I think Katie once mentioned an iOS app to help track your software subscriptions. Does anyone happen to remember this, or use such an app?
Are you thinking of Bobby? I can’t remember if they mention it on the show but that’s what I use and it’s great!
Bobby - Track subscriptions by Yummygum https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bobby-track-subscriptions/id1059152023?mt=8
2 Likes
I just use a my existing task management app (in my case that’s 2Do). I just create a task to remind me to review a renewal (whether I want to renew or cancel) about a week before it’s due. I’ve got all the subscription tasks in their own folder (called “Subscriptions”, believe it or not).
I can’t see much sense in using a very specialized app when an app I routinely use will perform the job quite well.
Tony
The beauty of a dedicated app like Bobby (which I use) is that you can view your total monthly subscription costs. 5$ here, 10$ there, … I guess most people are not aware of the total sum.
1 Like
A different line of thought - there is nothing special about tracking subscription compared to another budget categories. So, any descend budgeting app can do it. I have a category called “Service Charges/Fees” in Banktivity where all subscriptions will go - amazon, netflix, software and so on. You can specify the period so you get a better overview.
How do you track subscriptions which are billed by Apple together with regular app or movie purchases on one invoice?
1 Like
You can make a split of a transaction into different categories.
1 Like
I don’t know which one she mentioned, but I like Chronicle (available on both macOS and iOS).
1 Like
Chronicle for macOS (not iOS) is available through Setapp.
1 Like
I actually just use reminders. I have a subscription reminders list showing me all subscriptions and their amount. Reminder due dates are set 1,5 months before the subscriptions are due so I have enough time to review the necessity.
Actually Katie and David talked about tracking subscription in MPU #348 Managing Subscriptions Nov 7 2016. David then posted his subscription database (spreadsheet) on his Macsparky website. Here is the link. https://www.macsparky.com/blog/2017/6/subscription-database?rq=subscription%20spreadsheet Have fun.
1 Like
It can remind you when to renew (or cancel) when the renewal date is approaching
I’m another Bobby fan here. I used to use Chronicle but as soon as you have something in more than one currency or in a currency different to the default region of your device you get stuck (my devices are set to the UK region, so everything had to be in £, and the developer didn’t see a reason to change that). I may well be an edge case there, but Bobby works very well for me 
1 Like
A few years ago I created a “Recurring Charges” calendar and put all of these things on them with a price in the description field. It’s easy to turn off when I don’t want to see it, but very handy, especially if you can use something like a “List View” and see all of the events.
It also gives me a visual reminder when some big ones are coming up for annual renewal. (That’s how I decided to drop Evernote. I saw it coming up for renewal and said “I don’t remember the last time I even used Evernote, so… bye!”)
I have a repeating six month reminder in my task manager. I track my subscriptions using Numbers. I have totals on a monthly and annual basis as well as a five-year total. I find that the five year total gives me a greater sense of how much I am spending on a given subscription or on all of my subscriptions combined. This tends to be a wake up call to ask myself the hard question, “is this the best use of these funds?“