Subscription Creep
Etymology
Combines "subscription" with "creep," the word for slow, unnoticed expansion (as in "scope creep" or "mission creep"). It names a phenomenon that the 2010s shift from ownership to recurring access — software, media, even razors and meals — made pervasive. The "creep" is the key: no single decision causes it, which is why it accumulates unseen.
noun phrase · /sub-SKRIP-shun KREEP/
The gradual accumulation of recurring monthly charges — streaming, apps, memberships — until they quietly add up to a substantial and half-forgotten drain.
What it names
A handle for a modern spending pattern that hides in small automatic payments, each too minor to notice canceling but collectively significant.
Example
An audit of her statements revealed subscription creep worth ninety dollars a month, half of it services she’d forgotten she had.
Related idea
It thrives on status quo bias and default settings: auto-renewal means inaction keeps you paying, so the effort always falls on canceling.