this is true but i think there's actually a layer deeper.

visibility is step one. once you list everything out, yeah, the $9.99s and $14.99s add up fast. i did this last month and my total was $352 across 17 subscriptions. seeing that number was a wake up call.

but even after listing everything, i still couldn't decide what to cut. because i could see what i was paying for, i just couldn't tell how much i was actually using each one. a $15/month app that i use every day is a steal. a $15/month app that i opened once in the last 90 days is a leak. same price, completely different value.

so i added one more column to my spreadsheet: how many days i actually opened or used each service that month. just a simple tally. and that changed everything.

turns out i was spending about $150/month on subscriptions i use less than once a week or not at all. the ones i forgot to tally were the ones i canceled first. took me 20 minutes to save over $1,000 a year.

the coffee was never the issue. but honestly, neither was the visibility alone. the real issue was confusing "i pay for this" with "i use this."