Subscriptions Suck Your Life Force

In the past, if you wanted to purchase a product or service, you would go to the store and buy it there.

You might find it in a catalog and order it by mail. That was in the ‘way back’ days, before the internet.

Fast forward to today.

A new study shows that U.S. residents spend billions of dollars per month on subscription services.

Billions. Every month.

Many businesses and websites have shifted to a subscription model, where the customer pays a recurring fee for access to a product. A magazine subscription was the most common example of this model for years, but now everyone is jumping on this bandwagon.

Subscriptions are so easy.

We tend to underestimate how much we spend on subscription services. If you love something, why not pay a little bit of money to get more of it sent to you every month?

This model has become more prevalent as businesses have discovered it promotes loyalty by continuing to supply the customer with products and by keeping them connected by emailing promotional materials.

Examples of products or services that use a subscription model are streaming services, software, food services, monthly boxes that provide a wide variety of products as diverse as movies and music, wine, shaving products, makeup, and dog treats.

These pricing models require customers to pay an automatic amount at regular intervals for products or services.

We sign up for a subscription, only a few dollars a month, but it all adds up.

It’s bleeding you dry.

Go online and have a look at your bank statement.

Add up every automatic payment that’s not for an essential item such as hydro or rent. Take a good hard look at how much you are spending to belong to these groups. Include gyms and shopping memberships such as Costco.

Have a look at annual memberships. Most companies have your credit card on file and will automatically renew, sometimes at a higher cost without notifying you in advance.

Most people spend between $100 and $200 per month on monthly services which are taken from their bank account automatically.

That money represents the time you are spending working. You are using up some of your Life Force on these payments.

NEVER WASTE YOUR VALUABLE LIFE FORCE

Now’s the time to be very honest with yourself.

When you review each item, ask yourself these difficult questions.

Do you use this subscription? Sometimes we keep paying for things like Amazon Prime because we think we will use it in the future. Are the benefits of an Amazon membership valuable to you? Do you need same-day shipping or can you wait for your purchase to arrive within a week?

Are you keeping this membership out of guilt? If you subscribe to a diet or fitness app, but you rarely log in, why continue? These types of subscriptions also have the added disadvantage of being a source of guilt and shame because you aren’t using them to meet your fitness goals.

Are you getting real value out of these things? Are you still downloading and listening to those audiobooks? Can you find a free source of that streaming music or listen to the radio instead? How many movies can you watch at the same time?

Is this membership motivating you to spend more money? When you pay to become a loyal customer, you’re setting a goal to get your money’s worth. That adds up over time if you are purchasing more than you would otherwise.

Do you belong because a friend or family talked you into it? Loyalty programs offer rewards for referrals and you may have been persuaded into joining when you really didn’t want to.

How much are you spending on things that you don’t notice? Companies rely on you hesitating to cancel a membership even after you’ve stopped using it. So many people get magazines every year because they forget to opt out of auto-renewal. Hunt these down and cancel the auto-renewal.

What would you do with this money if you didn’t spend it this way? Would it be helpful for you to pay an additional $20 or $30 a month toward your credit card debt? That’s money that could go into your emergency fund or retirement savings.

What purchases are providing real meaning in your life?

What are other meaningful things can you do that won’t cost you anything?

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A version of this story also appears on Medium by Tree Langdon, the author.