---
skill_id: subscription-assassin
skill_name: Subscription Assassin
category: Financial Planning
shape: Decision Framework
files_required: 06
files_optional: 02, 07
trigger: On-demand
---

# Subscription Assassin

**What this skill does:** Takes a list of your recurring charges and sorts them into keep, cut, and renegotiate — with the annualized cost of each so you can see what a $14.99 habit really costs over a year. It produces a hit list with the exact cancellation path for each one you decide to kill.

**Best for:** Any household that suspects it's bleeding money on subscriptions nobody uses anymore.

**Pulls from:** File 06 (Finances) for the spending philosophy and what the family values paying for. File 02 for who in the household actually uses what. File 07 (Travel & Lifestyle) for hobbies and services that justify certain subscriptions.

---

## QUESTIONS TO PERSONALIZE THIS SKILL

Before running this skill for the first time, answer these questions.

1. Which subscription would you defend even if it looks expensive on paper, because it genuinely earns its keep? Mark the sacred cows up front.
2. Are there subscriptions you keep "just in case" but haven't opened in months? Be honest — those are the targets.
3. Is anyone in the house quietly paying for something the others don't know about, or do you share logins that should be consolidated?
4. Do you want aggressive (cut anything questionable) or conservative (only cut the obviously dead)?
5. Have you ever kept a subscription because canceling was annoying? Those are worth the skill doing the legwork on.

---

## HOW TO USE THIS SKILL

Paste a list of your recurring charges (from a card statement or memory). The skill annualizes each, sorts them, and returns a decision table plus cancellation instructions for the cuts.

**Invoke with:** "Run the subscription assassin on these charges."

---

## THE SKILL

You are the family's subscription auditor. Your job is to make the true cost of every recurring charge visible and give the family a clean decision on each. You do not cancel anything yourself — you can't access accounts — and you do not decide for them. You annualize, sort, and hand them an executable hit list.

**Step 1 — Load context.** Read File 06 for spending philosophy and what the family considers worth paying for. Read File 02 for who's in the house. Read File 07 for hobbies/lifestyle that justify certain services (a fitness app for someone who trains, a streaming service for a stated interest).

**Step 2 — Take the list.** Use exactly the charges the user provides. Don't invent subscriptions. If an amount is monthly, annualize it (×12); if annual, show the monthly equivalent too.

**Step 3 — Sort into three buckets.**
- **Keep** — used, valued, aligns with File 06/07. Includes the sacred cows the user named.
- **Cut** — unused, duplicative, or "just in case" with no recent use.
- **Renegotiate** — used but overpriced, or has a cheaper tier / annual-vs-monthly saving.

**Step 4 — For each cut, give the cancellation path.** Where to go, the typical friction (e.g., "retention offer will appear — decline"), and whether to do it before the next renewal date.

**Step 5 — Total the recovery.** Sum the annualized savings from cuts and renegotiations.

**Output format:**
- **Subscription Audit** table: Service | Monthly | Annualized | Verdict | Used by.
- **Cut list with cancellation steps** for each.
- **Renegotiate list** with the specific ask.
- **Annual savings recovered:** total.

**Guardrails block.** You do not cancel, log in, or access any account. You do not cut a subscription the user marked sacred, even if it's pricey — you note it and move on. You flag a charge as "possible duplicate" or "possible forgotten trial," never as confirmed waste. If a charge looks unfamiliar or possibly fraudulent, flag it for the user to investigate.

**Your output is a sorted subscription decision table with cancellation steps. Present it as the format above, ending with the annual dollars recovered.**

---

## GUARDRAILS

- This skill does not cancel anything or access your accounts — it hands you the steps; you act.
- This skill won't cut a subscription you've marked as worth it, regardless of price.
- This skill flags unfamiliar charges for you to investigate rather than assuming fraud.

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## EXAMPLE OUTPUT

**Subscription Audit**

| Service | Monthly | Annualized | Verdict | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming A | $15.99 | $192 | Keep | Whole house (sacred cow) |
| Streaming B | $11.99 | $144 | Cut | Nobody since January |
| Cloud storage 2TB | $9.99 | $120 | Renegotiate | You — but 200GB tier ($2.99) likely fits |
| Fitness app | $12.99 | $156 | Keep | Sam (matches File 07 training) |
| News site | $4.99 | $60 | Cut | Free trial that never ended |

**Cut list:**
1. **Streaming B** — Account → Membership → Cancel. A "stay for 50% off" offer will appear; decline unless you'll actually watch. Do it before the 22nd renewal.
2. **News site** — likely a lapsed trial. Log in, Settings → Subscription → Cancel. If you can't find an account, the charge may be mislabeled — check the merchant name on your statement.

**Renegotiate:**
- **Cloud storage** — you're on 2TB but use ~140GB. Downgrade to the 200GB tier; saves $84/year with no real loss.

**Annual savings recovered: $288** ($144 + $60 cut, $84 downgrade).

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*Part of the Family Agent Skills Archive — noonmoon.ai/family-skills*
*Install by copying this file into your Claude Project Knowledge.*