Ok, I get it. I, too, have fallen for the “this is totally worth it!” and the famous “it pays for itself!” gimmicks of most subscription services. Think of streaming services, meal delivery, cable, etc. It is easy to get caught up in one of these, and because it is relatively cheap, it doesn’t cross our mind how throwing away $15 a month on a service you never use is a big deal.
When you are trying to be financially successful, it is not only important to look back at your spending habits, but also on what you decide to indulge, and where you could break off the deal. Do you really use Netflix regularly? Is cable really worth it to you? Humans are afraid of change and the have-not mentality, but sometimes having less enables you to get more.
Let’s say that Andy, an ACC student, has the following subscriptions:
- Netflix – $10.99/month
- Cable & Internet – $100/month
- Spotify – $4.99/month (they got the student discount! Includes Hulu, too)
- Amazon Prime – $49.50/year (student discount!)
This means, that per year, Andy is spending over $1400 on subscription services. Their greatest expense, cable & internet, could be adjusted to other providers. This could bring their bill from $100/month to about $75. That’s about $300 they could put into savings! And because they already have Hulu included with Spotify, they could get rid of Netflix (or share a subscription with a sibling/friend) in order to save $131/year. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money now, but if you don’t need it, you don’t need it!
Here are my basic principles for subscription services:
- How much money is it per year? This is one of the questions that almost immediately gets rid of most of my impulse buys. When you add up the amount for the year, it tends to have a greater impact than the month-to-month. For example, Netflix is $13.99/month for 4 screens, but it ends up being $167.88 a year.
- How many times do I use this service any given week? There are subscription boxes/services for pretty much anything out there, from snacks to clothing. It is important for you to be realistic and evaluate how much use you are actually getting out of this service. I ended up giving up makeup subscription boxes because I realized the amount of good product I got was minimal, and most of it was ultimately given away to other people.
- Have I looked around for other options? Before hitting “subscribe” or signing up for anything, I try and look around and evaluate my options. If this is something I really want to get/do, then I want to make sure I get the best option for my needs.
Keep on saving, friends!
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