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Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
101–110 of 677 posts
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#102This requires government regulation. Sorry but the free market incentivizes bad behavior in this instance. If it means that the price of a subscription will go up cause they can no longer extract payments from the lazy/forgetful then so be it.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#103Just did this with Xfinity an hour ago.
I didn't even _forget_, per se: been trying to cancel online for months. It says they'll call you, then they never do, and _then_ I forget until I see the next billing statement. Finally went into the store this morning, but without any proof of previous attempts on hand, all they could do was cancel as of today.
Frankly, they couldn't even give me a paper confirmation, and they say the email confirmation will come in a day or two, so this probably isn't even over yet.
I actually did get a screenshot of the most recent attempt, but everyone involved knows I'm probably not going to find it worth my time to fight it. They win.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#104"They recognized that getting a new card is one of the rare times you must actively renew your automatically renewing subscriptions, since you have to update the payment information on file with those companies." This isn't true: I've had subscriptions roll over to the new credit card number - and not just for a month or two. Apparently the bank will continue to process them (I'd rather they didn't.)
There's apparently some kind of service that automatically updates payment processors when you get a new card. Seems kind of stupid since one of the main reasons to get a new card is that is compromised and you might just end up sending the new card info to the same company that lost it or is refusing to cancel your subscription.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#105Sounds like a multi-million dollar business opportunity for a relatively cheap monthly service that automatically cancels services you don't use.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#106It's bizarre to me just how many people in this country (especially the ones who can least afford it) simply do not take charge of their financial health. Even in this very thread you can see all kinds of excuses ("it's too hard to log in and check credit card statements every month", "they make you call or chat to cancel so I don't bother", "they should cancel subscriptions automatically if you don't use them", "it's the government's fault").
This discussion is about subscriptions but the general idea applies to so much more – basic budgeting, retirement savings, not paying random fees, not paying interest, moving spare money to investment accounts every month, rebalancing your investments every quarter, negotiating rents, negotiating your salary.
Ultimately it is your money and your problem. No one is looking out for you. You can either endlessly complain about it or build some good habits. 30 minutes of effort once a month to go over bills and budgets is hardly the end of the world.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#107It's bizarre to me just how many people in this country ( especially the ones who can least afford it) simply do not take charge of their financial health. Even in this very thread you can see all kinds of excuses ("it's too hard to log in and check credit card statements every month", "they make you call or chat to cancel so I don't bother", "they should cancel subscriptions automatically if you don't use them", "it…
People tend to act shocked when I tell them my finance app requires me to enter transactions manually and doesn't magically categorize everything.
You spend a third of your life working for that money, surely you spend 5 minutes at most tracking how you spend it.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah yeah. The good ole' storage unit scam. They all raise the prices about every 6 months. I just rent a U-Haul for a day and move it to a new place. And it forces me to throw things away that I truly don't need. Over the years, the amount of stuff I have has been shrinking and I have less to move. Rinse and repeat every now and then.
My final calculus was adding up what I had spent on storage units, and realizing it was way more than the replacement cost of most of the crap, so I reduced it down to personal momentos only.
In general, based on various family/partner-related experiences, is that you either have a specific I need more room for a specific set of activities that I have a concrete plan to use OR I have a specific plan to have more space for this crap--which I want to keep. A lot of people pay for storage space with no real plan which is just going to be tossed at some point anyway.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Mint before it shut down This was the best, and only feature I used on Mint. Quick glance a couple times a month was an easy way to find unusual charges etc. I haven't found a replacement.
I'll be another vote for ynab. It takes some getting used to, but it makes it very easy to see where things are, save for specific targets, verify bills are getting paid, etc. $100/year, but they don't sell your information or push you to buy other products, and it has dramatically helped communication about money with my wife. I have a handful of friends who also use it and swear by it.
Actual Budget is similar to old ynab but is free and self-hosted.
Re: Americans are spending billions on stuff they forget to cancel
#110And people wonder why I write checks and lick stamps like a boomer.