The Free Trial Trap: How to Never Get Charged Again

A 2022 C+R Research study found that 42% of Americans are paying for subscriptions they've forgotten about. The biggest culprit? Free trials that silently convert to paid subscriptions.

One Reddit user shared that they paid $210 for 15 months of Skillshare after forgetting to cancel a free trial. Another discovered The Economist had been charging them for 2.5 years after they thought they'd canceled.

Here's how to never fall for it again.

The 30-second rule for free trials

Every time you sign up for a free trial, do this immediately — before you even start using the service:

1. Set a calendar reminder for 2 days before the trial ends. Not the day of — 2 days before. This gives you a buffer.
2. Take a screenshot of the trial terms (length, price after trial, cancellation method). Save it to a “Trials” folder.
3. Cancel immediately if the service allows it. Many services (Netflix, Spotify, etc.) let you cancel right after signing up and still use the full trial period.

Step 3 is the power move. If you can cancel now and still get the trial, there's zero risk. You get the trial, it expires, no charge. If you love it, you can re-subscribe intentionally.

Services that let you cancel and keep the trial

These services let you cancel immediately after signing up while still keeping access until the trial ends:

• Netflix — cancel anytime, access continues until period ends
• Spotify — cancel and keep Premium until trial expiry
• YouTube Premium — same as above
• Apple TV+ — cancel and retain access through trial
• Amazon Prime — cancel and get a prorated refund or keep until end
• Disney+ — cancel keeps access through billing period

Note: Policies may change. Always check current terms.

The virtual card trick

For trials that don't let you cancel early, use a virtual card number with a spending limit. Services like Privacy.com (free) let you create single-use cards with custom limits.

Set the limit to $1. The trial goes through (most trials authorize $0-1), but when they try to charge the full amount after the trial, the charge gets declined. You never get billed.

Warning: Some services will send the unpaid balance to collections. This works best for services that simply cancel your account on failed payment rather than pursuing the charge.

Already have forgotten trials? Find them now.

If you suspect you're paying for forgotten free trials right now, there are two ways to find out:

Manual method (15-30 min): Open your bank statement for the last 3 months. Search for charges under $20 that you don't immediately recognize. Google the merchant name — it's often a parent company name that doesn't match the service.

Fast method (2 min, $5): Export your bank statement as a CSV or PDF and upload it to Just Cancel. AI identifies every recurring charge and gives you cancel links for 440+ services.

The math that makes this worth it

Say you have 3 forgotten trials at an average of $12/month. That's $36/month or $432/year going to services you don't use. Spending 5 minutes (and $5) to find them saves you $427 in the first year alone.

Even one forgotten $9.99/month subscription costs you $120/year. The ROI on checking is absurd.

Make it a habit

Set a quarterly calendar reminder: “Subscription audit.” Every 3 months, spend 5 minutes scanning your recent statements. Subscription creep is slow — a trial here, a “just $4.99” there — and the quarterly check catches it before it adds up.