How to keep track of subscriptions: a system for your first place

If you're wondering how to keep track of subscriptions, the simplest way is to find every one you pay for, write them all on a single list with the price, how often it charges and the next renewal date, and then check that list once a month against your bank statement. That's the whole system. The hard part is the first sweep, because subscriptions hide in more places than you'd think, so this guide walks through where to look, what to write down, how to handle free trials and the ten-minute monthly check that stops new ones creeping in.

If you've just moved into your first place, this is a good moment to do it. Your bills are new, your bank account is suddenly doing a lot more, and it's easy for a handful of small monthly charges to add up to something you'd never have agreed to as a single number.

Why subscriptions are so easy to lose track of

Subscriptions are designed to be painless to start and easy to forget. A few reasons they slip:

• They're small. A single charge rarely looks worth worrying about, so you skim past it.
• They're spread out. Some come off your debit card, some off a credit card, some through your phone, some through an online payment account. No one place shows them all.
• They renew quietly. Annual ones are the worst: you sign up once, forget for eleven months, then a bigger charge lands.
• Free trials turn into paid plans. You hand over card details "just for the trial" and the first payment arrives before you've decided.
• Moving muddles everything. New address, maybe a new bank, maybe a new phone contract, and the old services keep running in the background.

None of this needs willpower. It needs one list and a routine.

Step 1: find every subscription you pay for

Set aside an hour and work through each of these, noting anything that repeats.

Bank and card statements

Open your banking and go back at least three months, ideally twelve so you catch the annual ones. Look for any payment that appears more than once, and for anything with a name you don't recognise. Do this for every account and card you have, including a credit card you rarely use, because that's often where old sign-ups live.

Many banking apps let you see recurring card payments or standing orders in one place. If yours does, start there, but still scroll the statements: not everything shows up in those summaries.

Your phone's subscription settings

Anything you signed up to through an app on your phone is usually billed through your phone's app store account rather than straight to your card. Open your phone's settings, find your account, and look for the subscriptions section. It lists what's active, what it costs and when it renews. Check any old phone or tablet signed into a different account too.

Online payment accounts

If you use an online payment account to pay for things, log in and look for the section that lists automatic or pre-approved payments. Services you set up years ago can still be listed there, quietly taking money.

Email receipts

Search your inbox for words like "receipt", "renewal", "subscription", "your plan", "membership" and "trial". This catches things billed annually and anything you pay for through an account you'd forgotten about. Check every email address you've used, including the old one from school or a previous job.

The ones people forget

Run through this list and see what rings a bell:

• Streaming, music and audiobooks
• Cloud storage for photos and files
• Gym, fitness classes and sports clubs
• Food boxes, coffee, razors, pet food and other deliveries
• News, magazines and newsletters you pay for
• Software and apps for work or study
• Gaming passes and in-game memberships
• Phone insurance, gadget cover and breakdown cover
• Charity donations and membership schemes
• A share of someone else's family plan that you pay them for

How to keep track of subscriptions on one list

Once you've found them, put them in one place. A notes app, a spreadsheet, a page in a paper notebook: the format matters much less than the fact that there's only one. For each subscription, note:

• Name of the service, so you recognise it on a statement
• What it costs, monthly or yearly
• How often it charges: monthly, quarterly or yearly
• Next renewal date, the date you need to decide by
• How you pay: which card, account or phone account it comes from
• How to cancel: a note on where the cancel button lives
• Keep, cut or review: your decision, so you don't rethink it every month

Two tips make this list far more useful. First, convert annual subscriptions into a monthly figure in your head (divide by twelve) so you can compare like with like. Second, add up the monthly total at the bottom. Seeing one number is usually what makes people cut something, far more than looking at each charge on its own.

When you're done, go through the "keep, cut or review" column honestly. Ask: did I use this last month? Would I sign up again today? Am I paying for two things that do the same job? Cancel what you don't want straight away, while you're in the mood, and note the date the access ends.

Step 3: a free trial routine that actually works

Free trials are the most common way subscriptions sneak in. The fix is to treat the trial end date as a deadline the moment you sign up, not later.

1. Before you start the trial, check what it turns into. Note the price and how often it charges once the trial ends.
2. Add it to your list immediately, with the date the trial ends and the date of the first payment.
3. Set a reminder two or three days before the trial ends. Not on the day itself: you'll be busy, or the charge may go through early in the morning.
4. When the reminder goes off, decide. Either cancel there and then, or move it into your list as a proper subscription you've chosen to keep.
5. Check how cancelling works. Some services end the trial straight away when you cancel; others let you use it until the end date. A quick look at the cancellation page saves you guessing.

If you can't be bothered to set the reminder, don't start the trial.

Step 4: the monthly review

This is what keeps the system working after the first sweep. Once a month, ideally a day or two after payday, spend ten minutes on it:

1. Open your bank and card statements for the last month.
2. Tick off each subscription on your list as you spot it.
3. Look for anything that isn't on your list. Either add it or cancel it.
4. Check for price changes. Subscriptions do go up, and the email telling you is easy to miss.
5. Look at the renewal dates coming up in the next month, especially annual ones, and decide on each before it charges.
6. Update the monthly total.

Tie it to something that already happens, like payday, and it becomes a habit rather than a good intention.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Only checking one account. Most people have at least two places subscriptions are billed. Check them all.
• Deleting the app instead of cancelling. Removing an app from your phone doesn't stop the subscription. Cancel it in your phone's subscription settings or on the service's website.
• Forgetting annual renewals. Monthly charges get noticed; yearly ones ambush you. Make sure every annual subscription has its renewal date on your list.
• Keeping things "just in case". If you haven't used it in two months, you can probably sign up again later if you need it.
• Not noting how to cancel. A line on your list saying where the cancel option lives makes acting on a decision far quicker.

If subscriptions are just one part of getting on top of a new place, the guide to keeping track of household bills covers rent, energy, council tax and the rest in the same way. You'll find more on organising everyday life in all our guides.

Where mylife/ fits

If you'd rather not keep the list yourself, mylife/ has a subscriptions ledger for exactly this. Each one sits there with the provider, what it costs and when it next renews, and they count towards a monthly total of what you're really paying. You get a nudge before each renewal, in time to cancel. mylife/ doesn't read your bank or email, so you still do the first sweep above: then you add each subscription yourself or tell Slash about it in a sentence. A free trial can go in with its end date, so the nudge comes before the first payment. You can see how the app is laid out, and you can try mylife/ free for 3 days to see if it suits you.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find all my subscriptions?

Check your bank and card statements for at least the last three months, then your phone's subscription settings, any online payment account you use and your email receipts. Each of these can hold subscriptions the others don't show. Going back twelve months catches the annual ones.

Does deleting an app cancel the subscription?

No. Deleting an app from your phone doesn't cancel a subscription you pay for through it. You need to cancel in your phone's subscription settings or on the service's own website, then check your next statement to make sure the charge has stopped.

How often should I check my subscriptions?

Once a month is enough for most people, ideally just after payday when you're looking at your account anyway. It takes about ten minutes once your list exists. Do a fuller sweep of every account and inbox once or twice a year.

What's the best way to remember to cancel a free trial?

Add it to your subscriptions list the moment you sign up, with the trial end date, and set a reminder two or three days before. When the reminder goes off, either cancel straight away or move it onto your list as a subscription you've chosen to keep.

Should I use a spreadsheet or an app to track subscriptions?

Either works, as long as you only have one list and you check it regularly. A spreadsheet or notes app is fine if you're happy to update it yourself. An app can add reminders before each renewal so the decision comes to you rather than you having to remember it.