I’m a little embarrassed about this…
This move made me cringe, but it saved me hundreds and can do the same for you. Plus, an exciting event announcement.
Hi there, my friend.
Remember this story from about a month ago?
In case you missed it, the post is about how I downloaded my 2025 transaction histories from my credit cards and checking accounts and discovered two things that I immediately knew I wanted to do away with. Those two subscriptions amounted to more than $400 in yearly costs.
(Note: It was really easy to do. I laid out my process in the above post.)
So, fast forward a few weeks. After those two easy wins, I decided to spend a little more time in those spreadsheets to see if other possible wins were hiding in those hundreds of lines of transactions.
Hoo boy, yes, there were. We found:
Online storage services that we didn’t need. Cutting them will save us more than $100 per year.
A language app subscription that we didn’t use anymore and had forgotten about. $90 per year.
Business-related service subscriptions that were useful a couple years back but aren’t necessary anymore. $500-plus per year.
A subscription to a sports media website that should’ve been rolled into another account long ago. It was so old that their customer service representative couldn’t find any record of it, though because of some of the details I provided him, he acknowledged the charge’s likely legitimacy. He advised me to dispute the charge with my credit card issuer. $140 per year.
Those are just a few examples. All in all, we found what will add up to more than $1,000 in potential expenses dodged — and all for subscriptions and services that we will not miss at all. We only found them because we took the time to dive into a spreadsheet.
Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed by how much we found. Rather than dwelling on that or pretending it wasn’t there, however, we chose to fix it instead.
An alternative to canceling
Remember that whenever you cancel a subscription or membership of most any kind, there’s a pretty good chance that the business will make you an offer to get you to stay.
For example, I got this offer immediately after canceling an online storage service.
I didn’t take it because I didn’t need the service anymore, but I would’ve considered it otherwise.
Discounts weren’t the only counteroffers I received, though. As part of their cancellation process, multiple companies asked me if I wanted to just put my membership on hold for three months and then come back. I’ve always known that was something that businesses might be willing to do, but it was the first time I’d ever seen that built into the online cancellation process.
While it didn’t fit my needs, freezing a subscription/membership (or putting it on hold) for a few months can be a great option during a short-term financial rough patch. Often, it doesn’t require anything more than a quick phone call to accomplish, but it can make a real financial difference for you or your family in a time of need.
I’m incredibly excited to announce…
I’m going to be part of the Austin Public Library’s Greater Austin Book Festival on May 16 at Austin’s Central Library, which is one of my favorite places on Earth.
I mean, look at this place…
We used to visit every two weeks as a family when my son was little, and it will always have a place in my heart. I’m proud that my book is on the shelves there. To be part of a festival in that space is going to be very special indeed.
More to come…
Hang it in the Louvre!
I’m not really someone who dives into social media trends, but I made an exception for one recently. I saw people posting caricatures of themselves that were generated by AI after a prompt something like this: “Create a cute caricature of me and my job based on what you know about me.”
I’ve been tinkering a lot with Chat GPT and other AI tools, so I thought I’d give it a run.
What do you think? It’s not exactly high art, but I thought it was fun.
Until next time!
Matt
The library looks AMAZING and the caricature is cute!!