There’s a relentless number of subscriptions available to anyone willing and capable of subscribing to its services and if you’re not careful, you can get lost in a pile of subscribed platforms – finding yourself in a funk of weekly deductions, slowly emptying your bank account.
With video streaming services, ever since the migration of Disney slowly removing their movies and shows from Netflix, it seems like every video streaming platform ranging from Apple TV, Disney Plus, and HBO Max to name a few, wants to do the same and create their own original series or movie, exclusive to their own subscription service.
And as a person who loves watching The Office or The Boys, you find yourself having to subscribe to two separate streaming platforms – Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
Each subscribed service certainly has its own personal perks in comparison to one another with their own service or exclusive content, but without proper management, the $4.99’s and $9.99’s will rack up by the end of the month.
We’ve came up with a few ideas (in no particular order) to keep in mind when it comes down to managing the subscriptions your bank account is attached to, to help lower your monthly payments.
Tip #1: Make a List of Your Subscriptions
To make it easier to start off, start by making a list of the subscriptions you’ve signed up for by logging into your personal banking institution and using a pen a paper, jot down a list of the subscriptions you pay for with its name and price attached to it.
Keeping a hard copy of the services and plans you’ve subscribed to shows you how much money you’ve been spending monthly allowing for you to realize the amount of money you could have been using for something else (a little accountability doesn’t hurt).
There are also SaaS services that offer help with creating a list for you, but you have to allow the service to connect with your bank account information to properly manage the subscriptions.
Tip #2: Prioritize Your Subscription Services
We all know we’ve subscribed to the services we pay for on a monthly basis for a specific reason and sometimes the particular benefit was maybe a one-time use scenario. Or maybe we pay for the subscriptions because the other platforms don’t offer a specific feature you’re looking for, so you keep it ongoing.
But, in order to manage your monthly subscription bills and keeping the subscriptions that are necessary is a major key to lowering your monthly payments.
Start with the list of subscriptions you jotted down and rank them from “What You Need” to “What You Want.” There may be some variations of the scales that you’re using dependent on the type of subscription you’re applying it to, so you’ll have to apply accordingly.
Then look at the ranked list and make the adjustments between “What You Need” and “What You Want,” while keeping the required necessity for your type of lifestyle in mind. For example, if you’re using the Doorbell Ring app to keep you updated with any notifications regarding what’s outside your front door, that service should probably be listed at a higher priority compared to your entertainment services like Hulu or Spotify.
Using this ranking system will give you a better understanding of how you’ve selected your subscriptions either out of necessity or maybe an impulse buy because it’s convenient. Then, you’ll be able to cancel the least needed subscription based on desire or necessity.
Tip #3: Look For Streaming Bundles
The streaming bundles are probably more applicable to the video platforms that share their services using their application and Wi-Fi. But, if you’re in a bind of cutting the cord on the video streaming subscriptions you have, then there is a way of potentially getting more bang for your buck.
Right now, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ are offering a streaming bundle to be purchased all at a price of how much you can spend on Netflix, $13.99. That’s 3 streaming platforms for the price of 1 service that others use! Not a bad deal if you’re fine with watching shows and movies with ads on Hulu, sports, and exclusive Disney content through Disney+.
Did you know that you can also have access to Prime Video if you’ve already purchased an Amazon Prime subscription of either paying $12.99 a month or $119 annually? It’s not a bad deal when you already use Amazon’s prime services with free 2-day delivery and get the chance to watch Tom Clancy’s, Jack Ryan.