Lost Your Job? Cancel These Subscriptions First

February 14, 2026 · 8 min read

Getting laid off is overwhelming. Between updating your resume, filing for unemployment, and dealing with the emotional hit, the last thing you want to think about is which of your 12 subscriptions to cancel.

But here's the math: the average American pays $219/month on subscriptions. That's $2,628/year bleeding out while you're not earning. Cutting even half of that buys you an extra month of runway.

This is your 30-minute action plan. No fluff, just what to cancel, what to pause, and what to keep.

🔴 Cancel Immediately (Save $150-300/month)

These are the first to go. High cost, easy to live without, easy to restart later.

Premium Streaming Tiers

Downgrade to ad-supported tiers or cancel entirely. You don't need ad-free Netflix when you're job hunting.

• Netflix Premium → Standard with Ads (save $9-13/mo)
• Hulu No Ads → With Ads or cancel (save $10-18/mo)
• Max (HBO) — cancel and use free library apps (save $10-16/mo)
• Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock — pick ONE if any (save $15-30/mo)

Meal Kit & Food Deliveries

These are luxury expenses. Cancel all of them.

• HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Factor — save $50-100/mo
• DoorDash DashPass, Uber One — save $10-20/mo
• Instacart+ — shop in person (save $10/mo)

Subscription Boxes

Every single one. Birchbox, FabFitFun, BarkBox, Stitch Fix — all of them.

Premium Apps You Barely Use

• ChatGPT Plus — free tier works fine (save $20/mo)
• LinkedIn Premium — cancel UNLESS actively job hunting (see "Keep" section)
• Headspace, Calm, meditation apps — YouTube has free guided meditations
• Adobe Creative Cloud — switch to free alternatives like Canva, GIMP, DaVinci Resolve (save $55/mo)

🟡 Pause or Downgrade (Save $50-100/month)

These services often let you pause without losing your account or data.

Gym Memberships

Most gyms let you freeze your membership for 1-3 months. Call and ask — they'd rather freeze than lose you.

• Planet Fitness — can freeze online or in-person
• 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Equinox — call to freeze
• Alternative: outdoor exercise is free. Running, bodyweight workouts, YouTube fitness

Music Streaming

Spotify and Apple Music both have free tiers. Downgrade instead of canceling to keep your playlists.

Cloud Storage

Don't cancel abruptly — you might lose files. Downgrade to free tiers and move files to a local drive first.

• Google One → free 15GB tier
• iCloud+ → free 5GB tier (download large files first)
• Dropbox Plus → free Basic tier

🟢 Keep (These Help You Get Hired)

Don't cut things that directly help your job search.

• LinkedIn Premium — InMail access and "Open to Work" visibility can be worth it during active job search. Cancel once you're employed.
• Internet — obviously. But call your provider and ask for a hardship discount. Many ISPs have low-income programs.
• Phone plan — switch to a cheaper MVNO like Mint Mobile or Visible if you're on a major carrier
• Health insurance — look into COBRA and ACA marketplace options. Don't go uninsured.
• Password manager — most have free tiers. Don't lose access to your accounts during a job search.

💡 Hidden Subscriptions You Forgot About

Most people have 2-3 subscriptions they forgot about entirely. These are the worst — you're paying for something you don't even know exists. Common culprits:

• App Store subscriptions — check Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions on iPhone
• Google Play subscriptions — check play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions
• Free trials that converted — that "7-day free trial" from 6 months ago is now $15/mo
• Annual subscriptions — they're easy to forget because they only charge once a year
• Domain renewals — GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains

📋 The 30-Minute Layoff Subscription Audit

1. Download your last 3 months of bank/credit card statements (covers annual charges)
2. Upload to Just Cancel — get a complete list in 60 seconds
3. Sort into Cancel / Pause / Keep using the categories above
4. Cancel the red list first — use our direct cancel links for each service
5. Call to pause the yellow list — mention "financial hardship" for better treatment
6. Downgrade everything else — switch to free tiers where available

🛟 Other Money Moves After a Layoff

• File for unemployment immediately — don't wait, processing takes 2-4 weeks
• Call every bill provider — ask for hardship programs (utilities, internet, phone)
• Negotiate credit card rates — call and ask for a lower APR or hardship program
• Check your severance — negotiate if possible (everything is negotiable)
• Don't touch your 401k — early withdrawal penalties hurt more than subscription costs

Losing a job is stressful enough. Getting your subscriptions under control in 30 minutes is one of the fastest ways to reduce financial anxiety and extend your runway. You've got this.