We spotted three mule deer in our front yard over the weekend. I’m hiding in our courtyard looking through the gates to take photos and this beauty is staring right at me.

I sat down Saturday and went through our bank accounts to collect info for taxes. Ugh. Not my favorite thing to do. But, with nothing else to do on a Saturday — except walk, go to the gym, clean house, carry dishes from the kitchen to the casita, watch TV and read — somehow I managed to sit down and get to work.

I’m always shocked at how much money we spend during the year and I look for ways to cut back.

One thing that hit me right in the eyes were subscriptions on our monthly credit card statements for things we no longer use. It’s tricky because some are billed annually. They aren’t that much, and somehow I let them slip by me.

Then there are monthly ones that are billed monthly. Those are easier to catch during the year, but I was negligent with some of those, too.

Some things I cancelled yesterday were useful to me in the past. Like LinkedIn. I used that when I was writing a weekly column and I got requests from companies to write for them. But what surprised me is that I had an annual charge for LinkedIn. I never signed up for a premium membership and I thought it was free. Apparently I was wrong.

Another one was for a newspaper attached to Ancestry.com. I don’t remember signing up for it. I was able to log in and checked out my account. It said I was a guest and didn’t have a subscription, yet they charged me $74.95! I couldn’t cancel it online because the website said I don’t have an account.

A few newspaper subscriptions I signed up for, I’m not interested in anymore. Yet I couldn’t find a way to cancel them. So today, I’ll be making some phone calls.

What a waste of time and money!

What is your experience with subscriptions billed annually or monthly?