No escape
Three years ago, if someone had asked me whether I’d ever pay for a tool promising to make my life easier, I would have laughed. Today, I find myself deep in the Ghost Payment Era: my credit card is linked to every AI service I’ve tried, and what starts as a curiosity-driven free trial often turns into a recurring charge for apps I barely touch.
Sadness Continues
My phone is full of apps I have forgotten—even ones I added from outside the app store. Here are a few examples:
- I signed up for Canva Pro at $20 a month, used it twice, then moved on—but the charges kept coming.
- I tried Jasper AI for improved writing and barely wrote a paragraph before forgetting to cancel.
- I tested Notion AI to organize ideas and never logged back in after the first day.
- I even got excited about an AI image magic eraser tool and paid for its Pro plan, only to delete it a week later.
Even though I try to be careful, I still fall into the subscription trap: I start a free trial out of curiosity, then forget to cancel.
Every week, tech YouTube channels show a new AI feature or app. A few days later, the app is gone. The AI world moves fast. What is exciting today may not work tomorrow. Even when I pay for apps that do not work, I don’t feel bad anymore. I think staying up to date is worth it.
The main reason I pay for apps I do not use is fear of missing out. I would rather pay for many unused subscriptions than risk missing the next great AI tool.
There should be an Escape from this
- Subscriptions add up: I check my bank statement every month.
- Free trials can trap you: I set reminders to cancel before they turn into paid plans.
Nauman Mohammed 
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