Many of these are beneficial and used often, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pupbox (my dogs would say this one is crucial) and many others to list based on your lifestyle. However, what about those subscriptions that automatically renew, but you no longer need? Such as magazine subscriptions or even the newspaper if you find these piling up before you even have a chance to read them. Subscriptions aren’t bad, but it’s important to make sure you’re only paying for services that you are actively using, or else you could be saving that money for something else.
Most articles centered around the topic of subscriptions will tell you to cancel those magazine and newspaper subscriptions, but that’s not an absolute given. If you enjoy reading your morning paper or perusing through a magazine each month then by all means keep your subscriptions! However if you find yourself donating or throwing these away without reading them, then you don’t need to be spending that extra money every month.
Another popular subscription topic is Netflix/Hulu or other subscription tv watching services versus cable. If you’re like me, Netflix and Hulu are watched weekly, if not more often, in the household. For us it’s worth spending that money every month to watch our favorite shows and access movies. If you also pay for cable tv along with these services, evaluate how much you actually watch tv on each of the various methods. If you barely ever use cable, consider cutting the cord and sticking strictly with streaming services.
The opposite rings true also. If you rarely use the streaming services, cancel them and use those funds towards your cable bill every month. It’s always worth taking a look at where your money is going every month and how it can be better spent.
Consider sitting down at the end of each month and taking a look at your month end statement. See if you notice any recurring charges for services that aren’t being used, and go ahead and cancel those. Be sure to keep track of how much money that saves you and consider funneling those extra funds towards your savings, or another part of your budget that needs a boost.
