The story of Eleanor Louis, a 35-year-old software engineer from Brooklyn, is the story of every other person today. Eleanor is paying every month for a video game she has no interest in. She says, ‘I have not played this game for 5 years. But I don’t understand how to get rid of it…’ This is just an example. If you check the credit card statement or auto-debit history of UPI, you will be surprised. You will find a long list there – streaming apps, cloud storage, prime membership of e-commerce sites, gym and fitness apps and even RO machines… everything has come on subscription model. What’s more, now there is another subscription hidden inside the ‘subscription’. Take the base pack of any OTT platform, then pay for ‘premium’ separately to watch ad-free content or live sports. And to remember which recharge is about to expire, one has to subscribe to another app that tracks all the subscriptions. According to the study of British platform ‘Bango’, an average person in Britain and America earns around Rs 5,700 to 16 thousand every month. is sending. According to a Harvard Business School report, 75% of companies selling goods directly to customers have adopted the subscription model. George Washington University Prof. Gil Apple says, companies cleverly sell things differently. Like buy curd but get spoon on subscription. This isn’t normally possible, but it’s common in the world of apps. The most tricky aspect of this is ‘cancellation’. It is easy to ‘subscribe’ in companies’ apps, but very difficult to stop it. The process is long and complicated or one has to wait for a long time on customer care. Pro. Apple says, ‘The next time you click ‘Start Subscription’ on an app, keep this in mind – it may seem easy to get started, but the small cut each month will make the companies powerful and you helpless.’ Audit the statements, it is better to plan monthly instead of annually. According to Ramit Sethi, American finance expert and author of ‘I will teach you to be rich’, the most effective way to get out of the cycle of subscription is to spend consciously. Do a ‘ruthless audit’ of your bank statements Any service that has not been used in 30 days should be canceled immediately without thinking. As soon as you sign up for any ‘free trial’, cancel it immediately, so that you can take advantage of the trial period and also avoid accidentally deducting money in future. A monthly plan is better than an annual discount because the money deducted from your pocket every month keeps you alert.
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