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Everyone has tech issues, and theyβre usually because things are more complicated than they need to be.
Your Tech Makeover helps everyday people simplify and get more out of the technology in their lives.
Host Frank Bravo shares practical tech tips and easy-to-understand explanations about smartphones, smart homes, cloud storage, passwords, Wi-Fi, AI tools, and other everyday technology.
If you want technology to feel simpler instead of more frustrating, this podcast is for you.
00;00;00;12 - 00;00;21;00
Speaker 1
Quick question. How many streaming services are you paying for right now? Take a second and think about it. Netflix? Probably. Maybe Disney Plus, Amazon Prime is probably in there somewhere because it came along with your shipping membership. How about Apple TV? Oh, and then there's the Peacock subscription that you signed up a while ago to watch one specific thing, and maybe you're not watching anymore.
00;00;21;02 - 00;00;51;05
Speaker 1
And wait, what? Are you still paying for? That free trial subscription you got and then you forgot to cancel back in November? If you feel just a little twinge of honestly, I don't know, then you're in very good company because streaming services have quietly become one of the sneakiest money drains in modern technology. They are small individually, but like, you know, only seven bucks here, maybe 15 bucks there, but they add up so quickly, and the whole system is designed to make it easy to sign up and then forget about it.
00;00;51;07 - 00;01;14;28
Speaker 1
Today we're going to fix that. We're going to do a quick streaming audit. Figure out what exactly you're paying for. Decide what is worth keeping and what's worth throwing away, and then build a little system so that it doesn't happen again. No spreadsheets required. I promise.
00;01;15;00 - 00;01;37;14
Speaker 1
Welcome to your Tech Makeover, the podcast that gives you tips and tricks to help you simplify and get more out of the technology in your life. I'm your host, Frank Bravo. Today's topic is streaming overload and more explicitly, how to figure out what is worth keeping. What to stop paying for, and what to take back in control of your subscription so that you don't quietly drain your bank account every single month.
00;01;37;16 - 00;01;56;13
Speaker 1
So let's get into it. How did we get here? Let me pay you a picture of how streaming services got so out of hand for so many of us. It started simple enough. Maybe you were fed up paying for cable, so you canceled it, signed up for Netflix and a couple of other streaming services. Life was good. Shows on demand, no commercials.
00;01;56;15 - 00;02;21;04
Speaker 1
One low, flat monthly price. It felt like freedom. But then something shifted. Every major media company wanted a piece of the action. So now you have Disney Plus, HBO Max. Maybe you know that is HBO or Max, depending on when you subscribed. Peacock, Paramount Plus, Apple TV, Hulu, ESPN plus. I can go on and on. Each one of them with 1 or 2 shows that everyone is talking about.
00;02;21;04 - 00;02;45;10
Speaker 1
And then suddenly the smart financial move wasn't so obvious anymore. On top of that, music streaming is separate. So are audiobooks and some podcasts depending on where you listen. Although this one's free. You have to remember that you can always subscribe for free to this podcast. And there's niche services too for movies and such, but they're literally streaming services for almost every interest imaginable.
00;02;45;12 - 00;03;14;00
Speaker 1
The result? Some studies have said that the average household is paying for up to four streaming services at once, and a lot are paying for a lot more. And a big chunk of those subscribers admit that they pay for at least one service that they haven't used in the past month. Here's the kicker the companies know this. The whole subscription model is partly built on the industry's calls passive subscribers, or people who keep paying out of inertia not because they're watching, just because they've forgotten about it.
00;03;14;03 - 00;03;34;23
Speaker 1
So the first step is awareness. Let's figure out where what you're paying for and how. Then later on, we can decide how to make that cleaner. Before we decide what to cut, we obviously need to know what you have. This is not always easy, but there's a fast, five minute, no fuss streaming audit that you can do. So step one check your bank account or credit card statements.
00;03;35;00 - 00;03;53;02
Speaker 1
Go through the past couple of months and look for any reoccurring charges that might repeat month to month. You're looking for names of the streaming services, but you're also looking for things like Apple or Google or Amazon, because subscription charges don't always show up as clear and obvious as they could be. Write them down or take a screenshot.
00;03;53;04 - 00;04;12;09
Speaker 1
Do this step because this is where many of the surprises live. Step two check your phone subscription settings. This is what a lot of people miss. Maybe you sign up for services on your phone. Those charges might be going through Apple or Google, not directly to your credit card. And those subscriptions are managed completely in a different place on your iPhone.
00;04;12;10 - 00;04;28;17
Speaker 1
You'll want to go to settings. Tap on the name at the top, then tap on the subscriptions. You'll see a list of everything you've signed up for through Apple, including some you might have expired or some that are still active, so check there first and then on an Android device, you want to open up the Google Play Store.
00;04;28;19 - 00;04;48;24
Speaker 1
Tap on your profile picture in the upper right hand corner and then tap Payments and subscriptions. You'll find all your active subscriptions listed there. So step three is to check your smart TV or your streaming device. A lot of us forget about this. Maybe you have a Roku TV or an Apple TV, or a firestick or some other smart TV with apps built in.
00;04;48;27 - 00;05;09;11
Speaker 1
Sometimes you subscribe directly on the device and then you forget about it. I know that feels like a lot, but just these three checks your bank statement, your phone, and your TV device will cover a vast majority of your subscriptions. For most people, 5 to 10 minutes, tops. And it's totally worth it. A quick shout out to listeners like you help make your tech makeover possible.
00;05;09;17 - 00;05;28;21
Speaker 1
Your support helps keep this podcast going and I truly appreciate it. Want to contribute? Just click the link in the show notes or visit your Tech makeover.com plus as a special thank you supporters who give $25 or more, we'll get $25 off a one time consultation with me to help you simplify your tech. Thanks for being part of the Your Tech Makeover community.
00;05;28;22 - 00;05;47;06
Speaker 1
Now back to what I was saying. Okay, so now you have your list. How do you decide what stays and what goes? I want to give you a simple decision framework that has worked for me. It comes down to these three questions for each service on your list. Ask yourself these three things. Question one did you use it in the last 30 days?
00;05;47;08 - 00;06;06;16
Speaker 1
Not the did I intend to use it? Or there was a show that I eventually want to watch. Actually, did you open the app and watch something in the past month? If yes, then it's probably earning a place in your list. If not, let's move on to question two. Question two is, is there something specific coming up that I'm going to use it for?
00;06;06;19 - 00;06;23;18
Speaker 1
Maybe the next season of your show that you love drops next month. Maybe there's a live sporting event coming up that you want to watch. If you have a genuine reason for wanting to keep it in the next few weeks, that may just justify it, but a I might watch something in the future doesn't count. That's the trap.
00;06;23;18 - 00;06;42;28
Speaker 1
And that's how passive subscriptions survive. And question three would I sign up for it again today knowing what I know? This is the real gut check. If someone handed you the service brand new and said, here, pay 20 bucks a month for this, would you say yes? If you're hesitant and you're kind of like, maybe not, then that's your answer.
00;06;43;00 - 00;07;08;05
Speaker 1
The verdict of these three questions is keep. Do I keep it? Do I cancel it or do I pause it? To pause it is actually an option that most people don't know about. Netflix, for instance, allows you to pause your subscription for a month or two without losing your watch history or your account preferences. It's worth knowing that it's available, so if you're traveling or just going through a time where you're not watching very much, maybe you should just pause it for everything else.
00;07;08;07 - 00;07;27;09
Speaker 1
The answer is to cancel it. And I want to say something here, because I know a lot of people feel guilty about canceling services. Don't feel bad about it. You can always resubscribe and the service will still be there. The shows will still be there. Canceling is just being a smart consumer. So. But why do we feel guilty about canceling these services?
00;07;27;12 - 00;07;51;15
Speaker 1
Let's take a moment and talk about some of the ways that streaming services make it so much harder to quit, and how to work around them. First off, there's the free trap. Free trials are great. They are designed to then flip, though to be paid automatically when the moment that they end. There's a simple fix for this. When you sign up for a free trial, immediately set a reminder on your devices that two days before that trial ends.
00;07;51;17 - 00;08;09;10
Speaker 1
You want to go in and cancel it. Or the thing that I do is sometimes, if I'm not really sure, I'm going to want to keep this subscription, I'll cancel it immediately. The subscription will usually last through the end of the free period, and then I don't need to remember to cancel it later. The second thing is this the password sharing crackdown.
00;08;09;10 - 00;08;28;24
Speaker 1
A lot of services have tightened up on the rules about sharing passwords with people outside your household. If you've been splitting your subscription with your sibling or a friend that lives across town, this may be the time that you want to check into that, because you may not be getting the value that you signed up for, and it may indeed be a time that you negotiate.
00;08;28;24 - 00;08;52;24
Speaker 1
You know what you're paying for. Next, there's the ad supported tier. Most major streaming services have now offered a cheaper, ad supported version alongside their ad free plans. Disney Plus, Netflix, Peacock they all have these now. If you have a premium plan and you're watching mostly casual stuff. Switching to an ad supported tier might cut your cost up to half or even more.
00;08;52;26 - 00;09;20;06
Speaker 1
Content libraries are usually identical, and they just make you sit through some commercials. Now, personally, I don't love the commercials, but for some people that trade off is an absolute worth while thing to do. Finally, there are services that you love that you use consistently. Check if they offer an annual plan. Switching to an upfront annual plan offer more than a two month break, usually on the price if you pay by month to month.
00;09;20;08 - 00;09;39;28
Speaker 1
It's generally a savings that I'm sure you'll stick with the service for a year. Then that might be something to look for. The goal here isn't just to clean up what you've got today. Like I said, the end goal is to make sure that a year from now, you're not back to where you were. So here are some simple two habits that I use to help keep my subscriptions under control.
00;09;40;01 - 00;10;00;14
Speaker 1
Before you sign up for a new subscription, take a look at your subscriptions and cancel or pause an existing one. It doesn't have to be a hard and fast rule, but it's a good gut check. It forces you to actually weigh the things that you are having versus what you want. Then pick one day every few months, maybe every three months, to spend ten minutes reviewing your subscriptions.
00;10;00;18 - 00;10;27;07
Speaker 1
Just like we talked about before, this small habit pays for itself super quickly. Some people find it helpful to run their subscription charges through one credit card or one debit card. That way, when you check for reoccurring charges, they're all in one piece. It makes auditing way faster. And here's one low tech way if you are a streaming apps on your phone or a streaming device that you use regularly, keep them on your home screen or in an easy to reach folder.
00;10;27;14 - 00;10;49;23
Speaker 1
If there's an app or service that you keep shuffling to the back and you rarely open, that's the sign out of the sight. Out of mind often means out of value, too. All right, so let's bring this up. There are five things you can do today to get your streaming life under control. First, do your audit. This is checking your bank account and checking your credit card statement for the last few months.
00;10;49;27 - 00;11;14;06
Speaker 1
Check your iPhone and Android subscription settings. Check your smart TV and streaming devices so that you have that full picture. Next, run a service through three questions was used in the last 30 days. How about something particular coming up? Would I sign up for this again? Then keep pause or cancel based on those answers. Set the cancellation reminders for any free trials that you currently have.
00;11;14;09 - 00;11;34;15
Speaker 1
You know what? Go do this right now. Don't skip this step. Then check whether any of the services you're keeping has a cheaper ad services supported tier. If you're not picky about commercials, the savings could add up quickly. Then finally, put a quarterly subscription review on your calendar ten minutes once every three months. That's it. Streaming services are generally great.
00;11;34;17 - 00;11;52;29
Speaker 1
They are so incredible, and there's so much content out there, and the convenience of watching what you want when you want to is real. But the subscription model is designed to make it grow quietly in the background, and it doesn't take long until you're paying way more money than you were paying before, and you hardly even notice it.
00;11;53;01 - 00;12;14;05
Speaker 1
The little awareness and a little organization can go a long way in this. You don't have to cut everything. You just have to make intentional choices about what you're actually getting value from. So what services did you have that you didn't realize you were paying for? Or are there services that you're ready to cancel? Like, I feel like there's one at least that everybody has.
00;12;14;08 - 00;12;31;25
Speaker 1
Let me know. And as always, if you have ideas for topics that you'd like me to cover in the future, please feel free to email me at Frank at your Tech makeover.com. That's it for now. Thanks for listening to your tech makeover. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast platform so that you don't miss an episode.
00;12;32;00 - 00;12;50;01
Speaker 1
And if you're on Substack, make sure you subscribe to the free newsletter so that you get alerted of new content as it's posted. And as always, you can check out your Tech Make Overcome where you can see more information about this and other episodes that I've done. And if you want to find out more about me, please visit Bravo ITC.
00;12;50;03 - 00;12;54;08
Speaker 1
Until next time, I'm Frank Bravo, and this has been your tech makeover.