TL;DR:
Use a habit tracking app to keep track of your subscriptions to know if you are getting the full value.
Effective Subscription Management
Introduction
Subscription are everywhere and managing them can be a challenge, leading to overspending and underutilization. I have discovered a simple way to determine if I should renew.
Subscription Fatigue
Many services these days are subscription based, from streaming services to software tools. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. You can end up paying for services you don’t even use or need. Many people suggest tracking renewals in a calendar, and this is a great idea. I suggest this as well. But that is not sufficient to know if you should then renew that subscription later.
Steps to Track your Subscription Usage
- Get a habit tracking app that you will use every day. There are many available for phones. I use an app called Habit Tracker.
- Start using the habit tracking app to track when you are using each of your subscriptions.
- Some habit tracking apps will allow you to specify how often you want to use a habit.
- Checking your daily habit will remind you of the subscriptions you have and will prompt you to make better use of them.
- When renewal of the subsciption comes up, you can see how much you have used it and decide if you should renew it.
My Subscriptions
I am tracking the following subscription habits. I am finding that I am not using Canva as much as I thought I would. Having the daily reminder to practice guitar with Youscician has been very helpful.
- Canva
- Safari books
- Yousician
- Blinkist
- ChatGPT
Conclusion
Before I started using a habit tracking app I had to determine if I was using a subscription service by memory. Now I have actual data to know if I am using the service and can make a more informed decision about renewing it. I hope you find this helpful.