I am always paranoid about recurring, subscription fees that are like the little leaks that Ben Franklin warned us about. These kinds of fees are certainly much more common today than they were in Ben’s time. Some are big and easy to understand – utilities, internet access, or a boat club with monthly dues.
Others are quite insidious in their nature. They hide in our monthly bank account statement – magazines with auto-renewal, premium websites that only charge you once a year, or what seem like one-time upgrades on otherwise free apps/websites (the “freemium” business model).
Beware the ‘little leaks’ on your journey to FIRE!
MrFireStation 
A good reminder, and nowadays there are apps to help find those little leaks.
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I do like being able to see transactions go through Mint.com every day on my phone.
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I especially hate the notices I get from charities I support that look like annual renewals but are actually just requests for more money in the interim. To keep track, I always make my annual contribution by check and highlight the payment in my check register; that way it’s easier to find when I need to determine if it’s really been a year since my last contribution.
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Ye – A good cause but one that I noticed does that a lot is habitat for humanity.
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I have become the queen of working the system. I will sign up for your “discounted” trial period, etc. But then I put the date on my calendar about a week before the cancellation is due, along with the phone number to call to cancel and any other details. Then I call, and most of the time get offered an “extension” of the promotion. Heck – I’ve had Sirius for several years on the “trial offer price!” I HATE it when I get slicked by recurring or automatic renewal charges!
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Well that sounds like it works out well for you. I have Sirius XM radio and I think I pay almost $200 per year.
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Yea call to cancel and ask what they can offer you. Also ask if they have another deal they can offer you from what they first told you. First they will offer you a 1 year deal at a better price, but many times they will also have a better deal for 5 or 6 months periods but you may have to ask. Another thing to consider is do you need the full package with all channels and internet radio? I found I wasnt using it all that much so I got a promo on a Select package for 6 months for $30. Give it a try.
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Thanks for the tip – I am definitely going to give them a call and see what contract I am under. I’m going to look up the select package – that sounds like it would be perfect.
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I do the same thing. All it takes is a little time and being organized. I have a very high success rate in working out better deals/ promos etc on many of my bills. Its amazing the money you can save with a little effort. Its there for the taking but many people cant bring themselves to make a call every 6 months.
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Screens – Internet and cable and phones are my first focus this year. Then I’ll get the other ones.
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The subscription fees add up. Somehow, I sign up for things and forget to cancel – online services seem to be the worst.
Tracking in Personal Capital does help me spot them, but sometimes they can be a pain to cancel.
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Yes – they don’t make it easy to cancel anything do they? Sometimes there is and phone number on the website, or an obvious place of where to do it. I just signed up for something through ancestry.com – it was a 30 day trial thing, and no where on their website could you find where to cancel it.
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