How Much Do Your Subscriptions Cost? A Monthly Cost Worksheet

To work out how much you spend on subscriptions, calculate three different numbers: what you paid during a chosen period, the monthly equivalent of your current plans, and the payments due next. Each answers a different question. A yearly subscription can look inexpensive when divided by 12 and still cause a difficult month when the whole renewal is charged.

This worksheet helps you turn a list of services into those three numbers. You can use a note, a spreadsheet or a calculator. All examples below are fictional and use one currency.

Start with the subscriptions you actually have

Gather the current billed price, billing interval and next payment date for each service. Use the amount including tax and compulsory charges where these are known. An advertised starting price may differ from what your account pays.

If your list is incomplete, use our guide to finding subscriptions across statements and accounts first. That guide covers discovery and cancellation checks; this one focuses on calculating the cost once you have the list.

Choose your scope before adding anything. Are you measuring your personal share or the whole household's subscriptions? If you pay a family plan and receive contributions, keep the full payment and expected contributions visible separately. Do not count an expected repayment as money already received.

Keep currencies separate. Adding 10 USD to 10 EUR does not produce a meaningful total of 20 in either currency.

Copy this subscription-cost worksheet

Make one record for each active plan:

• Service and purpose:
• Amount charged and currency:
• Billing interval: weekly, every four weeks, monthly, quarterly or annually.
• Next charge date and amount:
• Current price ends on: useful for trials and introductory offers.
• Monthly equivalent:
• Annual equivalent:
• Payments actually made in the review period:
• Decision and review date: keep, investigate, change or cancel.

Leave unknown fields marked “check” instead of entering zero. A missing renewal price is an unanswered question, not a free subscription.

You do not need passwords or full payment-card details in this worksheet.

Convert every plan to a common period

For a stable price, use these planning calculations:

• Monthly billing: annual equivalent = payment × 12; monthly equivalent = payment.
• Quarterly billing: annual equivalent = payment × 4; monthly equivalent = payment ÷ 3.
• Annual billing: annual equivalent = payment; monthly equivalent = payment ÷ 12.
• Weekly billing: annual estimate = payment × 52; monthly estimate = payment × 52 ÷ 12.
• Every four weeks: annual estimate = payment × 13; monthly estimate = payment × 13 ÷ 12.

Weekly and four-week figures are approximations for comparing ongoing plans. Count actual billing dates for an exact calendar-year forecast: the number of charges can depend on when the cycle falls. “Every four weeks” is also different from “monthly”.

Keep the full precision while calculating and round the final total to your currency's usual precision. These estimates assume the service continues and its price does not change. They do not predict taxes, exchange rates, promotions or future increases.

Worked example: an average month is not a payment calendar

Suppose your list contains:

• Video: 14 each month → 168 a year.
• Music: 8 each month → 96 a year.
• Cloud storage: 72 each year → 6 a month.
• Learning service: 45 each quarter → 15 a month.

The annual equivalent is 168 + 96 + 72 + 180 = 516.

The monthly equivalent is 516 ÷ 12 = 43.

Now suppose the annual storage renewal and the quarterly learning payment both fall in November. November's actual subscription charges would be 14 + 8 + 72 + 45 = 139, assuming each monthly service bills once that month. A month containing only the two monthly payments would cost 22.

All three numbers are useful:

• 43 describes the average monthly cost of keeping these plans at unchanged prices.
• 139 is the amount to plan for in the busy renewal month.
• 22 is the amount charged in a month with only the monthly services.

Use the monthly equivalent to compare plans. Use payment dates to check the money you will need.

Measure what you have already paid

For actual subscription spending, choose an explicit period, such as 1–30 September or the previous 12 complete months. Add the charges that occurred in that period.

Record an annual payment of 72 once, on its payment date. Do not also enter 6 each month as an expense: that would count the same service twice. The 6 belongs in your planning worksheet.

A refund is an adjustment to review separately, not a second purchase. If you want a net-paid figure, subtract confirmed refunds from the relevant charges and label the calculation clearly. Keep the original amounts and refund evidence so you can explain the result.

In PocketLuma, record actual charges manually under a category such as Subscriptions, with the service name in the note. Review the same dates and currency each time. Use the worksheet outside the app for forecasts, refunds and renewal dates; the app's spending totals are based on the expenses you entered.

Forecast the next 30 days without hiding renewals

Write down your start and end dates, then list every expected charge inside that window. Use the provider's next billing date rather than assuming every service charges on the first of the month.

Include trials that become paid during the window and known price changes. For uncertain charges, show a separate estimate instead of mixing it into a confirmed total without explanation.

If a large annual bill is approaching, the monthly equivalent may not tell you how much to set aside now. For example, if a renewal of 120 is due after two more monthly saving opportunities and you already have 40 reserved, the remaining amount is 80: that would require 40 at each opportunity. Our irregular-expense planning guide explains this distinction.

Money set aside for a renewal is not another subscription expense. Record the actual charge when it happens.

Compare changes using the months you will really use

An annual offer of 120 is lower than 12 monthly payments of 12, which total 144. But if you only need five months and can stop monthly billing without an extra commitment, those five payments total 60.

Compare equivalent access, cancellation terms, your likely use and the upfront payment. A lower annualised price alone does not establish that switching will reduce what you spend.

For trials and promotions, note the next full price and the date it starts. The US Federal Trade Commission's subscription guidance recommends checking renewal prices, keeping cancellation records and monitoring later charges. Provider terms and consumer protections vary by location.

Count a saving only when a charge is actually avoided or reduced. Stopping next year's renewal does not necessarily refund this year's payment.

Keep the worksheet and your expense record in sync

At each monthly review, compare expected charges with the payments that happened. Investigate changed amounts, duplicates and services missing from your list. Update the next charge date after checking the provider's account page.

PocketLuma does not discover subscriptions from your bank, cancel services, convert currencies or send renewal reminders. Keep those checks and reminders in the relevant accounts and your own calendar.

To start a record of what you actually pay, create a PocketLuma account and enter your most recent subscription charge. Keep the worksheet for future costs and the expense log for completed payments.