There are several reasons to think the US economy is thriving, yet many Americans still feel it is much worse than the reality.
Until recently, my family of four felt bad about the economy despite the good signals. Then we sat down, got better control of our budget, and realized how much our household economy had changed in 15 years. Specifically, what felt like an endless supply of monthly app subscriptions that didn't exist in the 2000s.
We had everything from a food delivery app to a habit tracker app. As a family, we had about 20 apps and streaming services with subscriptions that made it easy to forget how much we were spending each month.
But we aren't alone. A 2022 study showed consumers underestimated app subscription costs by $133 a month.
Our subscriptions needed an intervention. Here are the six steps we used to get out of subscription hell and cut our expenses by about $190 a month.