# Subscription and Bank Fee Audit: Cut Hidden Costs > An audit of subscriptions, bank account fees, card fees and interest from your own statements, with tips for cancelling and asking for refunds. Source: https://trykosh.com/learn/subscription-and-bank-fee-audit Guide - Saving and spending # How to audit your subscriptions and bank fees Small recurring charges are easy to miss because each one looks harmless. Added up over a year, subscriptions, monthly account fees, annual card fees and interest can be a real number. This audit takes about an hour with your last three months of statements. Updated October 31, 20264 min readBy the Kosh team On this page[Why audit at all?](#why)[Step 1: Gather three months of statements](#gather)[Step 2: List every recurring charge](#list)[Step 3: Decide keep, downgrade or cancel](#decide)[How to cut bank account fees](#bank-fees)[How to cut credit card fees and interest](#card-fees)[Ask for refunds and better rates](#ask)[Make it a habit](#habit)[FAQs](#faq) ## Why audit at all? Recurring charges are designed to be forgettable: a free trial that rolls over, an annual renewal you agreed to a year ago, a monthly account fee that's been there since you opened the account. None of them is big on its own. Multiply each by 12 and they often add up to a figure that would make a dent in debt or a TFSA contribution. ## Step 1: Gather three months of statements Download PDF or CSV statements for every chequing account and credit card for the last three months, plus the last year for any card that might carry annual renewals. Three months catches monthly charges; a year catches annual ones. Don't forget PayPal and app store purchases, which hide subscriptions behind one line. ## Step 2: List every recurring charge Go line by line and note anything that repeats: streaming, music, cloud storage, apps, news, gym, meal kits, software, memberships, phone add-ons, insurance riders. For each, write the monthly cost, the annual cost and when you last actually used it. Charge Look for Subscriptions Duplicates (two music services), trials that converted, price increases since you signed up Bank account fees Monthly plan fees, per-transaction fees, e-Transfer or ATM fees Credit card fees Annual fees on cards you rarely use, foreign transaction fees Interest Purchase interest on a carried balance, cash advance interest, overdraft interest Late and NSF fees Missed payments, bounced payments ## Step 3: Decide keep, downgrade or cancel - **Keep** what you use every week and would sign up for again today at the current price. - **Downgrade** to a cheaper tier, an ad-supported plan or a family plan shared with your household. - **Rotate** streaming services: keep one at a time and switch when you've watched what you wanted. - **Cancel** anything you haven't used in a month. You can always re-subscribe. ## How to cut bank account fees Look at what your chequing account costs a year, then at whether you need its features. Options include asking your bank to move you to a cheaper plan, meeting the minimum balance that waives the fee if that money would sit there anyway, or a no-fee account. Banks and some credit unions offer low-cost or no-cost accounts, and many offer reduced fees for students, young people, newcomers and seniors, so ask. FCAC has information on low-cost and no-cost accounts under federal rules. ## How to cut credit card fees and interest - **Annual fee:** compare the fee with the rewards you actually earned last year from your statements. If the fee wins, ask for a no-fee version of the card, which can keep your account history. - **Interest:** paying the full balance by the due date keeps the interest-free grace period on new purchases. If you carry a balance, follow the [credit card payoff plan](/learn/how-to-get-out-of-credit-card-debt). - **Late fees:** set an automatic minimum payment so a missed date never costs a fee or a mark on your credit report. ## Ask for refunds and better rates A polite call or chat often works for a first-time late fee, a renewal you didn't notice, or a long-standing customer asking about a promotion new customers get. Keep it short: what the charge was, why you're asking, and what you'd like. Note the agent's name and date. ## Make it a habit Put a recurring calendar reminder every three months to scan your statements for new recurring charges and price increases. Annual renewals deserve their own reminders a week before they hit. **Where Kosh fits** This is the audit Kosh runs automatically. Upload your bank and card statements and it lists every subscription, fee and dollar of interest, totals each for the year, and flags new ones and price increases as they appear. It never asks for bank logins and can't cancel anything for you, so you stay in charge. ## Frequently asked questions How do I find all my subscriptions? Go through three months of bank and credit card statements and list every charge that repeats, then check a full year of statements for annual renewals. Check PayPal and app store purchase histories too, since they group several subscriptions. How can I avoid monthly bank fees in Canada? Ask your bank about lower-cost plans, keep the minimum balance that waives the fee if you can, or switch to a no-fee account. Many institutions offer reduced fees for students, newcomers and seniors. Is a credit card annual fee worth it? Only if the rewards and benefits you actually used last year are worth more than the fee. Check your statements, and if not, ask for a no-fee card from the same issuer. Can I get a late fee refunded? Often, especially if it's the first time. Call or message your card issuer, explain, and ask. It costs nothing to ask. How often should I review my subscriptions? Every three months is a good rhythm, plus a reminder before each annual renewal. ## Sources - [FCAC: How credit cards work](https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-cards/credit-card-work.html) - [FCAC: Bank accounts](https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/banking/bank-accounts.html) Written by the Kosh team and checked against the rules in force on October 31, 2026. This guide is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. Kosh is an educational financial planning tool by Primedepth Labs. It is not registered with any Canadian securities regulator as an adviser or dealer, does not recommend specific securities, and does not hold your money or execute trades. Tax figures are estimates; confirm with the CRA or a qualified professional before acting. Investing carries risk. ## Upload your statement and Kosh does this for you. Kosh reads your bank, card and investment statements, estimates your federal and provincial tax and turns guides like this one into your own numbers and next steps. [Start free](/signup?via=learn-subscription-and-bank-fee-audit)