This Subscription Category Drains Your Budget More Than You Realize
If your budget feels more stretched than it should, streaming subscriptions may be part of the problem. One monthly charge may not seem like a big deal, but multiple ones can make a noticeable impact.
Many people don’t realize how much they’re spending until they look at the charges one by one.
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How Streaming Subscriptions Drain Budgets
Streaming is one of the easiest subscription categories to overlook because you don’t receive a box in the mail. The service is just there in an app, whether you use it or not. You might have signed up for one subscription for sports, another for seasonal premieres, another for movies and another because it came with a free trial.
And if you set your subscription charges to autopay and don’t regularly review your bank or credit card statements, you can end up paying for months (or years) of streaming subscriptions you don’t use. Additionally, some services raise prices over time, so you may not notice the changes.
A 2025 survey from All About Cookies found that Americans pay for an average of 3.4 streaming services at about $48 per month. That’s $577 per year. If you are signed up for more than the average number of streaming services, it’s even more.
The 30-Minute Subscription Audit
The fix is easy. Find 30 minutes in your day to do a subscription audit.
Start by checking your last several credit card and bank statements for recurring payments to streaming services. You can also check your email for notifications of monthly subscription charges or filter mobile banking transactions to spot recurring debits and withdrawals.
Use this quick process:
Review your credit card and bank statements from the past several months to look for recurring subscription charges.
Make a list of each subscription you find, including the price and monthly renewal date.
Decide which subscriptions you want to cancel.
Log in to your account on each streaming service and cancel your subscriptions.
Additionally, you can use a subscription-tracking tool, but you should review its privacy policy before signing up, according to Consumer Reports. Some tools may need access to your financial accounts to find and manage subscriptions.
How To Decide What To Keep and What To Cancel
Cancel any subscriptions you forgot you had or use only occasionally. If there’s a show you like to watch each new season of, cancel the subscription until it comes back on, watch it, then cancel it when it’s over.
Consider keeping subscriptions that you use often. If you use several subscriptions often and don’t want to cancel any, check whether there’s a streaming bundle that costs less than paying for each service separately. For example, the Disney+ website offers Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max starting at $19.99 per month, or Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundles starting at $35.99 per month.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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