Billing descriptors matter. When a bank or merchant uses opaque names on your statement, it becomes hard to know what you're paying for — and that opacity helps subscriptions hide. A trick is to keep a short private list of recurring descriptor snippets (the small text that appears on your statement) and a one-line note about which service it maps to. Tools and apps can scan your statements and try to categorize charges, but manual annotation is often faster and more reliable. This question focuses on why statement clarity matters to subscription management.