You might be overpaying for a subscription right now and have no idea. I didn’t…until my documentation in Evernote helped me regain some money.

Here’s what happened. It all started with an email…an email about free stuff!

My cable provider sent me an email about some free features. I had a question, so I called. While on the phone, I picked up a few more perks. A few days later, a letter arrived covering those same features.

That letter prompted me to pull out my latest cable bill to make sure I hadn’t been charged for anything new. Good news: no new charges. But something else caught my eye.

Four TVs. At $7 each.

The problem? I only have three TVs.

Going Room by Room

I called my satellite provider. The rep said their records showed four cable boxes on my account. So I went room by room with the satellite provider on the phone. I flipped each box over and read her the serial number. Three boxes matched. But there was a fourth serial number on their end with no box in my house to match it.

That’s when my Evernote organization system went to work.

How Evernote Solved the Mystery

As the rep read me the serial number for the mystery box, I typed it into Evernote’s search window. One result came up. It was the note where I keep all my correspondence with the satellite company.

I used Control + F and pasted the serial number to find exactly where it appeared in the note. There it was: a photo of the bottom of a cable box. One of several stickers. And that serial number was right there.

I keep this note in reverse chronological order. The most recent entry is at the top, going all the way back through my history with the company. As I scrolled through the note, the story told itself.

A technician had visited our house and swapped out a cable box. There had been some back-and-forth about what to do with the old one. The final answer: return it by mail. They gave me a prepaid return label to do just that.

Further up in the note, the evidence piled up. A receipt from the post office on the day I dropped off the box. Then, a photo of the box I used to ship it, with the address label and tracking number clearly visible!

That was all the rep needed. I had three boxes, not four. Without me even asking about past charges, she went straight to her supervisor. When she came back, she told me they were crediting my account for every overcharge going back just over two years.

$196, back in my account.

The System Behind the Win

That $196 came back to me for two reasons: I had a good system…and I had a good tool to run it.

In Evernote, I have a notebook called “Subscription Services.” Inside it, there is a note for every subscription I have: satellite TV, streaming services, magazines, etc. Each note is in reverse chronological order so that the most recent conversation is at the top.

If I ever need to know what I was promised, what was discussed, or what was decided, it is all right there.

You Can Do the Same

Setting up your own Subscription Services notebook in Evernote takes less time than you think. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you build yours:

How To Keep Track of Subscription Services

And while you’re at it, add to your calendar a “Money Calendar”:

A Google “Money Calendar”: What It Is and Why You Need One

Start documenting your subscriptions today. Your future self…and your wallet…will thank you.

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