Proverbs 27:23 tells us to “mind our herds and flocks.” In ancient Israel, you had to be on the lookout for wolves trying to get your sheep. In the digital age, you may have little wolves going unnoticed as they gnaw away at your bank balance.
Proverbs 27:23 tells us to “mind our herds and flocks.” In ancient Israel, you had to be on the lookout for wolves trying to get your sheep. In the digital age, you may have little wolves going unnoticed as they gnaw away at your bank balance. We’ll explain today on MoneyWise.
The “little wolves” we’re talking about are recurring monthly subscriptions that you’ve probably forgotten all about.
You might have signed up for a free trial period that lasted a few weeks. After that, the provider began charging you a monthly fee. Do that a few times and the money you’re losing adds up quickly. Especially if you’re not even using some of those apps.
And what about streaming subscriptions? When was the last time you thought about how much you’re actually viewing the programs provided by a streaming service? There the money really adds up. You could be paying from $10 to nearly $100 a month for something you’re not using.
These providers often raise their prices and the new, higher prices are simply deducted from your bank account. The less you pay attention, the more money they make. And they don’t always make it easy to unsubscribe.
So, do you need help canceling unwanted subscriptions? Fortunately, there’s an app for that. In fact, there are several apps now that make the process a lot easier. Some of these charge for the service, but many are free.
We’ve mentioned Truebill before on the program. It will go through all of your transactions and create a list of your subscription services. Then you can tell Truebill to cancel the ones you no longer want.
The app then does it automatically. Truebill says it has canceled more than a million subscriptions for its users. As an added feature, it will monitor your regular bills and let you know when payments are due.
If you’re not sure what a subscription is for, the Chase Account Manager will identify what company is charging you, so you can easily determine if you want to continue a service or cancel it.
Trim is another online tool that will cancel old subscriptions for you. Using artificial intelligence, Trim will also contest bank fees. Keep in mind that no app can cancel fees that are still under contract, but Trim has features that can help you lower bills that are contracted with vendors like Xfinity, Time Warner and Verizon. Trim is pricey at $99 a year, but they claim to save the average user over $600 the first year.
Hiatus is another that will assist you in canceling unwanted subscriptions … but it will also go over your banking transactions … looking for unfair rates. Finding any, Hiatus will advise you on how best to negotiate lower your bills.
Eno from Capital One monitors customer accounts to track your spending and prevent fraud. And get this … it will also notify you when a free trial is about to end so you can cancel and avoid any surprise charges to your account.
If you’re looking for the “world’s first robot lawyer,” that’s how DoNotPay bills itself. In addition to canceling unwanted subscriptions, DoNotPay lends assistance in challenging parking tickets and getting refunds for late deliveries. It will also make it easier to sign up for free trials without getting hit with a recurring charge.
So those are some of the apps that will help you get rid of unwanted subscriptions, and we’ll put links to all of them in today’s Show Notes. But wouldn’t it be better to minimize or eliminate those subscriptions in the first place? As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Unless you plan to never sign up for another subscription, you need a game plan to avoid recurring charges. Start by setting a reminder whenever you sign up for a free trial. Put the expiration date on your calendar or use Google Tasks to remind you to cancel the subscription before you get dinged.
And here’s an idea that’s almost guaranteed to reduce the number of subscriptions you sign up for. If you want to subscribe to a service add the expense to your monthly budget before you sign up.
Seeing where you might have to cut somewhere else to make room for the new expense will probably make you think twice before committing.
On this program, Rob also answers listener questions:
What are your options when your company changes its 401k administrator?
How can you pass along a family farm to adult children without burdening them with taxes and administration?
Is there a legitimate company that can help you to get out from under a timeshare?
What is the best way to handle the investment income of a relative who is incarcerated?
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