I sat down with my bank statement and a highlighter last month. I found four subscriptions I had completely forgotten about. One of them I had not used since 2024. Another I did not even recognize — I think a free trial I never cancelled.

Total cost of forgotten subscriptions: $47 a month. That is $564 a year. For nothing.

Where to Look

Open your banking app and search for these names:

Streaming services — Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+. You probably know about the ones you use. But check for ones you signed up for a specific show and forgot to cancel.

Amazon Prime — $139 a year or $15 a month. If you do not order from Amazon that often, you might be paying for shipping you are not using. Prime Video alone is not worth the full Prime price.

App store subscriptions — iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions. Android: Play Store → profile → Payments & subscriptions. You will find things you forgot about. I found a $6.99 monthly fitness app I used for three days in January.

Cloud storage — iCloud, Google One, Dropbox. These renew silently. If you are paying for 2TB of iCloud and using 80GB, downgrade the plan.

Gym memberships — the king of forgotten subscriptions. If you have not scanned in for 60 days, cancel it. You can rejoin later.

The 5-Minute Audit

Set a calendar reminder for the first of every month. Spend five minutes scanning your last 30 days of transactions. Highlight anything recurring. Ask yourself: did I use this in the past month? If no, cancel it right then.

You do not need a budgeting app. A highlighter and your bank app is enough.