Tracking subscriptions as an expat
Contracts in two countries, two currencies and two legal systems. What breaks when you move and what to set up before you go.
The short answer
The problem is not the move, it is the residue: contracts left running in the old country, governed by its law, billed to a card you may replace. Sort those into address-tied, location-tied and portable before leaving, and record each subscription in the currency you are actually charged rather than a converted figure.
Leutrim Miftaraj
Founder, SubTracker · Updated September 5, 2026
Three categories, handled in order
Address-tied. Must be cancelled or transferred, usually with a notice period. Broadband, gym, local press, waste collection, parking permits, storage, home security. Start six weeks out — thirty days' notice is common and some contracts require it in writing.
Location-tied but portable. Works elsewhere with different value. Streaming catalogues change by country, transport passes are city-specific, delivery services depend on coverage.
Fully portable. Cloud, music, most software. Nothing to do, and usually the largest group — which is why the review is less work than it appears.
What actually breaks
Billing address verification. Card authorisations that fail an address check after you move produce exactly the same silent breakage as a card replacement: each subscription fails at its own next renewal, spread across a year. Update the billing address everywhere two weeks before the move, cloud storage and password managers first.
Currency. Some providers rebill in local currency at the new address, changing the amount. A tracker holding the original figure will show a mismatch — that is a correct signal, not an error.
Regional pricing. The same subscription can cost materially less or more. Occasionally worth cancelling and resubscribing locally, though check whether the account and its content transfer first.
Which law applies. A contract concluded while resident in the Netherlands stays governed by Dutch law after you leave — including the one-month notice ceiling. A German gym contract keeps the German cancellation button requirement. That works in your favour and people rarely realise it.
Recording it so it stays usable
Currency per subscription, as charged. Not converted. Converting at entry destroys the original figure and the stored amount drifts as rates move — which for someone living across two currencies is not a marginal problem.
Which card and which country. When a card is replaced or an account is closed, this is the list you need.
The cancellation route and the governing country. Two fields, ten seconds each, and they turn a cross-border cancellation from an investigation into a task.
Before you leave, two hours well spent
Six weeks out: check the notice period on everything address-tied, in writing. Do not assume.
Four weeks out: decide the location-tied ones. Coverage checks take five minutes each and are much harder to do after the move.
Two weeks out: billing addresses everywhere.
Two weeks after: verify that cancelled services actually stopped. Cancellations requested and never processed are common enough that this check earns its ten minutes.
Der Kompromiss, der dahintersteht
Abo-Werkzeuge zerfallen in zwei Bauweisen, und fast jeder praktische Unterschied folgt daraus.
Bank-verbundene Werkzeuge lesen über einen Aggregator wie Plaid, TrueLayer oder Tink deine Transaktionshistorie und erkennen daraus wiederkehrende Belastungen. Einrichtung: unter einer Minute. Der Preis ist, dass ein Dritter eine laufend aktualisierte Kopie davon hält, wo du überall Geld ausgibst — nicht nur deine Abos, solange die Verbindung offen ist.
Manuelle Werkzeuge stellen diese Verbindung nie her. Du trägst jedes Abo einmal ein, rund zehn Minuten für eine typische Liste. Der Dienst kennt Anbieter, Betrag und Verlängerungsdatum — mehr nicht, weil mehr nie erhoben wurde.
Keines ist grundsätzlich richtig. Wenn du nicht weisst, wofür du zahlst, löst Bankverbindung ein Problem, das manuelle Eingabe nicht anfassen kann. Wenn du deine Liste kennst, zahlst du einen dauerhaften Preis für neun gesparte Minuten.
Wo SubTracker nicht passt
Du willst, dass Belastungen gefunden werden. SubTracker sieht deine Bank nie. Rocket Money in den USA, Emma in Europa — oder ein manueller Durchgang durch zwölf Monate Kontoauszüge plus App Store, Google Play und PayPal.
Du willst, dass jemand für dich kündigt. Rocket Money übernimmt das gegen einen Anteil der Ersparnis. SubTracker nennt dir den Weg und warnt rechtzeitig.
Du verwaltest Firmen-Software im grösseren Rahmen. Freigabeketten, SSO, Vertragsverwaltung über Dutzende Mitarbeitende — das ist Beschaffungssoftware. Cledara, Vertice, Spendesk.
Was es kostet
Der kostenlose Plan verfolgt unbegrenzt viele Abos, ohne Karte und ohne Ablauf — mit CSV-Import, Kalender-Feed und vollständigem Export. Erinnerungen und Preis-Alarme sind Plus für $5.90/Monat. Family kostet $9.90/Monat und umfasst einen geteilten Workspace für bis zu zehn Personen.
Stop losing money to forgotten subscriptions
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
What happens to my subscriptions when I move abroad?+
Portable ones continue, location-tied ones change value or coverage, and address-tied ones need cancelling with notice — commonly thirty days. Billing address verification is the hidden failure: authorisations that fail after a move break subscriptions one at a time across a year.
Which country's law applies to a subscription after I move?+
Generally the one where the contract was concluded. A Dutch subscription keeps the Wet van Dam one-month ceiling after you leave, and a German contract keeps the mandatory cancellation button — which usually works in your favour.
Should I convert foreign subscription amounts to my new currency?+
No. Record the amount in the currency you are actually charged. Converting at entry loses the original figure and the stored amount then drifts with the exchange rate, which for anyone living across two currencies compounds quickly.
How far ahead should I cancel before moving?+
Six weeks for anything tied to the address. Gyms and broadband commonly require thirty days and some require written notice, so a decision made three weeks out usually means paying for a service at an address you have left.
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