How to Fight Rising Subscription Fees Without Going Cold Turkey
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cyber criminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. ReliaQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. ReliaQuest. Agentic defense for the enterprise. Learn more at ReliaQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T dot com.
Here's your money briefing for Tuesday, May 2nd. I'm Dion Reboan for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R.
What is subscription price creep and why does it matter to consumers?
Whelan. Consumers are fighting back against subscriptions that seem to be creeping higher in price every month.
Which recent examples illustrate rising subscription fees (like Strava) and how big are the increases?
But balancing your budget doesn't have to mean going cold turkey on your favorite streaming or delivery subscription service.
Every month or every quarter, evaluate the subscriptions that you're still paying for. See if there are freebies that are good alternatives for stuff you're paying for. You can save a lot of money in the long run.
We'll talk to WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen after the break.
This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cyber criminals are constantly attacking. They want your data.
Why are companies raising recurring subscription prices now?
They want your identity. They want your innovation.
What five-step strategy does Nicole Nguyen recommend for pushing back against price creep?
ReliaQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next. ReliaQuest, agentic defense for the enterprise. Learn more at ReliaQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com.
New data show that over the last six months, cancellations have outpaced new subscriptions for digital memberships. But getting out of the subscription cycle may not be as painful as you think. And joining me is Nicole Nguyen, personal tech columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Nicole, you've written a guide to pushing back against subscription price creep. So let's define that. What is subscription price creep?
How can apps like Rocket Money and Mint help identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions?
I've been getting a lot of emails lately about digital subscriptions that are going up. Most recently, Strava, which is a fitness tracking app, sent me an email saying my subscription was going up from $59 a year to $80. And I think that if you subscribe to a streaming service, you've probably gotten emails with this kind of subscription price creep. It's a price that adjusts a little bit every year, and it doesn't seem like it's a dramatic increase. But over several years and because of the recurring nature of these costs, they can really rack up.
And why do we need to push back against that?
Because we can. And also because a lot of people who sign up for subscriptions aren't sometimes aware that they're still subscribed to a thing.
What negotiation and retention tactics can lower bills for services like cell, internet, and cable?
And also there's a lot of friction built into unsubscribing from a lot of these recurring costs. So the most important thing to do is actually make sure you're using the stuff that you're paying for.
I think everybody probably has a story like yours, right? Where they were surprised with some news, as you say in the beginning of your article, from the company. Why are we seeing so much subscription price creep?
On the content side for streaming services, the cost of content is going up because labor costs and economic pressures, even companies like Strava, which is a fitness tracking app, their costs are going up too. For a lot of other digital services, they maybe haven't raised their prices in a really long time and are deciding to now. There are various reasons why, and it all leads to us paying a little bit more for these kinds of services.
You've got a five-step guide to pushing back though. But rather than ask you what the five steps are, I'll ask you why you felt it was important to write a step-by-step guide in the first place.
I think that our digital lives are inundated by subscriptions. My plant app, for example, has a pro version that allows you to pay $1.99 a month for advanced plant tips.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:39
2
What is subscription price creep and why does it matter to consumers?
0:39–0:48
3
Which recent examples illustrate rising subscription fees (like Strava) and how big are the increases?
0:48–1:23
4
Why are companies raising recurring subscription prices now?
1:23–1:25
5
What five-step strategy does Nicole Nguyen recommend for pushing back against price creep?
1:25–2:20
6
How can apps like Rocket Money and Mint help identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions?
2:20–3:11
7
What negotiation and retention tactics can lower bills for services like cell, internet, and cable?
3:11–4:48
8
What free or low-cost alternatives (library apps, LibreOffice, YouTube) can replace paid subscriptions?
4:48–9:24
Speakers
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