Family subscriptions audit: what are you actually paying for?
Streaming services, music, cloud storage, apps, gaming, news, the gym, the kids' platforms, that free trial someone forgot to cancel — subscriptions creep up quietly, spread across different cards and different people. Here's how to find them all, decide what stays, and stop them building up again.
The "If something happens to me" checklist
A printable checklist of everything your family would need: insurance, KiwiSaver, vehicles, pets, your will and who to call.
Step 1: Find every subscription
Most households find at least one they'd forgotten about.
Go through three months of statements
Check every bank account and credit card in the household — including the ones the kids or a partner use. Three months catches anything billed monthly and most quarterly charges. Look for small, regular amounts; they're the easiest to miss.
Check the app stores
Subscriptions bought through an iPhone or Android phone are billed through Apple or Google, so they often appear on statements under the store's name rather than the service. Open the subscriptions list in each person's app store account to see what's really there.
Search your email
Search for words like "subscription", "renewal", "receipt" and "your plan". Annual subscriptions are the sneaky ones — they only show up once a year, usually just after you've forgotten about them.
Step 2: Decide what stays
Be honest about what actually gets used.
Sort into keep, share, downgrade or cancel
- Keep — used regularly and worth the money
- Share — two people paying for the same thing separately; switch to one family plan
- Downgrade — paying for a premium tier nobody needs
- Cancel — not used in the last month or two
Watch for duplicates
It's common for two adults to each pay for the same music service, or for cloud storage to be bought separately on several phones. A family plan is often cheaper than two individual ones.
Rotate instead of stacking
You don't need every streaming service at once. Subscribe to one for the shows you want, cancel, and pick up another later. Most let you leave and come back without losing your profile.
Step 3: Stop them creeping back
The audit is the easy part; keeping it tidy is the trick.
Keep one list of what you pay for
Write down each subscription, who it's for, the cost, how often it bills and which card it's on. When you sign up for something new, add it straight away.
Set a reminder before free trials end
Most free trials roll into a paid plan automatically. When you start one, set a reminder for a couple of days before it ends.
Review every few months
A quick review every three months catches new sign-ups and anything that's stopped being used. It's also when you'll notice price rises.
The part people forget: if something happens to you
Subscriptions keep charging
If the person who manages the household's accounts is suddenly unwell or dies, subscriptions keep billing — sometimes for months — because nobody else knows what exists. A simple list of services and the email address each one is registered to makes it straightforward for someone else to cancel them.
Keep your subscriptions in one place
HomeTrack's Subscriptions & Digital Accounts section lists your streaming, music and other subscriptions plus the accounts they're tied to, for each person in the household. It prompts you to review it every three months, so new sign-ups and forgotten trials don't slip through — and it never stores your passwords.
Start your 30-day free trial → No credit card required · Made in New ZealandCommon questions
How do I find all my subscriptions?
Go through three months of statements for every card and account in the household, check each person's Apple or Google app store subscriptions, and search your email for words like subscription, renewal and receipt.
How often should I review my subscriptions?
Every three months is a good rhythm. It catches new sign-ups, forgotten free trials and price rises before they add up.
Why do app subscriptions show under Apple or Google on my statement?
Subscriptions bought through a phone are billed by the app store, so the statement shows Apple or Google rather than the service itself. The app store's subscriptions list shows what each charge is for.