The big ideaSmall coins each month add up over a year, and tiny print can hold a fee.
How it works
Ana joined the Puzzle Box Club. The sign said two coins a month, and a box would come every month until she stopped it.
That is a subscription: it repeats until you stop it, even when you stop using it.
The tiny words said plus one coin for delivery, so each month cost three coins and a year cost thirty-six.
Ana used four boxes, and the other eight cost twenty-four coins for nothing. Read the small print, pick a day to ask, do I still use this, and find out how to stop it before you start.
A fee in tiny print makes a year cost more than the sign says.Big words and tiny words.
➕a plus fee🔁it renews🛑how to stop
Look for the tiny things.
Example 1: The real price
The sign says 2 coins a month.
The tiny words add 1 coin for delivery.
2 + 1 = 3
Each month really costs 3 coins.
Example 2: A year of the club
A year is 12 months.
At 2 coins a month: 12 × 2 = 24
At 3 coins a month: 12 × 3 = 36
The fee makes the year cost 12 coins more than it looked.
Example 3: Boxes nobody opens
Ana used the club for 4 months.
12 − 4 = 8
The other 8 months cost 8 × 3 = 24 coins for nothing.
Example 4: A habit that helps
Read the small print before you join.
Pick a day to ask, do I still use this?
Find out how to stop it before you start.
Words to know
subscription
Something that repeats and is paid for until you stop it.
small print
Tiny words that can hold a fee.
fee
An extra charge, like plus one coin for delivery.
renews
Goes round again each month.
Watch out
A subscription does not stop when you stop using it. You have to stop it.
A coin a month adds up: it is twelve coins in a year.
The price on the sign is not always the whole price.
Boxes keep coming even when they are not opened.
Try it
A month costs 2 coins plus a 1-coin fee. What is that in all?
Eight unused months cost 3 coins each. How much is that?
Does a subscription stop when you stop opening the boxes?
Name one habit that helps with a subscription.
Answers: 1. 3 · 2. 24 · 3. No · 4. Read the small print
Try at homeWith a grown-up, find something your family pays for each month or each year. Read its small print together, and ask how it can be stopped.
For grown-upsFind something your family pays for each month or each year, and read its small print together: what does it cost in all, and how can it be stopped?
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