What's happening
ADHD and forgotten subscriptions go together far too easily. You start a free trial to watch one series, an app quietly switches to £4.99 a month after the first week, and a streaming service you haven't opened since spring keeps taking its cut. None of them feel like much on their own, and there's no bill landing on the mat to remind you. The money just goes out every month, and because nothing makes you look, you don't.
How to get moving
Open your banking app and scroll back through the last two to three months. Write down anything that comes out every month or every few weeks, with the price next to it. Then check the places your statement won't fully explain:
- iPhone: Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions.
- Android: Subscriptions in the Google Play app. Deleting an app doesn't cancel it.
- Your bank app: some list card subscriptions in one place.
Cancel anything you wouldn't sign up for again today. If a company makes it awkward and it's a regular card payment rather than a direct debit, your bank has to stop it when you ask, though you'll still owe anything due under the contract. The FCA explains how recurring card payments work.
Important tip
When you start a free trial, set a reminder on your phone for two days before it ends, before you close the sign-up page. Apple says to cancel at least 24 hours before a trial finishes, so leaving it until the last day can cost you a month. If you know you'll never set the reminder, check whether cancelling straight away still lets you finish the trial. Some do, some cut you off there and then.
This is lived-experience content. It is not a promise that a particular idea will work for everybody.