Subscription services can often be a good way to streamline costs and get some monthly comforts to make the start of every month a little more exciting. Still, subscription services can sometimes get out of hand and before you know it, a huge chunk of your pay check can disappear in the blink of an auto-renewal.
In our continued series of blog posts intended to help cut the cost of everyday living, we’ve put together some handy tips for managing your subscription services and finding ways to cut those annual payments back down to live.
Switch out tv subscriptions
With Netflix no longer raining supreme as the only streaming service, it can be easy to get drawn in with Disney for your Marvel shows, Netflix for Stranger Things and HBO Max so you don’t miss the fiery premieres of House of the Dragon. Before you know it you’ve got three direct debits coming out each month and more tv than you could possibly watch.
Thing is, most of these big premieres are usually spaced out, meaning you can always cancel whichever ones you aren’t currently using and resubscribe when the next big thing is released.
By simply keeping up with what you want to watch and making sure to cancel your direct debit, you could seriously reduce your subscription bill without having to miss out on the quality tv you actually care about rather than endlessly scrolling for something new.
Look for free trials and sign up offers
It can be easy to miss out on entire free trials, extra months, and discounts by going straight to the sign-up screen without shopping around.
But a simple half an hour of internet sleuthing could net you an extra three months trial, 20% off on an annual subscription and other new user offers you could miss out on. These offers can come up at random or through specific retailers, such as a recent offer for Paramount Plus that nets users a free month for signing up or Disney Plus’ September sign up offer, that gets users a month for just £1.99 (runs under 19/09/2022)
You never know what deals you might be able to get but its always worth doing a search on coupon sites, through Honey or on sites like HotUkDeals to see what you can find.
If you don’t use it… LOSE IT!
Look, we all want that perfect gym routine but if the last time you regularly got your sweat on was weeks ago, it might be time to admit it isn’t going to happen. It’s a well-known secret that gym’s make a large margin from people who never, or rarely, step through the doors and you don’t want to be one of them.
There are a lot of subscriptions like this, ones we’d like to use more or finally add to our weekly routine but if it’s not in use the only thing its doing is eating at your monthly budget! If you really feel guilty for cutting out the gym, there are plenty of free home workouts and going for a run around the park are good replacements.
Ask what’s a luxury and what’s essential
A monthly magazine, coffee or book subscription can be a real treat at the start of each month but sometimes you have to ask yourself, do I actually need it? Chances are 90% of the time a subscription is a luxury and something that can be cut when times are hard. Subscription services usually work by automating an element of your life at a premium, getting you to commit monthly to something you either don’t always need or could purchase separately as needed. This means that subscription services are almost always a luxury item that don’t always need month on month.
Of course, if this subscription feels essential to you, then keep it. With managing your budget its important to be realistic with yourself to ensure you stick to it and remain on budget rather than lapsing with spending. If you’re smart with your money and feel you have accommodated for that monthly premium coffee blend, then let it be. However, if your magazine subscriptions are pilling up unread, chances are you could do without it.
