Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Twelve-month subscription inventory from statements
Most people guess they pay for five or six subscriptions and find twelve to twenty once they look properly, because annual charges, small app fees and payments on an old card hide well. Going through twelve months of current account, credit card and online wallet history catches the yearly renewals that a three-month look misses.
First tasks
- Download twelve months of statements for each current account and credit card
- Search each statement for words such as subscription, membership, renewal and premium
- List every repeating charge with merchant, amount and how often it is billed
- Work out the annual cost of each line and the overall total
App store and payment platform subscription check
Charges billed through a phone's app store, a games console, a marketplace account or an online wallet show on your statement under the platform's name, not the app's, so one line can hide six subscriptions. Each platform keeps its own list of active subscriptions and stored payment agreements, and that list is the only place to see them clearly.
First tasks
- Open the subscriptions page in your phone's app store account settings
- Check the subscription lists on any games console and smart TV accounts
- Review automatic payments and billing agreements in your online wallet
- Add each item found to the inventory with its next charge date
Inbox sweep for receipts and renewal notices
Subscriptions paid by a card you have since replaced, or bought with gift balance, may not show on current statements, but the welcome email and the renewal notice are almost always in an inbox somewhere. Searching all your email addresses, including old ones you still receive, finds memberships you signed up to years ago.
First tasks
- List every email address you have used to sign up for anything
- Search each inbox for renewal, receipt, trial and your subscription
- Add services found only in email to the inventory with their login email
- Create a label or folder that collects future receipts and renewal notices
