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Because of all the subscriptions, I used to have a difficult time tracking them. A couple of times I had subscribed to services only for short term but then for

by malshe 4y ago

Because of all the subscriptions, I used to have a difficult time tracking them. A couple of times I had subscribed to services only for short term but then forgot to cancel them in time and they kept running for a few months. I think one was Amazon kids related digital product. Once I realized that I can’t trust myself to cancel the subscriptions on time, I started using Privacy.com cards. It allows you to limit the total spending limit on the cards. This has helped me a lot. I also use them for free trials which require a credit card and then automatically convert into subscriptions after the trial ends. I create a one time card with $1 spending limit. Then when the trial ends and the vendor attempts to charge my card, it gets declined. So far this has worked beautifully.

bick_nyers 4y ago
I've been thinking about doing this more and more. How easily can you "reclaim" your money though? If you have 10 cards with $1 limits on them, how do you get that $10 back? To me it sounds like just another thing to track
- malshe 4y ago
  I am not sure I understand your question. I am not actually spending any money here. I am just creating a one-time use debit card that has a spending limit of $1. Once I provide the card number to a vendor for a free trial, that card is now locked in for that vendor alone. It can't be used with any other vendor. When the trial ends, the vendor will charge my card for an amount equivalent to their subscription, which is usually way higher than $1. The card will decline this transaction. The $1 limit was never used so you don't spend any money. Delete the card whenever you want. I usually delete one-time use cards once every few months. Edit: It's more like a debit card than a credit card.
  - bick_nyers 4y ago
    The $1 example perhaps draws attention to the wrong use case, apologies. If I have a $100 limit across 10 of these cards, do I need to transfer $1000 out of my bank account upfront is basically what I am asking, or is it pulled on-demand (which is not quite the same as a debit card).
    - malshe 4y ago
      It will be pulled on demand. Imagine you have a debit card with only $1 in the bank account. As long as the vendor charges anything less than $1 it will go through. Btw I use Privacy for my regular subscriptions too. There I limit the amount charged per transaction. I match this to the subscription price. So when the vendor raises prices and I miss that email the charge won’t go through. I also add time limit so there is no payment on auto renewal.

by malshe 4y ago

bick_nyers 4y ago

I've been thinking about doing this more and more. How easily can you "reclaim" your money though? If you have 10 cards with $1 limits on them, how do you get that $10 back? To me it sounds like just another thing to track

malshe 4y ago
I am not sure I understand your question. I am not actually spending any money here. I am just creating a one-time use debit card that has a spending limit of $1. Once I provide the card number to a vendor for a free trial, that card is now locked in for that vendor alone. It can't be used with any other vendor. When the trial ends, the vendor will charge my card for an amount equivalent to their subscription, which is usually way higher than $1. The card will decline this transaction. The $1 limit was never used so you don't spend any money. Delete the card whenever you want. I usually delete one-time use cards once every few months. Edit: It's more like a debit card than a credit card.
- bick_nyers 4y ago
  The $1 example perhaps draws attention to the wrong use case, apologies. If I have a $100 limit across 10 of these cards, do I need to transfer $1000 out of my bank account upfront is basically what I am asking, or is it pulled on-demand (which is not quite the same as a debit card).
  - malshe 4y ago
    It will be pulled on demand. Imagine you have a debit card with only $1 in the bank account. As long as the vendor charges anything less than $1 it will go through. Btw I use Privacy for my regular subscriptions too. There I limit the amount charged per transaction. I match this to the subscription price. So when the vendor raises prices and I miss that email the charge won’t go through. I also add time limit so there is no payment on auto renewal.