Author Topic: No monthly or year subscriptions  (Read 4930 times)

thegradwife

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No monthly or year subscriptions
« on: July 21, 2015, 06:44:20 AM »
Just canceled our prime membership! Last one to go. Since we've decided to be minimalist, we buy less things, and we are hoping by cutting off all TV/movie access, our family will play outside more.

I'm a bit nervous but really hoping this works out! Has anyone else done this?

Melody

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2015, 05:02:08 PM »
I literally have no subscriptions (internet/magazine) and no TV, but I live alone so can't comment on Family. Not having these things does push you into doing other things. I do two types of sports classes (both of which run 5x a week) giving me options every day except Saturday, not having the option to sit on the couch makes it more likely I attend these classes. At $8-10 a pop I'm not sure if it saves money though, but I'm fit :-) I also have a much cleaner house since I ditched the TV and am working my way through "paperwork" and actually making progress. Have gotten some stuff off this list that has been hanging out their for years. I lso spend a lot more time on this forum, where at least I am learning stuff. Good move!

Melody

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2015, 04:11:58 AM »
I have the internet, but no internet subscriptions. Keep the internet, we would be lost without it.

patrickza

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2015, 04:24:01 AM »
I have the internet, but no internet subscriptions. Keep the internet, we would be lost without it.
Ditto, I couldn't give up the web, as a plus it earns it's keep through some websites I maintain.

The other I have is a gym membership, but I pay upfront for a one or two year period for that. Other than that, nada.

fb132

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2015, 05:45:25 AM »
I have three things I don't mind paying monthly even though they are not necessities:
-Internet (i do alot of online banking transaction + Questrade investing on the internet, so I can't give it up)
-Gym Membership (if I had my own home, I would do what MMM does and buy all my gym equipment, but for now, I have no choice to go at a gym)
-Bus Pass (Much cheaper than having a car and although I praise those who go to work with a bike, for now that is not something I want to do simply because our weather is the pitts here...basically I am lazy :P )

Melody

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2015, 08:36:41 AM »
My gym membership is pre paid, 15 sessions for $150, this is a good compromise for me and means I only buy it over winter.I probably go about 2x a month so its much cheaper than any normal gym would be for an occasional user.

Sibley

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2015, 08:54:16 AM »
Another step in my quest to go more frugal... just got the renewal on my Time magazine subscription. Not going to pay it. They've been annoying me lately anyway, and if I want to read it I can go to the library.

snogirl

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2015, 09:00:28 AM »
Congratulations!

I gave up all my subscriptions that included Amazon Prime, Costco, Netflix, Audible, Pandora One, & Planet Fitness in 2014.
Ditched the cable/internet bundle at the same time.
My internet I get from the library or free wifi or my Mom's via my smartphone or tablet.
I also have access once in awhile through work.
My previous career was a techy, do not miss it one bit.
I guess it has made me more deliberate with arranging my entertainment
ie. scheduling TV time with friends when I really want to watch something like the Stanley Cup Playoffs or treating myself to a movie.
It has saved soooo much freakin money and made me more social & stimulated my brain/got me in shape.
The one luxury I have brought back this week is my $40 Green Mountain Club membership (Non Profit Hiking Club) because I want to hike the 272 mile Long Trail and the fee gives me some benefits to accomplish that.

I understand that not everyone can do this for they may have kids, home biz, etc.


Sibley

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2015, 12:16:59 PM »
Another step in my quest to go more frugal... just got the renewal on my Time magazine subscription. Not going to pay it. They've been annoying me lately anyway, and if I want to read it I can go to the library.

Sibley, you don't even have to go to the library.  You can probably read it digitally on a tablet or computer.  I finally got around to doing this and I feel like a kid in the candy store, with The New Yorker, The Economist, Wired, etc.  I know I also have access to Newsweek, but not sure about Time.

Is this an app? Please share!

Melody

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2015, 05:08:57 PM »
Seems a bit arbitrary to focus only on costs that have a monthly or yearly (automatic) subscription model.  If you typically spend $1,000 on travel each year, is that not the equivalent of having a monthly recurring subscription cost of $83?  I'm not trying to be nitpicky because this is a cool exercise, but I really hope folks aren't  celebrating a win here simply because they "prepay" an annual expense, or simply because an expense isn't set up to automatically be charged. There is nothing inherently insidious about auto-charge, just as there is nothing inherently virtuous about auto-pay. 

Besides, I think many of us convert our annual costs to monthly costs in our spreadsheets anyway; otherwise how else are we capturing our savings rate?
The problem wth subscriptions is we don't  re assess if we want the item and will probably consume less of it if we didn't  have the subscription  (e.g magazine might only be purchased  if the cover looks really good, rather than automatically) i think its about creating a conscious  mindset and it does save money (eg not recharging your mobile phone when you are going on an overseas holiday).

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wordnerd

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2015, 06:56:42 PM »
Another step in my quest to go more frugal... just got the renewal on my Time magazine subscription. Not going to pay it. They've been annoying me lately anyway, and if I want to read it I can go to the library.

Sibley, you don't even have to go to the library.  You can probably read it digitally on a tablet or computer.  I finally got around to doing this and I feel like a kid in the candy store, with The New Yorker, The Economist, Wired, etc.  I know I also have access to Newsweek, but not sure about Time.

I've been hitting the New Yorker paywall lately, and it's making me a sad panda. But, yes, lots of wonderful media available online!

thegradwife

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2015, 07:55:38 AM »

I guess it has made me more deliberate with arranging my entertainment
ie. scheduling TV time with friends when I really want to watch something like the Stanley Cup Playoffs or treating myself to a movie.
It has saved soooo much freakin money and made me more social & stimulated my brain/got me in shape.


That is exactly why we want to do it. We have already drastically upped our social life in the last few months, because we have enough room to entertain our friends and their kids, and it's been great. I'm hoping this will push us a bit to manage our time more in the mornings and at night as a family.

Internet is included with our rent so we still have it.

fb132

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #12 on: July 24, 2015, 12:09:53 PM »
Question like this, is there really a difference in paying something yearly vs monthly??? For example, I have a gym membership I pay monthly, if I decide to pay the full year membership once a year opposed to monthly, is there any upside of doing that. I know the math stays the same, but I figure if I pay it once a year, I can invest more monthly (apart for the month where I pay my annual gym membership) which makes it better when it comes to cost-averaging price from the stock market. Anyone have an opinion on that or does it simply make no difference?

Sibley

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2015, 08:40:58 AM »
I canceled my Time subscription, and checked the library. I can indeed get tons of magazines, for free, and I can check everything out from home. Really happy about this.

However, I find that I'm a news-boycott. The morning news doesn't tell me the weather, which is the only reason I turn it on. So I've been watching How It's Made while I eat my breakfast. This morning they told me how they build stagecoaches and my response was we still build stagecoaches?

eyePod

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Re: No monthly or year subscriptions
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2015, 08:54:36 AM »
We have Netflix and internet. My wife just called today and got us back down to promo rate (was at 39.99 for the past year for 25MB down), it went up to $54.99 for a month, and they've also bumped us up to 150mb down. Blown away. I think it helps to have a girl call and flirt with one of their cancellation specialists. Maybe get them early in their shift to so they aren't worry about their quotas yet?

I could live without netflix but we also watch about 3-5 episodes per week and also let my daughter watch some. So in the end, it's fine and well worth it.