Remember when a subscription consisted of getting a monthly magazine or a daily newspaper? When I was young I had a subscription to Boys Life magazine for a year or two. My parents got Readers Digest, The Western Horseman and Good Housekeeping. We had a total of 4 or 5 subscriptions plus the daily newspaper. We also bought the Grit (newspaper) weekly from a kid who sold them. I think the only other things you could get at the time through a subscription were Fruit of the Month and collector plates, spoons, bird statues, etc.
I have always enjoyed flipping through the pages of a good magazine. We currently subscribe to numerous magazines. My favorites are National Geographic, National Geographic History, and Better Homes & Gardens. My wife enjoys subscriptions to Woman's World and a few other magazines for women and one or two cooking magazines. A lot of magazines have done away with their print version and just offer it in digital form. I browse through a few digital magazines through my public library account. I imagine that printed magazines will eventually become obsolete much like the Sears and JC Penny catalogues.
Now a subscription has become more than a magazine. You can subscribe to a streaming service, a food delivery service and any number of monthly packages that contain certain items. You can subscribe to getting a variety of boxes. You can get an Arts & Crafts box, an Awakening box, an Escape Room Game box, Crystal of the Month box, Marshmallow of the Month box, Kid's Craft box and on and on. When I searched subscription boxes, all of the previous came up plus many more. The costs can add up. The boxes range from $11 to $61 per month on those in my search. I'm sure they can go much higher if you go with wine of the month or any other pricey item.
There is a huge convenience aspect to a subscription. Once you get it started you can sit back and enjoy 12 months or more of the thing you ordered. It comes right to your doorstep or mailbox and if you do the boxes, I'm sure it's like getting a Christmas or Birthday present every month!
Budget experts will advise you to review your subscriptions on a regular basis. This is sound advice for anyone on a budget and especially in retirement. Some forgotten subscriptions may be hidden within your monthly credit card bill and you may not pay attention. Carefully review your bills for a month or two and make sure you still need and enjoy your monthly subscriptions. Cancel those that you no longer need and save yourself a little money every month. You may even find a subscription or two that you began with a free trial and never got around to canceling.
We currently subscribe to the magazines I mentioned above, streaming services that include Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and Paramount+. My wife has an Ancestory.com subscription to do family tree research. If you aren't careful you can easily run up monthly fees in the $100's if you aren't careful.
I think the streaming subscriptions are a bargain if you find a few shows or movies on each one. Some monthly fees probably are cheaper than one trip to the movies. The boxes and food delivery seem to be a little pricey to me, but if you enjoy them, they are probably worth it for you.
So, give your subscriptions a good review and make sure you still want to pay for each one every month. You may find some extra money in your budget. You may find an old subscription that you can cancel that will free up funds for a new subscription you would enjoy. I recently cancelled a movie pass monthly subscription I had at Regal after not using it for a month or two.
Do you enjoy a good magazine subscription? What are you favorite subscriptions? Do you subscribe to something unique?
I have a collar of the month subscription. One dog collar a month , each is themed for a holiday , or season. Having country dogs that get dirty constantly, it’s nice to have fresh new and fashionable collars.
ReplyDeleteYou have to keep those pups looking good! I've also heard of Bark Box for dogs.
DeleteI did have a lot of magazine subscriptions at one time but to save money a few years back I just started not renewing them. I always enjoyed going to doctor or dentist offices and looking through their magazines while waiting. Now I look at People magazine at the checkout line if there is a line ahead of us. I do agree there are a lot of subscriptions out there and they can add up monthly if one is not careful! I did see that Amazon Prime is going up but I still get lots of benefits through it so it is still worth the cost. I think the best thing out there though is still a library card to one's local public library. Ours offers so much in the way of reading, DVDs to borrow, CDs, etc. I think that is one of the best gifts a parent can give their growing child; a library card!
ReplyDeletebetty
I agree that the library card is a great thing to have. I have noticed even our library is carrying less print magazines but you can access the digital magazines with your card account number.
DeleteI still enjoy a home/lifestyle magazine subscription. Many magazines have gone digital; I'm not a big fan of digital. And like many products, a one year subscription used to offer a magazine each month; now a yearly subscription can be reduced to as little as 4/yr. I haven't subscribed to any other services/products. Even the magazine in the mailbox feels like a present.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I like a real magazine in my hands. The digital one versions are just not the same. I've also noticed some magazines not doing monthly. I have one that is every two months instead of every month.
DeleteI had trouble with my laptop last summer and when changes were made, I found I needed to update MS Office and Quicken. The only way to get those these days is through subscription. You can no longer buy the software, download it, and use it until it doesn't work anymore. While I do like knowing my software is current, I'm not crazy about paying for it either monthly or annually. But I guess that's the way of the world these days. I let several magazine subscriptions lapse because I just wasn't finding time to read them. I don't even miss them now!!
ReplyDeleteI have a MS Office yearly fee too. I was totally happy with buying the software every couple of years to get the updated version. I don't like paying the higher prices they are getting for just one year of use. But, what else am I going to do, right.
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