare subscriptions before buying? You can save money by shopping around competitors to get the best deal and a subscription that suits your needs best. Most companies claim to offer the best deals, e.g., the most affordable data plans, unlimited phone plans, or affordable gym subscriptions. However, the costs displayed in ads don’t include hidden costs, which could significantly increase the cost of the subscriptions.
Therefore, when shopping, don’t solely focus on the price. Instead, ask about the services you get for the price. What features and benefits is the subscription offering, and do these things align with your needs? Based on these considerations, you can get the best deal, offering you the best value for your money.
A great way to use this approach is to compare features you get from your membership. Most companies that advertise their services will remind you that if, for example, you sign up for the combined bundle of internet services and phone, you save more than you would save buying these services separately, which can be convincing enough. But are they offering enough data allowance or internet services depending on your needs and usage? If not, buying the subscriptions separately could be better, cheaper and more reasonable than a dual package.
Sometimes, prepackaged dual solutions include features you don’t need, but you could be tempted to subscribe anyway. So, pay attention to the details and features you get from a subscription. It is also important to consider if the pan you are subscribing to is transferable. If not, you might be wasting a lot on overpriced plans which won’t roll over if underutilized.
Always look at the features you need vs. what the subscription offers you. Only buy plans that meet your needs to cut expenses and save more.
Use free trials
Most services companies offer free trials for 14 days to give their potential customer an experience of their service before they entirely devote themselves. Free trials are a great way to gauge whether the subscription is worth it, especially when subscribing to a new option. The free trial period allows you to experience the app’s advantages and features before investing in the service for long.
For example, Amazon Prime Video, a top streaming service, offers a free trial. During this time, you can watch your series for free. It is easy to forget to implement a cancellation method before the free trial period ends, or you will be automatically charged at the end of the free trial.
Choose yearly subscriptions
Now that you understand your needs and have shopped around and found reliable companies you would like to subscribe to, choosing yearly plans is better. They are cheaper since most companies reward long-term clients with discounts for long-term purchases. Go for it if you have enough to pay for the yearly subscription. If not, you can choose the six-month plan.
Check for family plans
Most premium service companies have family plans. For example, the Netflix premium plan allows four devices to watch movies and series, while a standard plan only permits two devices. Check if there are family or group plans to save on membership subscriptions and help you save money.
Final words
Subscriptions that no longer serve your needs or that you have outgrown may seem like a minor expense but can drain your finances fast. Fortunately, you can easily cancel subscriptions and services you no longer need through the steps we have outlined above.