If you’ve ever scrolled your recent transactions only to find subscriptions you didn’t even know you had, you’re not alone. Many of us fall victim to “subscription creep,” which quietly drains our wallets. Forgetfulness isn’t the only culprit; subscription services have hiked prices, leading a quarter of people to cancel one or more subscriptions.

• According to CNET, US adults spend an average of $91 per month on subscriptions, with the most common subscriptions including streaming/video (60%), e-commerce sites (37%), and music (35%) as of Mar. 2023.
• ~48% of respondents confess to signing up for free trials and forgetting to cancel — with Millennials (65%) and Gen Z (59%) being the most forgetful.

How to keep the (subscription) creep away: Subscription services don’t make it easy to cancel plans as they’re designed to keep subscribers from remembering to unsubscribe, similar to how casinos hide their exits. That’s why people are setting monthly reminders or using third-party payment services like Apple or PayPal that send out payment receipts, making it easier to track subscriptions. Additionally,  strategies such as hunting for deals, pausing subscriptions, and bundling services are becoming popular ways to fend off “subscription creep.”