An index to help you make better money decisions, 60 seconds each.
Services & subscriptions decisions.
7 decisions documented in this category.
Why the annual plan often costs more
The annual plan said save 30 percent. I clicked annual. I cancelled three months in.
I would have stopped after month two on the monthly plan. On the annual plan I am locked in for nine more months of paying for nothing.
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The $84 a year cloud upgrade you did not need
My phone said I was running out of storage. I clicked the cheapest upgrade. That was three years ago.
The $6.99 a month felt invisible. $252 later, my photos still sync automatically and I still have not cleaned them out.
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The free trial you forgot for 9 months
I signed up for a free trial. I forgot to cancel. I have been paying $14.99 a month for six months.
The trial gave me a card form to fill in and a reminder I never set. By the time I noticed, the charge had become part of the background.
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Cancel the gym, keep $600 a year
I have not been to the gym in eight months. The $80 charge still hits my card every first of the month.
Why the cancel button is harder to click than the payment is to ignore.
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Save $40 a month on streaming you barely watch
I am paying four streaming services. Last month I only opened two.
$60 a month, $720 a year, for content I am not watching. I keep meaning to cancel two of them.
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Why your streaming bill quietly went up $24 a year
My streaming subscription went up $3 a month. I clicked accept. So did three other apps that year.
$3 a month felt like nothing. The four apps together cost me $200 more for the year.
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Why subscription bundles cost more than they save
I pay for a premium bundle with five services included. I use two of them.
The bundle was cheaper than buying the two I use separately. Or so the comparison page told me.
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