Thoughts on Bobby, and Tracking Subscriptions in general

andreasl - I know this is an older post, but I’m just reading it now. I’m a longtime YNAB user and I don’t know how you use it to track subscriptions. I’d be very interested in hearing about it!

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I’m also interested to hear how andreasl handles it.

For myself, I have two subscription-focused category groups in YNAB: monthly subscriptions and yearly subscriptions. For the yearly subscriptions, I set a goal to have the full amount saved by the month the subscription comes due.

This approach makes it really easy to see how much I’m spending on subscriptions each month.

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Hey
What I really miss in all those solutions-. An automatic system that logs into your lets say Apple account to get all the subscriptions instead of entering them manually.
Or am I missing something?
Thanks
Rolf

These apps are designed to let you track any kind of subscription and integrating with given services would be very complex if not impossible to implement for everything. I track in Subtrack my webmastering running costs, for instance, and that cannot be realistically automated since I have a small independent provider.

Hey
Obviously not all services can be provided. But major outlets like Apple, TV subscriptions, phone companies etc would be possible. I am thinking of a service like: getmyinvoices.com that pulls all the invoices from different providers.
Cheers
Rolf

I create a separate and individual category for the app or service or whatever it is. Then I set up a recurring expense based on the frequency of which it occurs. If it’s a big expense, I create a goal for it. YNAB doesn’t give me reminders, but I’m very much on top of my subscriptions and the end of the month review in YNAB does give me a heads up for what’s coming

If and when I end the subscription then I archive it YNAB and can always brung it back up again if I want.

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Almost missed a domain renewal, so I thought I should explore a subscription management app. I’m currently using an Excel spreadsheet to track but that will not notify me of any expiration.

Bobby seems like a nice app to try. And I also like that I could buy features I like as in-app purchase for example, unlimited subscription to track for just $0.99. Or, dark theme for another $0.99.

Is there any better app that people are using?

YNAB. You can setup a category called subscriptions and then have monthly goals to save up for them which will also remind you to cancel in good time

YNAB is a bit overkill, isn’t it? I’m not looking for a personal finance or budgeting software.

As I was thinking about this, maybe I’ll just put a recurring reminder in Things, under a project called Subscription. That would be the cheapest solution but maybe not as fun.

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I used Bobby for a few years but a few months ago it had an issue where notifications were not appearing on the correct time frame and I still have been getting issues. The latest release (5days ago) states that it fixes bugs in recurring notifications.

The other app I have been using since is Subs which seems pretty good.

That’s what I do. I have a Numbers spreadsheet with multiple sheets listing recurring monthly expenses such as app subscriptions, Netflix, etc. with the renewal dates and any needed notes. In Things I have a recurring reminder every three months to review my subscriptions. Free and easy and doesn’t require a separate app. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I’m even thinking that I should have one entry in Things for each subscription, thereby not even needing the spreadsheet at all. And the Projects category in Things will be where I go to see the subscription.

That would certainly work but that is a lot of tasks. Personally, I’d rather have one task pointing to another reference to review all of them. This gives me a bird’s eye view of everything.

For me, 3 months is sufficient but for others they could do it monthly. The other advantage of a spreadsheet, at least for me, is that I can add notes, separate categories into sheets and add formulas to calculate cost and savings over time. It is amazing how “it is only this small $x per/month” ends up costing a lot of money over time. I like to see those numbers. It reduces the temptation to subscribe to the new shiny thing. :grin:

This is so true! I love Sparky’s podcast which titled “My Life Is A Subscription”. That is so apt.

When did charging taxes on a subscription become a thing? only some of mine are doing it.

It depends on the legislation that is applicable in your country or the developer’s country.

I can only speak for European countries: “subscription fees” or “licenses” never have been exempt from VAT (value added tax). But it had not been easy to enforce the collection of those taxes via the internet. That has changed in recent years. Europe “encourages” businesses to abide the tax laws and it has done a lot to make it more easy. More on that on the European Commission’s website.

I think that we will see more like that with countries working together to make sure that taxes are being collected and paid.

I’ve set up a database in Notion for this purpose.

Hmm, well if subscription taxes come to the US, that is another reason to limit them as much as one is able. :slightly_smiling_face:

How long ago was that one, do you think?

Almost two and a half years ago

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