I Audited My Couple's Subscriptions Before Valentine's Day: We Were Wasting €400/Month on Duplicates

Last Tuesday night, I did something that felt more intimate than any fancy dinner reservation: I asked my partner to sit down and go through our subscriptions together.

We've been together for three years. We share a home. We split groceries. We have a joint savings account. But somehow, we'd never actually compared what we were each paying for every month in recurring charges.

The results were... painful.

Total duplicate subscriptions discovered: 7 services
Combined monthly waste: €396
Annual money we've thrown away: €4,752
Time this conversation took: 47 minutes

With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought I'd share our audit—because if you're in a relationship and you haven't had "the subscription talk," you're probably bleeding money too.

The Embarrassing Discovery: Our Duplicate Disaster

Here's the moment that made my stomach drop. I logged into my Spotify account to check something, and my partner said: "Oh, you have Spotify Premium too?"

Too. TOO.

For context: I've been paying €12.99/month for Spotify Premium since 2022. She's been paying €12.99/month for Spotify Premium since... also 2022. We've literally been listening to music in the same apartment, on the same WiFi, while paying for two separate premium accounts.

That's when we decided to do a full audit. I opened SubBuddy on my laptop, she pulled up her bank statements on her phone, and we compared everything.

The Full Damage Report

Wait—that's only €89.94 in duplicates. Where does the €396 come from?

The Hidden Layer: Subscriptions We Didn't Know About

Here's the thing about auditing together: you find the skeletons in each other's closets.

Beyond the duplicates, we discovered subscriptions that one of us had completely forgotten about—and the other didn't even know existed:

Her "Secret" Subscriptions (that she forgot about)

• Duolingo Super: €12.99/month — "I was going to learn Italian for our trip. That was 18 months ago."
• Calm Premium: €14.99/month — "I thought I cancelled this when I got Headspace!"
• Adobe Lightroom: €11.99/month — "I edited like 3 photos in 2024."
• NY Times Digital: €4.25/month — "I read it maybe twice."
• ClassPass: €49/month (3 credits unused monthly) — "I keep saying I'll go to yoga..."

Subtotal: €93.22/month she forgot about

My "Secret" Subscriptions (I'm not proud)

• LinkedIn Premium: €29.99/month — "For job searching." (I haven't searched in 2 years.)
• Readwise Reader: €7.99/month — "I'll read more articles." (I didn't.)
• Athletic Greens (AG1): €79/month — 4 unopened bags in the cabinet.
• Strava Premium: €5.99/month — "I cycled twice last summer."
• Grammarly Premium: €12/month — "The free version does 90% of what I need."

Subtotal: €134.97/month I forgot about

Services We Both Wanted to Cancel (But Didn't)

• Amazon Prime: €49.90/year each (€8.32/month × 2) — "We should share one account." We said this a year ago.
• Max (HBO): €9.99/month each — "Let's cancel after House of the Dragon." That was Season 1.
• Paramount+: €7.99/month each — "Just for one show." The show ended in 2024.

Subtotal: Combined €78.62/month we kept "meaning" to cancel

The True Total: €396.75/Month

When we added it all up:

• Duplicate services: €89.94
• Her forgotten subscriptions: €93.22
• My forgotten subscriptions: €134.97
• Services neither wanted to keep: €78.62

Grand Total: €396.75/month in waste. That's €4,761/year.

For context, that's enough for:

• A week-long trip to Portugal
• A new MacBook Air
• 200 fancy Valentine's Day dinners (or 1 very, very fancy one)
• A year of actual couples therapy (probably cheaper than the arguments this discovery caused)

How to Run Your Own Couples Subscription Audit

If you're in a relationship—whether you're married, living together, or just financially intertwined—here's the exact process we used. It takes about an hour and might save you thousands.

Step 1: Set the Right Tone (This is Important)

Don't ambush your partner with "WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MONEY." That energy kills relationships.

Instead, frame it as a team activity: "Hey, I read this article about couples saving money on subscriptions. Want to try it together this weekend? Could be fun—no judgment, just curiosity."

Pro tip: Have snacks. Money conversations are better with snacks.

Step 2: Gather Your Data (15 minutes each)

Each person should independently check:

1. Bank statements — last 3 months, filter for recurring charges
2. Credit card statements — same deal
3. PayPal/Venmo/Apple Pay history — sneaky subscriptions hide here
4. Email inbox — search "subscription," "renewal," "receipt"
5. App Store subscriptions — Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions (iOS) or Google Play → Payments

Write down every single recurring charge. Don't pre-judge what's "worth it"—just list everything.

Step 3: The Big Reveal (20 minutes)

Sit together with both lists. Go through service by service:

• "Do we both have this?" → Duplicate!
• "Did you know I was paying for this?" → Hidden subscription!
• "When's the last time you actually used this?" → Zombie subscription!

Keep it light. Say things like "Oh no, not you too!" instead of "How could you waste money on THAT?"

Step 4: Sort Into Categories (10 minutes)

Put every subscription into one of four buckets:

1. KEEP (Both Use) — Consolidate to one account if possible
2. KEEP (One Uses) — That person pays, maybe downgrade to cheaper tier
3. CANCEL IMMEDIATELY — Neither uses, pure waste
4. REQUIRES DISCUSSION — One person loves it, other thinks it's wasteful

Step 5: Take Action Together (15 minutes)

For each "CANCEL IMMEDIATELY" item: open the app/website and cancel it right there. Don't say "I'll do it later." Later never comes. That's literally how these companies make money.

For duplicates: decide whose account to keep (usually whoever has the better plan history, longer free trial, or more saved content), and export any data from the account being cancelled.

Our New Subscription Setup: €396 → €103/Month

After our audit, here's what we kept and how we restructured:

What We Kept (Consolidated)

What We Cancelled

• Duplicate Spotify → Switched to Duo (saved €8.99)
• Duplicate Netflix → Cancelled one (saved €17.99)
• Duplicate Disney+ → Switched to annual on one account (saved €5+)
• Both HBO Max accounts → Cancelled (will re-subscribe when there's a show)
• Both Paramount+ → Cancelled (finished the show, no regrets)
• Duolingo Super → Cancelled (she's using the free version now)
• Calm → Cancelled (Headspace won)
• Adobe Lightroom → Cancelled (iPhone photos are fine)
• NY Times → Cancelled (we share articles on Pocket now)
• ClassPass → Paused for 3 months (we'll see)
• LinkedIn Premium → Cancelled (finally)
• Readwise → Cancelled (back to browser bookmarks)
• AG1 → Cancelled (we have 4 months of product to use first)
• Strava → Downgraded to free (routes still work)
• Grammarly → Downgraded to free (does 90% of what I need)

Having "The Money Talk" Without Fighting

Here's what I learned about doing this with a partner without it turning into an argument:

Don't Judge Each Other's "Stupid" Subscriptions

I can't judge her Duolingo when I have 4 bags of AG1 powder gathering dust. We all have aspirational subscriptions—services we signed up for because we wanted to be the kind of person who [learns Italian/meditates/exercises/reads more].

The goal isn't to shame. It's to honestly ask: "Is this the person we actually are, or the person we wish we were?"

Split the Savings

We agreed that whatever we save goes into a shared "fun fund" for dates, trips, and experiences. This reframes the audit from "deprivation" to "investment in us."

Schedule a Check-In

We set a recurring calendar reminder for every 6 months: "Subscription Audit Date." We'll make it a ritual—order pizza, review what we're paying, and adjust. Subscriptions creep back. This keeps them in check.

Tools That Made This Easier

I'm biased, but I used SubBuddy to track my subscriptions going into this audit—and now we've set up a shared dashboard for both of us.

Other tools that helped:

• Bank statement downloads — Most banks let you export to CSV, which makes searching easier
• Apple/Google subscription managers — Shows app store subscriptions you might miss
• A shared Google Sheet — If you want to go old-school
• Email search — "receipt" and "subscription" find a LOT

A Valentine's Day Challenge for You

Forget chocolate and flowers. Here's my challenge: Before February 14th, do a subscription audit with your partner.

If you're single, do it anyway—audit yourself. If you have roommates, audit together (you might be double-paying for WiFi upgrades or streaming services).

Then, take whatever you save in the first month and spend it on something you'll actually enjoy together. For us, that €293 is going toward a weekend trip we've been "meaning to take" for two years.

Because honestly? The most romantic thing you can do is build a future with someone—and that's a lot easier when you're not accidentally paying for seven streaming services you don't watch.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my partner doesn't want to share their subscriptions?

This might indicate a bigger conversation about financial transparency. Start with your own subscriptions—share what you found, what you're cancelling, and how much you're saving. Often, seeing your results will make them curious enough to join.

Should we combine all our subscription accounts?

Not necessarily. Some services (like Spotify Duo/Family) are designed for sharing. Others (like individual streaming profiles) work fine shared. The goal isn't to merge everything—it's to eliminate redundancy.

What if one person uses a subscription way more than the other?

That's fine! The user should pay for it (or pay a larger share). Our rule: if only one person uses it, that person covers it from their personal budget. If both use it, it comes from shared expenses.

How do I handle subscriptions that were gifts?

Check who's actually being billed. Sometimes "gift" subscriptions auto-renew on your card after the gift period. Surprise!

We found out we're wasting money and now we're fighting. Help?

Deep breath. The money is already spent—you can't get it back. Focus on the future: "Look how much we'll save going forward!" Blame the subscription companies (they designed this system), not each other.