Been running my freelance business for a few years now and just realized how much money I’m probably throwing away on subscriptions I barely use and redundant tools.
Started doing an audit of my monthly expenses and found three different project management apps charging me. Also paying for cloud storage I’m not even close to maxing out.
What other hidden money drains should I be looking for in my setup?
Check your phone and internet plans too. Most people pay way more than they need for data they never use.
Also look at any automatic renewals for domains or hosting if you have websites. I found I was paying for three hosting accounts when I only needed one.
Bank fees add up fast if you’re not watching them.
Software licenses get me every time. Old versions still charging when I upgraded months ago.
I forget about stuff like printer ink subscriptions sometimes.
Adobe subscriptions killed me for months. I had Creative Cloud running when I only used Photoshop twice a year. Switched to one time purchase alternatives and saved like $600 annually.
Also found I was paying for premium versions of apps when the free tier covered everything I actually needed. Slack, Zoom, even my email marketing tool.
One weird one was my accounting software. I was on the most expensive plan but only used basic invoicing. Dropped down two tiers and still had more features than I use.
Insurance is a big one. Business liability, equipment coverage, even your car insurance if you drive to jobs. Review those policies every year because you might be paying for coverage you don’t need anymore. Also check if you’re getting multiple invoices from the same vendor for different services when you could bundle them. Happens more than you think.
Marketing tools are brutal for this. I had email marketing, social media schedulers, and analytics platforms all running when I was barely posting anything.
Also worth checking:
The sneaky one that got me was paying for both Dropbox and Google Drive premium when either one had plenty of space. Just moved everything to one and freed up $10 monthly.
Set a calendar reminder to do this audit every six months. These subscriptions multiply like rabbits when you’re busy with client work.