Track and Manage Subscriptions With These 4 Apps

TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK about your subscription payments. How many streaming platforms, dating apps, subscription boxes, exercise clubs, and other services do you pay for each month? How much does it cost you?

The cost may be more than you'd expect. In 2019, Americans spent an average of $640 on digital subscriptions, according to analysis for The New York Times by online budgeting platform Mint.

If you're looking to trim expenses and boost your budget, it may be valuable to download an app that helps organize your subscriptions. These four apps track and manage subscriptions:

• Truebill.
• Trim.
• Bobby.
• Subby.

If you're willing to do more of the legwork yourself, you can always review your credit card and banking statements to identify – and possibly cancel – subscriptions. You may also head to your Apple settings menu or the Google Play Store auto-paid app-based subscriptions and cancel unused memberships.

Truebill

Cost: Signing up is free, but certain add-ons, such as its bill negotiation service, require a fee.
Available on: iOS, Android.

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Features: This budgeting app allows you to monitor and cancel subscriptions. Once you give Truebill access to your credit cards or bank accounts, the digital tool can scan for recurring payments and flag them. After reviewing your subscriptions, you can choose to keep or cancel those memberships on your own or, if you're a premium subscriber, have the app cancel for you.

Be aware that you'll need to be comfortable giving Truebill permission to access your financial accounts, which may be a turnoff for some security-conscious consumers. You will also need to give the service permission to charge your credit card if you opt to use its bill negotiation feature, which charges 40% of savings, and other paid upgrades.

Trim

Cost: Signing up is free, but there are paid features such as bill negotiation.
Available on: phone via text message.

Features: Trim is a financial management tool that enables users to view recurring charges and manage subscriptions. A free account will give you a personal finance dashboard, spending alerts, and subscription management help. For additional fees, you may access bill negotiation, debt payoff, and other features. One premium feature, the bill negotiation service, charges 33% of your savings.

Bobby

Cost: Free to download, but in-app purchases are required to unlock certain features.
Available on: iOS and Android (still in development mode).

Features: Bobby allows you to manage subscriptions and receive notifications when a bill is due. Your subscriptions are entered manually into the app, which nixes the need to link your bank account. The app can give you an overview of existing subscriptions and help you manage and pay monthly bills.

Subby

Cost: Free, but in-app purchases are available.
Available on: Android.

Features: Subby allows users to log subscription services and manage payments. Bills are added manually, and the app contains more than 400 subscription icons. The paid upgrade removes ads and allows for features like cloud backup.

The Bottom Line

There are a variety of apps that allow users to add, manage and track subscriptions. Some apps may require that you link to a card or bank account, so make sure you're comfortable sharing that information. Others require manually inputting subscriptions, which is more time-consuming but maybe an exercise that opens your eyes to how many recurring payments you make each month.

Make sure to use strong passwords on your phone and in the apps. And while some of these apps market the fact that their notifications allow you to make every payment on time, remember that many of these bills are already automatically deducted from your account.

Although these apps tend to be free at sign-up, they may charge for additional upgrades or services. Make sure that any premium feature you sign onto is truly worth the savings it claims to bring. After all, the last thing you want is to add another unwanted charge to your credit card bill.

Source: https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-and-budgeting/articles/track-and-manage-subscriptions-with-these-apps

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio in Pexels