We have all done it, signed up for a free trial and completely forgotten about it. The next thing you know there are recurring fees showing up on your credit card statement. If you don’t stop the recurring fees, they can add up to hundreds of dollars every year.
Post contains affiliate links.
Luckily, there are some really easy ways to stop recurring fees on memberships and subscriptions that you really don’t want and aren’t using.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with paying the recurring fees as long as you are actually using the service.
But maybe you aren’t going to the gym as much as you thought you would or you don’t want to pay a monthly subscription for shoes that you just aren’t going to use.
Keep a Subscription Log
I will be the first to admit that I have signed up for a free trial and have forgotten to cancel the membership before my trial was up and got charged the full monthly fee. I learned my lesson the hard way.
Now whenever I sign up for a free trial, I take note of how long the trial is for: 7 days, 30 days, etc. I then mark in my planner and in my phone calendar when I want to cancel my subscription.
I always make it a couple of days before the trial ends so that I can be rest assured that I won’t be charged. If I actually end up liking the service, then I will stick with it but this will help me remember in case it isn’t worth my money.
Trim and Truebill
Now, maybe you signed up for a trial, liked the product, but now you just aren’t using it as much as you were.
Maybe you don’t need the monthly food service plan because you will be traveling or you have enough shoes in your closet that you can’t justify paying a monthly fee for another pair.
There are 2 free apps that you can take advantage of to help you easily put an end to those subscriptions and recurring fees on your bank accounts.
Trim and Truebill are both apps that give you monthly updates about your recurring fees and if a new subscription appears. The best part is that they will actually cancel the subscriptions for you!
Some services are very easy to cancel but others make you jump through hoops. These apps can take care of all of them for you. They will even sit on hold on the phone or send certified mail on your behalf.
You will have to let them have your credit card or bank account log-in credentials so they can keep track of your recurring fees but they will have read only access to your accounts.
You can still use Truebill’s service without giving over that information. They just can’t keep track of your subscriptions for you.
They show you how to cancel 100’s of the most popular subscription services. You can do them yourself or you can fill out the form with some basic info and they will do it for you.
I love how easy these apps are to use and they save their users an average of over $500 a year!
My Favorite Subscription Services
Just because I am telling you how to stop recurring fees, doesn’t mean that I think all subscription services are bad. As long as you use the service and it makes your life easier, then it is worth it!
I just wanted to share some of my favorite subscriptions services that I personally use. Maybe they will help make your life easier like they have done for me (remember to make a note of when the free trials end)!
- Beachbody on Demand: free 30 day trial. It’s my favorite way to workout!
- Skillshare: first 3 months are only $0.99! I have learned so much from these classes.
- Audible: free 30 day trial and 2 free audiobooks. Great for people who love to read but are super busy, like me!
- Kiwi Crate: 40% off first month w/ code WINTER2017. These are great for non-crafty moms like me. My daughter loves getting hers every month!
- ABCMouse.com: Free for 30 days. My daughter loves the games and stories. She is learning so much!
You may also like my post: How to Automate your Finances in Less Than 30 Minutes.
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