Recurring Leakage
The Invisible Subscription
A free trial, never canceled. The $15 fee becomes a background hum that compounds.
Sign-up for a free trial carries the intention of canceling. Friction is designed into the retention flow, and days pass.
The $15 fee becomes a background hum, small enough to escape attention during the monthly budget review. The service is kept for option value. The option is rarely exercised.
Thirty-five years later, that $15 a month has compounded to $26,000. The cost was not the service. It was the deferral of a five-minute task.