When you’re struggling to pay your bills, or having a hard time paying down debt, or whatever your immediate money goals are – it can be tough to find ways to save your money. But the quickest, least-effort way to save money every month might be right under your nose.
Subscriptions.
According to Statista, the average millennial had 17 entertainment subscriptions in 2020. Seventeen! Let’s go conservative and say each is $10 – that’s $170 a month! Imagine how much more breathing room your budget would have with an extra $170 or more.
The amount you spend on subscriptions is probably much more than you think
And a recent survey shows the average person thinks they spend about $86 on subscriptions – but the survey found the average person actually spends about $219 each month on them!
Let’s talk about all the subscriptions out there…
Streaming TV
This one is probably the most obvious, and the opportunities here have become endless, and endlessly more expensive. Set a budget or eliminate these if you need to save money, and consider free alternatives such as an over-the-air antenna, Pluto TV, Tubi, PBS, or the free version of apps like Peacock. For the kids, the PBS Kids app is a highly recommended free option – and it’s educational, instead of being just entertaining.
You can also look at ad-supported versions of paid apps to lower costs, such as for Netflix, Paramount Plus, or Discovery Plus. After reviewing the other categories below, you may want to consider bundling (Apple One bundles Apple TV+, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Arcade; Disney+ Bundle bundles Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+; Google Pixel Pass bundles Google One, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Google Play Pass, and Preferred Care).
Here are common TV subscriptions to consider reducing or eliminating:
- Disney Plus
- YouTube TV
- YouTube Premium
- Hulu
- Prime Video
- HBO Max
- Sling
- Netflix
- Discovery Plus
- Paramount Plus
- Apple TV+
- ESPN+
- Fubo
- Bally Sports
- Peacock
Streaming Music
This one is also pretty obvious for most people, and while most people probably only have one streaming music service unlike TV streaming, it’s still worth looking at. Ask yourself, do I need a paid service, or will free radio do?
After reviewing the other categories, you may want to consider bundling (Apple One bundles Apple TV+, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Arcade; Disney+ Bundle bundles Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+; Google Pixel Pass bundles Google One, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Google Play Pass, and Preferred Care).
Here are the most common music services you may wish to eliminate:
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- YouTube Music
- Sirius/XM
- Pandora
- Soundcloud
- Prime Music
- Deezer
- Tidal
Groceries, Food Delivery, Online Shopping
For people in certain situations, like those with a disability, or single parents, or residents of rural areas without a good selection of food, a subscription to a service like Amazon Prime or Instacart may be a necessity. But for most of us, having groceries or restaurant food delivered is a matter of convenience. And we also have a hard time waiting more than two days for the stuff we ordered on Amazon but don’t really need.
In the case where we “need” our online orders in more than two days and prefer our food to be delivered, we wind up spending not just a subscription fee, but we also wind up spending frivolously on way more fast food or Amazon orders than we would without the subscription because we want to “make sure we get our money’s worth.”
If your situation doesn’t require you to have these subscriptions, cancel them – and you’ll save not only the monthly fee (or worse, per-delivery fees if you don’t have a subscription), but also the frivolous spending on the stuff that you would not buy if you didn’t have the subscription:
- Amazon Prime
- Walmart Plus
- DoorDash Dash Pass
- Uber One
- Postmates
- Instacart/Grocery Delivery
Box Subscriptions
There’s nearly a box subscription for everything: nerd stuff, clothing, food. But much of this is stuff we don’t need at all, or we can get for far less money by buying only what we truly need, and buying on sale. Examples include:
- Bark Box
- Stitch Fix
- Blue Apron
- Bespoke Post
- Kiwi Crate
- LootCrate
- Maker Crate
- Ipsy Glam Bag
Productivity/Content Creation
This one is really easy to start with good intentions and then forget. Think photo editing, email, office software, blogging, email campaign managers, web design/web hosting:
- Photoshop/Adobe Creative Suite
- Cricut
- Font subscriptions
- Stock photo and graphics (Adobe, Unsplash, etc)
- ConvertKit/MailerLite/Constant Contact
- WordPress/GoDaddy/Namecheap/Wix/Squarespace
- Browser addons (Honey, Grammarly)
- Email/Office products (Microsoft, Dropbox, Google, Apple iCloud)
Gaming
Just because gaming is fun, doesn’t mean you can afford it. Especially if you’re paying for a subscription on a console you don’t even have anymore:
- Xbox Game Pass
- Playstation Plus
- Apple Arcade
- Steam
- Nintendo Switch Online
- EA Play
- Humble Bundle
Home Services
Home service subscriptions are easily forgotten, and usually not necessary:
- Home warranty: Home warranties have mixed reviews, with some homeowners swearing by them and others writing them off as a waste of money. At a minimum, you should read extensive reviews that talk about ease of making a claim and quality of warranty work, and shop around for the best price for a well-rated service.
- Security: Determine whether you need security, or whether it just seems like a good idea. Read reviews and see if you can lower your cost. Services like Ring offer service for $10/month.
- Smart home services: Many smart home devices for irrigation, plumbing monitoring, etc offer subscriptions that may or may not be necessary.
News, Magazines, and Podcasts
While printed newspaper and magazine subscriptions are at an all time low, it’s easy to subscribe digitally and forget. If you aren’t using these, or if you are and need to reduce costs – you should cancel them. There are many websites where you can read news and stories for free.
Phone & Internet
You may not think of phone and internet as a subscription, but I’m here to tell you: They are a subscription, you don’t actually need them (in many cases), and if you do, you can probably get a better deal.
I’ll write more on this later, but many people waste hundreds each month on phone and internet, when fast internet is as inexpensive as $50 a month through carriers like T-Mobile Home Internet, and wireless is as low as $15 through carriers like Mint Mobile.
But now’s a great time to evaluate: Do I need internet? Or do I just want it? At one point in 2014-2015, I couldn’t afford internet. And I didn’t need it because I didn’t work at home. So I canceled it. Did it suck not being able to browse the internet or stream TV? Yes, yes it did.
But that $50 per month at the time was the difference between being able to feed myself or not. I found alternate ways to entertain myself; I read the news via my smartphone, I got cheap DVD movies for $1 or $2, and I got a bunny ear antenna to let me watch a few free TV channels over the air. It wasn’t fun, but I made it work.
Insurance
Insurance – auto insurance, and homeowner’s insurance – are required by law (in the case of auto insurance), by lenders (in the case of homeowner’s insurance), or are a good idea (renter’s insurance). So it isn’t exactly a “subscription.” But insurance is an easy target for lowering your recurring costs.
You don’t want to just get the cheapest, because as they say, you get what you pay for when it comes time to file a claim. But you can research and see which providers are the best rated, and shop around between them for the best rate.
Big Picture: Make a Budget, Prioritize, and Shop Around
If you’re new to budgeting, it could be a fatal mistake to cut everything cold turkey. And at the same time, some of these services could be critical to your specific situation: If you have a disability, food delivery via Walmart Plus could be a life-giving assist instead of merely convenience. If you work from home, having fast internet is a must. If you own a car, insurance is a legal requirement.
For the must-haves – and “must-have” meaning you cannot carry out tasks critical to feeding your family (e.g., internet helping you perform your job) – shop around and find the best deal. For the rest, make a reasonable budget. Get the best bang for your buck – which is likely for certain areas of your spending to come in the form of a bundle like Amazon Prime or Apple One – and cancel the rest. Just be sure to know your weaknesses – while Amazon Prime is a good deal for all you get with it – if having it will cause you to spend more on no-essentials, don’t do it.
Re-evaluate needs vs wants. Shop around for the essentials. Create a small budget for the wants, and stick to it. You’ll be well on your way to saving potentially hundreds of dollars each month.
