Your 2025 Subscription Year in Review: How Much Did You Really Spend?

It's December 2025. The holiday chaos is settling, and you're probably starting to think about New Year's resolutions. "Save more money" is on your list—again. But before you make vague promises about your financial future, let's do something different this year.

Let's look back.

How much did you really spend on subscriptions in 2025? Not what you think you spent. Not what you hoped you spent. The actual, cold-hard-numbers truth.

This isn't meant to make you feel bad—it's meant to empower you. Because once you see where your money went, you can make smarter decisions about where it goes in 2026.

Grab your bank statements, a cup of coffee, and let's do this together.

Why a Year-End Subscription Review Matters

Monthly subscription charges are designed to feel small and forgettable. $9.99 here. $14.99 there. No big deal, right?

But small numbers become big numbers over 12 months:

• $9.99/month = $119.88/year
• $14.99/month = $179.88/year
• $19.99/month = $239.88/year
• $49.99/month = $599.88/year

And when you stack 5, 10, or 15 subscriptions together? The average American household spent $273/month on subscriptions in 2025—that's over $3,276 per year.

A year-end review forces you to confront the total, not the individual charges. It's the difference between saying "I spend $10 on Netflix" and "I spent $1,847 on streaming, productivity apps, and gym memberships I never used."

The Goal: By the end of this article, you'll have a complete picture of your 2025 subscription spending and a concrete plan to reduce it in 2026.

Step 1: Gather Your 2025 Subscription Data

Before we can analyze, we need to collect. Here's how to find every subscription you paid for in 2025:

Bank & Credit Card Statements

Download your full transaction history for January–December 2025 from:

• All checking accounts
• All credit cards (including store cards)
• PayPal, Venmo, or other payment apps
• FSA/HSA accounts (for health-related subscriptions)

Search for keywords: "recurring," "subscription," "monthly," "annual," and specific company names.

App Store Subscriptions

iPhone/iPad: Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions → View "Expired" subscriptions too

Android: Play Store → Profile → Payments & subscriptions → Budget & history

Amazon: Account → Memberships & Subscriptions

Email Receipts

Search your inbox for: "payment confirmation," "receipt," "your subscription," "renewal," "billing statement"

Look in your spam/promotions folder too—these emails often get filtered.

The Master List

Create a spreadsheet (or use SubBuddy) with these columns:

• Service Name
• Category (Streaming, Productivity, Health, Entertainment, etc.)
• Monthly Cost
• Months Paid in 2025 (some may have started mid-year)
• Total 2025 Cost
• Usage Level (Daily, Weekly, Rarely, Never)

Pro Tip: Don't forget annual subscriptions! They're easy to miss because they only hit once. Search for single charges from Amazon Prime, antivirus software, domain renewals, professional memberships, etc.

Step 2: Calculate Your 2025 Totals

Now comes the moment of truth. Add up your totals by category.

Category Breakdown Template:

Category	Total Spent 2025	% of Total
Streaming (Video)	$____	____%
Streaming (Music)	$____	____%
Productivity/Software	$____	____%
Gaming	$____	____%
Health & Fitness	$____	____%
News & Publications	$____	____%
Cloud Storage	$____	____%
Delivery/Memberships	$____	____%
AI Tools	$____	____%
Other	$____	____%
TOTAL	$____	100%

Compare to Benchmarks

How do you stack up against average spending?

• Under $100/month ($1,200/year): You're doing great. Look for optimization, not cuts.
• $100-$200/month ($1,200-$2,400/year): Average range. Room for improvement.
• $200-$300/month ($2,400-$3,600/year): Above average. Likely some unused subscriptions hiding.
• Over $300/month ($3,600+/year): Red flag territory. Significant savings available.

Step 3: The Waste Analysis

Here's where it gets uncomfortable—but also where the savings live.

For each subscription, ask yourself:

The Value Questions:

1. Did I use this at least once per week? If not, it's probably not worth a monthly fee.
2. Could I have used a free alternative? Many paid apps have 80%-as-good free versions.
3. Did I pay for features I never used? Premium tiers often go to waste.
4. Did I forget I had this? Forgotten = wasted money.
5. Would I sign up again today at full price? The ultimate test.

Calculate Your Waste

Mark each subscription as:

• ✅ WORTH IT: Used regularly, provides clear value
• ⚠️ QUESTIONABLE: Used occasionally, could downgrade or rotate
• ❌ WASTED: Rarely/never used, forgot it existed, or duplicate

Add up the "WASTED" column. This is the money you could have saved in 2025. For most people, it's 30-50% of their total subscription spending.

Reality Check: The average SubBuddy user discovers $89/month in wasted or underused subscriptions—that's $1,068/year in potential savings.

Step 4: Identify the Biggest 2025 Offenders

Based on patterns we see across thousands of users, here are the most common subscription wastes:

1. Stacked Streaming Services

The average household paid for 4.7 streaming services in 2025. At $15 each, that's $847/year. But most people actively use only 1-2 at any given time.

Your waste: Every streaming service you didn't watch this month.

2. Gym Memberships (With Low Attendance)

The average gym membership costs $50/month ($600/year). If you went less than once per week, each visit cost you more than a day pass.

Your waste: Calculate cost-per-visit. Is it over $15? You overpaid.

3. Premium Tiers You Don't Need

Spotify Premium when you mostly listen at home (with ads is fine). Netflix 4K when you don't have a 4K TV. Adobe Creative Cloud when you only use Photoshop.

Your waste: The difference between your tier and the tier you actually need.

4. Trial-to-Paid Conversions

That 7-day free trial you forgot to cancel. The "first month free" that became 11 paid months. These are designed to trap you.

Your waste: Every dollar paid to services you only meant to try.

5. Duplicate Services

iCloud + Google Drive + Dropbox. Spotify + Apple Music. Multiple VPNs. Often we keep old services when switching to new ones.

Your waste: All but the one you actually use.

6. AI Tool Subscriptions

2025 was the year of AI subscriptions: ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Midjourney, Jasper, Copy.ai... Many people signed up for multiple, used them intensely for a month, then forgot.

Your waste: AI subscriptions you haven't opened in 30+ days.

Step 5: Create Your 2026 Action Plan

Knowing is half the battle. Here's how to turn your 2025 review into 2026 savings:

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• Cancel everything in the "WASTED" category. Do it now, while the pain is fresh.
• Downgrade premium tiers you don't use. Switch to ad-supported or lower plans.
• Consolidate duplicates. Pick one cloud storage, one music service, one note-taking app.

January 2026 Actions

• Set up a subscription tracker. Add all remaining subscriptions to SubBuddy with renewal reminders.
• Create a subscription budget. Decide your maximum monthly subscription spend (e.g., $75/month).
• Implement the rotation strategy. Keep 1-2 streaming services always on; rotate others quarterly.

Ongoing 2026 Habits

• The 48-hour rule: Wait 48 hours before signing up for any new subscription.
• Immediate tracking: Add new subscriptions to your tracker the moment you sign up—including free trials.
• Quarterly reviews: Schedule 15-minute audits in April, July, and October.
• Annual review: Do this exercise again in December 2026.

Step 6: Project Your 2026 Savings

Let's make this real. Calculate your potential 2026 savings:

Savings Calculator:

Action	Monthly Savings	Annual Savings
Subscriptions to Cancel	$____	$____
Subscriptions to Downgrade	$____	$____
Duplicates to Eliminate	$____	$____
Rotation Strategy Savings	$____	$____
TOTAL PROJECTED SAVINGS	$____	$____

What Could You Do With That Money?

Make your savings tangible. If you save $100/month ($1,200/year), that's:

• A weekend getaway
• 12 nice dinners out
• A new phone (paid in cash)
• $1,200 into your emergency fund
• $1,200 into investments (which becomes $1,680 in 5 years at 7%)

Put this target somewhere visible. Make it your phone wallpaper. "I'm saving $1,200 in 2026 by managing my subscriptions."

Bonus: 2025 Subscription Trends (What Changed This Year)

To put your personal spending in context, here's what happened in the subscription economy in 2025:

Price Increases

• Netflix: Premium increased to $22.99 (from $19.99)
• Disney+: No-ads tier increased to $13.99 (from $10.99)
• Spotify: Individual plan increased to $11.99 (from $10.99)
• Apple Music: Increased to $10.99 (from $9.99)
• YouTube Premium: Increased to $13.99 (from $11.99)

New Subscription Categories

• AI Tools: ChatGPT Plus ($20), Claude Pro ($20), Midjourney ($10-30), and dozens more became mainstream.
• Car Features: BMW, Tesla, and others charging subscriptions for heated seats, navigation, and features.
• Ad-Free Everything: Social media, news sites, and apps increasingly offering "premium" ad-free tiers.

The Average 2025 Subscription Stack

Based on industry data, the average American's subscription portfolio in 2025 looked like:

• 2-3 streaming video services ($30-50/month)
• 1 music streaming service ($11-15/month)
• 1-2 productivity/software tools ($10-30/month)
• 1 delivery membership (Amazon Prime, Walmart+, etc.) ($10-15/month)
• 1 cloud storage ($3-15/month)
• 0-1 fitness app/gym ($10-50/month)
• 0-1 news/publication ($5-20/month)
• 0-2 AI tools ($0-40/month)

Total Range: $79-$235/month ($948-$2,820/year)

Make 2026 Different

You now have something most people don't: clarity.

You know exactly how much you spent on subscriptions in 2025. You know which ones were worth it and which ones were wasted money. You have a plan to do better in 2026.

The difference between people who save money and people who don't isn't willpower or income—it's awareness. You've just built that awareness.

Don't let this exercise become another forgotten New Year's resolution. Take action today:

1. Cancel at least one subscription right now. While you're motivated.
2. Set up your tracking system. So you never lose awareness again.
3. Schedule your Q1 2026 review. Put 15 minutes on your calendar for April 1st.

Your 2026 self will thank you. Your bank account will thank you. And next December, when you do this review again, you'll be celebrating how much you saved—not regretting how much you wasted.

Ready to take control? Start tracking your subscriptions with SubBuddy. See your total spending at a glance, get renewal reminders, and never forget a subscription again. Your 2025 review ends today—your 2026 savings start now.