5 Apps That Help You Manage Your Subscriptions

Karen Bennett | (TNS) Bankrate.com

Many smartphone users rely on digital subscriptions to stay entertained, fit, and connect with others. You can sign up for most streaming services, gyms, or dating apps in minutes (or seconds), and they conveniently bill you monthly or annually.

But those automatic payments can add up to a hefty bill. The average consumer spends $219 per month on subscription services, according to a 2022 survey by C+R Research, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Even if every subscription seemed like a good idea when you signed up, you may now be paying for some that you no longer use. You can check your credit card statement and cancel them one by one, but a time-saving alternative is a subscription discount app that helps you manage them. These subscription management tools can help you save money and time.

Rocket Money

Rocket Money is an app that monitors your credit card or bank statement and lets you view and manage your subscriptions from a single dashboard. You can choose to cancel subscriptions yourself, or Rocket Money can do it for you if you’re a subscriber to its paid service.

You can also choose to pay for other Rocket Money services, such as a subscription cancellation concierge service, real-time account balance updates, and unlimited budgeting categories.

Cost: The app is free to use, but if you want Rocket Money to cancel subscriptions on your behalf, you’ll need to sign up for a premium subscription option, which costs between $6 and $12 per month.

Availability: Google Play (4.3 stars), Apple App Store (4.2 stars)

Pocket guard

PocketGuard’s budgeting app can connect to your bank account, credit cards, loans, and investments. It uses these to provide insight into your income and expenses. You can also view a list of your bills and subscriptions, which can be used to identify and cancel subscriptions you no longer use.

Another feature offered by the app is a calculation of how much money you have left after paying your monthly bills, which can help you stick to your budget and save money.

Cost: The app is free to use to view your credit card or bank account transactions. Additional features are available for a fee, such as the ability to set savings goals and create unlimited budget categories. Paid subscriptions are available for $12.99 per month or $155.99 billed monthly. You can save 50% if you choose to be billed annually, which means you’ll be billed $74.99 once a year instead.

Availability: Google Play (3.8 stars), Apple App Store (4.6 stars)

Policeman

Unlike many other subscription management tools that offer various additional budgeting features, Bobby’s sole purpose is to track your recurring subscription costs. You can choose from the most popular subscription services or add custom ones. Prices for the most popular services are automatically displayed in the app. You can make the list easier to read by setting the color of each item, as well as categorizing the items however you like. The app can also remind you when a bill is due.

Bobby does not yet offer a version for Android users.

Cost: You will have access to a limited number of subscription ads for free. There is an in-app purchase of $1.99.

Availability: Apple App Store (4.7 stars)

Submarine

Subby is an Android app that lists your subscriptions, the associated monthly charges, and the credit card billed for each one. You can add an unlimited number of subscriptions to the list. The app lists the grand total of your monthly charges, and you can set it to alert you when bills are coming due. You can back up your subscriptions to the cloud using a Google Drive account.

Cost: Free, but you’ll have to put up with ads. An ad-free version costs $2.99.

Availability: Google Play (4.0 stars)

Trim

Trim examines your bank or credit card statements to find recurring subscription charges and cancels any unused subscriptions for you.

Trim analyzes your transactions and automatically identifies your subscriptions in a linked account. Once you connect the account your subscriptions are billed to, you can easily monitor your subscriptions. Trim, owned by OneMain Financial, claims that more than 3 million people have used its services.

Cost: Trim does not charge for services, but some services and options may be limited to OneMain Financial and Brightway customers.

Availability: Trim is not available on Google Play or the Apple App Store. You can sign up using Google or Facebook credentials, or you can sign up on the Trim website with an email address, using it on your computer or phone’s browser.

You’ve downloaded an app to manage your subscriptions, now what?

Once you’ve chosen the app or service that’s right for you and signed up for it, get a clear and complete picture of your monthly subscriptions by making sure they’re all listed in the app. Decide if you want to take advantage of any add-on features that cost money, such as the ability for the service to cancel subscriptions for you. Review your list regularly to make sure new subscriptions are added and to determine if there are any subscriptions you’re no longer using.

In conclusion

An app that provides a comprehensive list of your digital subscriptions can help you keep track of which ones you’re no longer using and save you time sifting through your bank or credit card statements. Many are user-friendly and available for free, while others offer additional financial management features for a small fee. Even when you’re using a subscription management app, it’s still imperative to regularly review your bank and credit card transactions.

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