Each month, NerdWallet suggests one wallet win to help you feel more confident about your money. For April, it\u2019s a subscription audit.<\/p>\n
Paid subscriptions are ubiquitous and many want to cut back: According to a recent NerdWallet survey<\/a>, more than half of U.S. adults (55%) plan to significantly decrease the subscriptions they have in 2026 in order to save money.<\/p>\n I\u2019m right there with them. As a data writer at NerdWallet, I\u2019m always looking for ways to save money<\/a> (and make another spreadsheet).<\/p>\n If you\u2019re tired of streaming price hikes<\/a> and are looking to cut back, here\u2019s the process for auditing and reducing subscriptions that\u2019s saving me close to $1,500 in 2026. The best part? It only takes a few hours.<\/p>\n 1. Make a list<\/p>\n Most Americans likely couldn\u2019t list all their subscriptions and prices off the top of their heads \u2014 not due to carelessness, but because they have so many, and they\u2019re easy to forget about on autopay. The few you use frequently may be top of mind, but there may be some you\u2019ve forgotten, or pricing changes you haven\u2019t accounted for.<\/p>\n Go through your credit card and bank statements \u2014 including charges billed quarterly or annually \u2014 to see what subscriptions you\u2019re paying for. List the subscription, the cost and the frequency with which you use it.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want to comb through subscriptions manually, you can use a tool like NerdWallet\u2019s app<\/a> to track your subscriptions for you, and even cancel any you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n 2. Start with the low-hanging fruit<\/p>\n A few of your subscriptions may have stood out as obvious cuts when you were making the list. Cancel anything you don\u2019t use or value, or just forgot about.<\/p>\n My low-hanging fruit included a news app that I used just for games, a paid podcast I didn\u2019t vibe with anymore and a few subscriptions of my husband\u2019s (after checking that they wouldn\u2019t be missed).<\/p>\n Subscriptions may be cumbersome to cancel, and that\u2019s probably by design<\/a>. But by jumping through hoops now, you\u2019ll save money going forward.<\/p>\n My savings so far: <\/b>$45.50 a month, or $546 a year.<\/p>\n 3. Dive deeper<\/p>\n Now that the easy ones are canceled, you could just stop there. Some subscriptions likely provide you a lot of value, and paying for them isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing \u2014 as long as they fit your budget and financial priorities<\/a>. But if you want to increase your savings, here are a few more dramatic strategies to consider:<\/p>\n Go nuclear<\/p>\n One drastic but effective approach to cut back on subscriptions is to get rid of all of them.<\/p>\n This is more or less the strategy I employed when I went through my streaming subscriptions: I canceled a combined five TV streaming services<\/a> \u2014 a puzzling number for a household of chronic rewatchers with inconsistent TV viewing habits.<\/p>\n With a few exceptions, you can always resubscribe if you want to. Consider any drawbacks of unsubscribing in the short term, though, before deciding if it makes sense to ditch your account entirely. If perhaps you\u2019re grandfathered into a cheaper price than what\u2019s currently available, you may not want to lose that.<\/p>\n My savings so far:<\/b> $93.00 a month, or $1,116 a year.<\/p>\n Find free or cheaper replacements<\/p>\n Many subscriptions are selling unique entertainment or products you can\u2019t get elsewhere. But others are charging you for things you can get for free, or cheaper.<\/p>\n My household usually isn\u2019t following along with new shows. So when I decided to cut all those streaming services, I headed to the DVD section of the library. And what I found there was \u2026 basically everything I wanted to watch.<\/p>\n The library has been saving me money for years \u2014 as an avid reader raising another avid reader, I\u2019m there on a weekly basis. But the library isn\u2019t just for books. My library system has DVDs and CDs, paywalled news access, documentary streaming, and e-book and audiobook access using the Libby app, completely free of charge.<\/p>\n Look through your subscription list and consider whether any of the items on it can be replaced with something cheaper, or even free<\/a>. In addition to checking out the resources your local library has to offer, try an Internet search for \u201cfree replacement for [subscription].\u201d Doing this, I found that Tubi, while ad-supported, allows for free streaming of its library of TV shows and movies (whereas many ad-supported versions of popular streaming services still charge a fee).<\/p>\n There\u2019s a tradeoff here: Subscriptions often reduce friction, and opting for the free or cheaper replacement may mean a waitlist or ads.<\/p>\n My savings so far: <\/b>$109.99 a month, or $1,320 a year.<\/p>\n Consider the other costs<\/p>\n A subscription could be costing you additional money or time, aside from the monthly expense. In my case, there was a subscription costing me more than just the membership fee.<\/p>\n I was part of a paid community for crocheters, and it was a lovely group of people nerding out over a common interest. But the project recommendations regularly led me to buy yarn and other project supplies I didn\u2019t need. Ultimately, I gave up the subscription to keep my hobby spending in check.<\/p>\n Similarly, your subscriptions could be costing you precious time. If you want to watch less TV, for instance, streaming services may be working against your goals.<\/p>\n My overall savings: <\/b>$122.48 a month, or $1,470 a year.<\/p>\n Additional ways to cut back on your subscriptions<\/p>\n My subscription audit resulted in annual savings of about $1,500, which is around one month of preschool or a year of homeowners insurance. No small potatoes! Your savings will vary, but you\u2019ll likely find yourself with more money in your budget<\/a> to reallocate.<\/p>\n Subscriptions aren\u2019t going away, and there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll end up resubscribing to some of the ones you cut, or subscribing to new ones over time. That\u2019s OK. The goal doesn\u2019t have to be to eliminate subscriptions altogether, but rather make sure the ones you have align with your budget and priorities. Set a calendar reminder to check your subscription list again a year from now to ensure that\u2019s still the case.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re following along with us on this monthly financial challenge, start by testing out the tips we shared today over the next few weeks. We\u2019ll be back again next month to focus on making a summer spending plan. And if you missed last month\u2019s edition, take a look back at how to stop your paycheck from disappearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n More From NerdWallet<\/b><\/p>\n Erin El Issa writes for NerdWallet. Email: erin@nerdwallet.com.<\/p>\n\n