Last month, Cindy handed me our credit card statement with a highlighter and one word: "Explain."
So I sat down at the kitchen table and went line by line. Netflix, fine, we watch that. A second streaming service we signed up for to watch one baseball playoff series. In 2024. A third one Cindy joined for a British baking show that ended in June. A movie channel through the TV that neither of us remembered adding. A music app. And a "free trial" for a sports package that quietly became $14.99 a month.
Well, folks, when I added them up, we were paying $71.94 a month for streaming. That's more than $860 a year, and we regularly watched exactly two of those services.
How do I find all my streaming subscriptions?
Start with paper, not apps. Pull up the last two or three months of your bank and credit card statements and look for monthly charges with names you recognize from TV, like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, or Max. Also look for charges from Apple, Google, Amazon, Roku, or your cable or phone company, because subscriptions often hide under those names.
Write each one down with the amount, the date it charges, and who bills you. That last column matters more than you'd think.
How do I cancel a streaming service the right way?
In plain words, three steps. First, find out who actually bills you: the streaming company itself, Apple, Google, Amazon, or your cable or phone company. Second, cancel through that company's account page, not somewhere else. Third, save the confirmation email or take a screenshot of the "canceled" screen.
Here's the big mistake people make: deleting the app from your phone or TV does not cancel anything. Netflix says so right on its help page, and it's true for the others too. You have to find the cancel button in your account.
Where do I cancel subscriptions I pay for through Apple or Google?
Put simply: on an iPhone, open Settings, tap your name at the top, then tap Subscriptions. On an Android phone, open the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions. From there you can see everything billed through your phone and cancel what you don't want.
What if I can't find the cancel button?
If the charge comes from your cable, satellite, or phone company, the cancel button usually isn't in the streaming app at all. Call the number on your cable or phone bill and ask them to remove the add-on. That was our baseball package, and it only came off after I called the TV company directly.
If you truly can't stop a charge you didn't agree to, call the number on the back of your credit card and ask how to dispute it. Keep your notes and confirmation screenshots handy when you do.
How can I keep streaming costs down after I cancel?
Try rotating instead of keeping everything. Pick one or two services you use all year. When a show you love comes out on another service, sign up for a month, watch it, then cancel. Set a reminder on your phone the day you sign up, so a free trial doesn't turn into a year of charges.
And don't forget the free options. Our guide on how to watch free movies legally covers services that cost nothing at all. If a surprise "renewal" email ever shows up for something you don't recognize, check your statement first and read why you shouldn't call the number in that email.
What we kept, and what we saved
We kept two services and canceled four. The baseball one took three tries because it was billed through our TV, not the company. Our streaming bill went from $71.94 to $22.98 a month. That's about $588 a year back in our pockets, which Cindy has already earmarked for a weekend trip to see the fall leaves.
And yes, while we watch, the captions are still on.
How many streaming services are you paying for right now? Grab your statement and tell us in the comments. No judgment, folks. We had six.
