You spend a significant portion of your money each month on various subscriptions like Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Xbox Game Pass, and who knows how many others. However, the costs of these services can quickly accumulate. Reducing your digital expenses will certainly be beneficial. Let’s analyze your digital subscriptions together and try to reduce costs on them.
#1 Shared Subscriptions
To save money, consider sharing your streaming subscriptions within your household. Many services offer flexible plans that allow you to switch and save without sacrificing personalized features.
For instance, Spotify offers the Premium Duo plan at £14.99 per month, perfect for two individuals in the same household. By opting for this plan, you can save £83.88 annually compared to two separate subscriptions. For larger households, there’s the Premium Family plan at £17.99 per month, offering premium benefits for up to six users. This plan provides a massive annual saving of £575.40 when compared to six individual subscriptions.
#2 Do you need all the services?
To maintain financial stability, it’s important to assess your subscriptions and eliminate any unnecessary ones. Take stock of all your digital services and consolidate payment methods for easier monitoring. Review your subscriptions and cancel those that overlap in functionality, opting for the ones you use most frequently. This practice can also be applied to entertainment subscriptions, prioritizing shows, and alternating between streaming services based on your preferences and schedule.
#3 Take advantage of price discrimination
Streaming services and other digital services charge you based on your location. If your country of residence is considered rich, the price may be several times higher than in a neighboring country. You can take advantage of this. If you set up an Android VPN, you can switch to a cheaper region. The same VPN has as many as 60 countries and 2500+ servers. Although you may need a local payment method, this will not be an issue with PayPal and Wise. In them, you can quickly convert currency to almost any other.
#4 Switch to cheaper plans
Rather than spending excessive amounts on subscriptions, carefully assess the value provided by each service and prioritize the features most beneficial to you. Cheaper alternatives, particularly for entertainment subscriptions, can be an effective strategy for those on a tight budget or saving for more important expenses.
While free video streaming services are abundant, it’s important to weigh the benefits of paid apps and consider all options before making a decision. Additionally, trimming unnecessary online subscriptions and consolidating similar services can help manage costs. By identifying redundant subscriptions and selecting the ones most frequently used, you can save money and streamline your digital services.
#5 Pause your subscription for a while
Digital subscriptions are often designed to be easily canceled and restarted. Companies understand that long-term commitments may discourage people, so you’ll find it relatively simple to take a break from any subscription and resume it in a month or six. However, the ease of this process will depend on the specific service. Most cloud storage services won’t delete your files if you stop paying, but they will restrict your ability to add more or make changes. Similarly, software subscriptions will render the software unavailable until you resubscribe.
This approach works particularly well for music and video streaming subscriptions. If you want to try an alternative service or have exhausted all the options on a specific platform, you can return at a later time and find everything as you left it, as long as it’s within a reasonable time frame. Please note that Netflix, for example, allows a return within 10 months. Perhaps if you use Firefox free VPN you will find something more interesting. For example, Voot is not available in the US by default but works well through a VPN. It has a ton of exclusive content. Plus, you might get a better deal on renewing your Netflix subscription.
#6 Use free trial
To save money on online subscription services, consider utilizing free trials, especially when exploring new platforms. This allows you to test the features and benefits without a long-term commitment. Take advantage of the free trial offers provided by popular streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Some services provide up to a month for testing, while others offer a week. By rotating between different platforms, you can enjoy your favorite shows for several months at no cost. Remember to set a reminder on your phone the day before the trial ends to cancel the subscription and avoid being charged.
Conclusion
Digital subscription fees tend to add up and reach hundreds of dollars. Especially if you are paying for the whole family, the price can be much higher. The listed approaches will help you reconsider the importance of online subscriptions and alternative ways to save on them.