The Subscriptions I Actually Use vs. The Digital Graveyard in My Inbox

Let's be honest... we've all got that one credit card statement that reads like a "who's who" of marketing tools we forgot we owned.

🏆 THE WINNERS (Stuff I Actually Use)

HelloFresh - Okay, this isn't marketing software, but hear me out. My wife used to work there, we get a discount, and it's the one subscription that keeps me from ordering pizza for the 4th time this week. Sometimes the best business investment is making sure you're not living on takeout while building your empire.

ChatGPT + Ojoy (Frank Kern's AI tool) - These two are my content creation workhorses. I've written more with these than I have in the last 5 years combined. If you're paying for AI and actually using it daily, it's worth every penny.

Mastermind Groups with LIVE Shows - I'm in Frank Kern's group and Hernan Vasquez's group, and here's my rule: if there are no live shows, I'm out. I want live training, active Skool communities, replays, show notes, the works. If I'm paying monthly, I want monthly value I can actually consume.

(This is exactly why GeekOutFridays has live shows every other Friday. Because I know what it's like to pay for "access" to a bunch of dusty course modules.)

🪦 THE GRAVEYARD (RIP to My Credit Card)

Oh boy... where do I start?

The real killers aren't the $7/month subscriptions (though those add up). It's those $197-$297 ANNUAL deals that seemed like such a bargain. You know the ones - you use the software twice in the first month, then completely forget about it until the renewal email shows up 11 months later.

Then you're scrambling to get a refund thinking, "I saved money going annual!" Yeah, right. When you only use something twice a year, you're paying about $150 per login.

😂 THE EMBARRASSING TRUTH

Here's the really embarrassing part: I've bought the same software TWICE. Different email addresses, different times of year. Black Friday hits, I see a "great deal," and boom - I'm paying for something I already own.

I now have 4 business email addresses for different products, and I used to play this fun game called "Do I Already Own This?" Spoiler alert: half the time, the answer was yes.

🎯 THE SOLUTION THAT ACTUALLY WORKS

I bought a tool called Subly on AppSumo (one of the few AppSumo purchases I actually use). It tracks every subscription and sends me reminders 7 days before renewal AND 5 days before.

Game changer.

Now I get these little wake-up calls: "Hey, remember that $47/month tool you swore you'd use daily?"

Most of the time, my answer is: "Nope. Cancel."

The Funniest Part of All This?

Sometimes I have to watch my own training videos to remember how to use our software. And my partner Wayne (who literally CODED the stuff) occasionally has to watch my videos to figure out how to run his own creation.

That's actually why we started GeekOutFridays. If the guys who built the tools need refreshers on strategy and implementation, imagine what our customers were going through.

The Bottom Line:

Go monthly unless you're 100% sure you'll use it daily. Track your subscriptions. And for the love of all that's holy, check your email addresses before buying that "limited time offer."

What's the most embarrassing subscription you've forgotten about? Drop it in the comments - misery loves company! 😂