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Aggressive saving requires cutting major discretionary spending, increasing income through side hustles, and automating savings. See our Saving Hub for detailed strategies.

What is the 50/30/20 rule for managing money?

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I Canceled 5 Subscriptions and Saved $860—No Regrets

By Beelinger Staff
Estimated read time: 5 min

One night, I opened my bank app and realized something disturbing: I was spending nearly $150/month on subscriptions I didn’t even use. 🤯

That’s when I challenged myself to go full Marie Kondo on my digital life—and it turns out, I was subscribed to a lot of stuff that sparked zero joy.

The result? I canceled 5 things and clawed back $860/year. And I barely miss a thing.

Why We Let Subscriptions Sneak In

Subscriptions are sneaky. They’re small, automatic, and painless at first. But over time they pile up. If you’re not careful, you’ll be paying $11.99 a month to track your steps with an app you haven’t opened in 3 months.

I used Rocket Money to scan my accounts—and it found 17 active subscriptions. 😳

The 5 I Canceled—And Why

Hulu ($14.99/month): I already had Netflix, Prime, and Disney+. One had to go.
Annual savings: $179.88
Fitness App Premium ($9.99/month): I was using the free version just fine.
Annual savings: $119.88
Meal Planning Service ($11.99/month): I wasn’t following the plans—and my grocery bill didn’t budge.
Annual savings: $143.88
Cloud Storage Plan ($2.99/month): I moved everything to Google Drive which is free up to 15GB.
Annual savings: $35.88
“Free Trial” That Became Paid ($31.49/month): Honestly didn’t even remember signing up. 😬
Annual saving: $378.00

Total annual saving: $857.52

How I Decided What to Keep

I asked myself 3 questions:

📅 Do I use this weekly?
💸 Does it save me money elsewhere?
❤️ Would I notice if it disappeared tomorrow?

If the answer was “no” more than once, it got the axe.

Tools That Helped

Rocket Money – Finds and cancels hidden subscriptions for you
Notion – I now track active subscriptions in one place
Chime – Separates my spending and savings accounts so I actually feel the cost

🎉 What I Gained: Less clutter, more money, and no more “forgot to cancel” guilt.

Want to Try It?

Here’s a quick-start version of my cancellation challenge:

Use Rocket Money to scan your subscriptions
Cancel at least one thing today
Put the money you save into savings or toward debt

Pro Tip: Use the Beelinger Starter Kit to track subscriptions and boost your monthly cash flow.