Find and kill forgotten subscriptions

Most people pay for at least one subscription they forgot about. Here's how to find every one in 10 minutes with Claude, and cancel the right way.

TIMEAbout 15 minutes

YOU NEED2 to 3 months of bank and card statements, and Claude

COSTFree

Subscriptions are built to be forgotten: small amounts, automatic charges, free trials that quietly convert. Ten minutes with your statements usually finds money you can keep every single month.

Step by step

Download 3 months of statements

Log into your bank and every credit card and download the last 3 months as PDF or CSV. Three months catches charges that only show up every other month or every quarter. Don't forget PayPal, Apple and Google, since app subscriptions often hide there.

Apple: see your subscriptions ↗Google Play subscriptions ↗

Black out the sensitive stuff

Cover full account and card numbers before uploading. Claude only needs the merchant names, dates and amounts.

Have Claude find every recurring charge

Upload all the statements to one Claude chat and paste this:

I uploaded 3 months of my bank and card statements. Find every recurring or repeating charge, including ones with slightly different names or amounts, annual renewals, app store charges and free trials that turned paid. Make a table: merchant, what it probably is, amount, how often, yearly cost, and which card it's on. Then sort by yearly cost and give me the total per month and per year. Ask me which ones I actually use before suggesting anything.

Decide: keep, cut or downgrade

Go down the list and mark each one. For anything you're unsure about, ask Claude for a cheaper plan or a free alternative:

Here's what I decided: [paste list with keep / cut / unsure]. For the unsure ones, tell me if there's a cheaper tier, an annual plan that saves money, a free alternative, or something I'm paying for twice (like two music or two cloud storage plans). Then show me my new monthly and yearly total and how much I save.

Cancel the right way

Cancel through the same place you signed up: the app store, the website or the company's account page. Take a screenshot of the cancellation confirmation. If a company makes it hard, have Claude write a clear written request:

Write a short cancellation request to [company] for my [plan] subscription under the email [your email]. Ask them to cancel effective today, stop all future charges, and confirm the cancellation in writing. Keep it polite and firm, and add one line asking for a refund of any charge made after today.

If they keep charging you

If you're charged after canceling, first ask the company for a refund with your screenshot. If that fails, dispute the charge with your card. For credit cards, federal law gives you 60 days from the statement date to dispute a billing error in writing.

CFPB: how to dispute a charge ↗

Watch out

The federal 'click to cancel' rule was struck down in 2025, so cancellation rules depend on your state and the company. Always keep proof that you canceled.
Canceling your card doesn't cancel the subscription. Companies can still bill you or send it to collections. Cancel first.
Check annual plans before canceling. Some don't refund the rest of the year.

Make it automatic

YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AGENT

A Claude Project that checks your statements every month, flags any new or price-raised subscription, and writes the cancel message for you.

Create a new Claude Project named Subscription Agent.
Paste the instructions below.
Add a note to the Project with what you decided to keep.
Once a month: upload your newest statements and type: monthly sweep.

You are my Subscription Agent. When I say 'monthly sweep', read the statements I upload, list every recurring charge, and compare it to my keep list. Flag: new subscriptions, price increases, free trials that turned paid, duplicates, and anything I said I canceled that is still charging. For each flag, write the cancel or refund message ready to send. End with my total per month and per year, and how much I saved since I started. Keep it short.

Get the full Subscription Agent

The complete master prompt, 5 starter prompts, the tracker and the 10 minute setup. $10, one time. Works with Claude free or paid.

GET IT · $10

Or get free tips by email:

Sources: CFPB: disputing a credit card charge · FTC: report a company that won't let you cancel

Educational only. Not financial, legal or medical advice. Check details with the company or a professional before you act. AUTOPILOT.OI is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic or any company named here. Claude is a product of Anthropic.