This Simple, 5-Minute iPhone Self-Checkup Just Saved Me a Lot of Money

Sometimes you might be paying for subscriptions that you have long forgotten about. Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock

Calling all iPhone users. After so many upgrades over years of using an iPhone, I thought I knew it all. Only recently, I discovered a feature that’s been there all along but I'd never noticed, much less thought about. It took about five minutes for me to change that and—ta-da!—save a lot of money. I bet we can put some moolah back into your pocket, too.

Subscriptions

These days, nearly everything out there that’s any good requires some kind of subscription, from television to newspapers, music to games, and on it goes. Can you account for the subscriptions you’re paying for and use regularly? See what I mean? It’s easy to lose track. Huh? What?!

I’m going to wager that you, like me, are paying for subscriptions you’ve totally forgotten but are auto-renewing every month or annually. You may not have even realized you agreed to that auto-renew.

Sure, it shows up on your bank or credit card statement. But staying on top of them means you must routinely go through every item every accounting period to verify what it is and why you’re still paying for it.

So Easy A 5-Year-Old...

Sure, a simple 99-cent charge doesn’t seem like much, so why bother digging through files you can’t find to try to figure out a mystery you can’t solve?

It could be (and I only know this from experience) that your young grandson somehow, even though he can’t tie his shoes, knows how to use an iPhone and where to find a fun game to play while sitting quietly in his car seat. He clicks on an “in-app purchase” and then magically reads “Subscribe,” “Upload,” and “Play” because he also knows how to access Grandma’s Apple ID. Yep.

Zap Unwanted Subscriptions

But let’s not go blaming others for every infraction. You may have legitimately signed up for iTunes, Apple Music, or any number of paid subscriptions that you don’t recall and wouldn’t know where to find if you could.

It may have been the seven-day trial offer that got you because you totally forgot to cancel 24 hours before the end of the trial period.

In these days of top-notch streaming services and endless in-app purchases, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger when you end up with a bunch of mysterious monthly or annual billing charges. Keeping track of all of them can be overwhelming.

Well, hang onto your data plan because that’s exactly what we’re about the figure out. It’s time to zap unwanted subscriptions.

How To Cancel A Subscription On Your iPhone

• Step 1. Open Settings
• Step 2. Tap on Apple ID at the Top
• Step 3. Tap Subscriptions
• Step 4. Tap one of the Subscriptions to open another screen
• Step 5. Tap Cancel Subscription

You might need to scroll down to find the Cancel Subscription button. If there is no Cancel button or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already canceled.

In the case of a subscription you have already paid for, canceling the subscription will actually cancel the automatic renewal. In my case, I had intentionally paid for a one-year subscription for Musescore, a sheet music app. I was not aware I had also agreed to auto-renew at the end of the subscription period!

I immediately canceled that subscription’s auto-renew. My (non-refundable) initial one-year subscription is still in effect, and trust me, I use it endlessly!

I was able to cancel several more subscriptions that were auto-renewing every month! Yes, I felt sheepish and ashamed to have let this happen—but the exhilaration of learning how to stay on top of this well offset any regret.

Need a bit more help? I have outlined these basic steps including photos at EverydayCheapskate.com/iphonesubs, to show you exactly what you are looking for on your iPhone in order to manage your subscriptions.

If by following the steps above you are still having difficulty canceling a subscription, don’t throw in the towel. Instead, contact Apple support.