The Subscription and Membership Savings Challenge is a way to boost your savings while cleaning up your spending habits. The idea is simple: start by freeing up cash from those monthly and annual memberships or subscriptions that may be costing you more than they’re worth. You might be surprised at how much you’re spending on things you rarely, or never, use!
The average American spends more than $200 each month on subscriptions and memberships. By dedicating a little time to reviewing and optimizing your subscriptions, the average American could save $500 or more each year. This challenge is a simple process of canceling, downgrading, or rotating subscriptions to free up cash for an automatic savings plan.
Start by gathering all the details on your current subscriptions. List each service or membership, along with the cost, billing frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually), and usage level. Look at recent credit card and bank statements, and don’t forget to include app subscriptions, streaming services, gym memberships, and software fees. Be thorough—hidden subscriptions can often fly under the radar and quietly drain your funds.
You may be surprised by how much you’re able to trim from your monthly expenses. Those $5, $10, or $15 subscriptions may seem insignificant on their own, but when added up, they amount to a substantial sum. Instead of watching your wallet drain, watch your savings grow with each cancellation. Be proactive, take charge, and unsubscribe to thrive.
The average American spends $61 per month on video streaming services and subscribes to four on average. However, who says you have to keep all four at once? Between paid and free streaming services, we have more content than we can possibly watch in a lifetime. Imagine having an extra $500 in your pocket every year while still enjoying all your favorite shows and movies. By rotating your services, you can keep enjoying your streaming services at a fraction of the price.
This challenge is about more than just cutting costs; it’s about developing a habit of saving that doesn’t rely on willpower alone. The key to this challenge is to funnel the money you’ve freed up into a dedicated monthly savings subscription. This redirected amount will be the foundation of a subscription to your future—just like any other automatic payment, but instead of paying for entertainment or convenience, you’re investing in financial security and future goals.
Now that you’ve set up your monthly savings subscription, take it a step further. This is an excellent foundation for financial growth, but with a few tweaks, you can maximize its impact even more. By taking small, consistent actions—whether by increasing your monthly contribution, leveraging discounts, or earning cash back—you’re making the most of every dollar and staying proactive about your savings goals.