You can literally get a subscription to almost anything these days. Streaming services, apps, food boxes, books, music, movies, and a thousand other services. On sites like Amazon, you can literally turn any purchase into a subscription.

They offer discounts for signing up and generally, the cost seems pretty low. “Just $9.95 a month for unlimited access…” plus applicable sales tax, of course. Most of them will give you a “free trial” for so long before you actually pay full price. It doesn’t seem like a lot until you realize how much the total of all these subscriptions is costing you.

When I was going through the process of gaining awareness of my spending habits and making a budget, I was shocked to discover I had well over $100 per month in subscriptions to various things, most of which I didn’t even use very often. They don’t make it super easy to cancel either and if you do, they will offer you crazy promotions for a “limited time” if you reconsider.

If it’s something you use regularly, having a subscription really can save you money, but you have to look at the whole picture and take into consideration whether it’s really worth it for you personally. I have a handful of subscriptions I keep, but I also know the total cost and the amount of value they add to my life.

Here are some helpful suggestions when determining if a subscription is worth the cost for you.

Calculate and Compare the Costs

First, figure out how often you purchase or use whatever item or service you’re thinking of. Compare the annual cost of purchasing individually, vs the annual cost of the subscription.

If the subscription is a membership that gives you a discount, use caution. I’ll give you a real life example. Last year I was shopping for the best deal for heartworm, flea, and tick medication for my dogs. I have brand preferences because I’ve tried different things in the past that didn’t work very well.

I found my preferred brand on a pet website for much cheaper than anywhere else, so I bought it there. They offered me a free membership to their site and I gladly accepted because it saved me quite a bit of money over the next year.

After that first year was over, they wanted me to continue the membership for the “low cost” of $139 a year. After adding up the total cost of the discounted medications with the annual membership, it was pretty obvious this option was much more expensive than if I bought the product from another dispenser at a higher cost per order. Needless to say, I refused to renew the membership.

On the other hand, I do keep a Plus membership at Sam’s club. There are only a handful of items I purchase at this club on a regular basis, but I do buy gas there regularly at a great discount. I take advantage of the free shipping as well.

I also have the Sam’s Club Mastercard, which gives me 5% cash back on gas, regardless of where I buy it from. The cash back adds up and if I don’t spend it, in 6 months or less I have earned enough to use it to renew the membership, essentially making it free.

Another subscription I hold on to is my Amazon Prime membership. I use Amazon for quite a few purchases throughout the year, and take advantage of the free shipping and other services such as Prime Video, Prime Reading, Amazon Music, Amazon Photo, and a handful of other included services. I also utilize the cash back on the Prime Visa card, which gives me 5% cash back on all purchases at Amazon.

Pay Annually

Paying annually is almost always less expensive than the monthly charge. Do the math. Divide the annual cost by 12 and you will almost always see a significant difference in cost when compared to the monthly rates. If there’s an annual option for the subscription, go with that.

If you can’t afford to pay annually right now, put aside some money with intentions of saving enough for this and don’t forget to factor in the taxes. For example, Amazon Prime is $139 per year but after taxes, (this will be based on your location) my total cost is $152.21.

I recommend putting aside money monthly, even after you purchase the annual subscription, so you don’t find yourself in a bind when the renewal comes up. Make a note of what day it was purchased so you know when it renews and remember that some subscriptions charge you for the renewal a little early in case the card doesn’t go through so there’s time to fix it prior to renewal. Norton does this. But they do have to disclose this so read the fine print.

In my Amazon Prime example, I need to set aside $12.68 per month so when the Prime renewal comes up, I have the money ready. This is called a sinking fund, or as I like to call them, rolling funds. Stay tuned for a future post dedicated to these.

Get Your Money’s Worth

If you’re going to have a subscription or membership to something, take some time to navigate the website or app and make note of everything that’s included. If it doesn’t cost extra, use it. Find out what all the perks are and take advantage of them.

Sometimes you’ll find gems you didn’t realize were there. You might find discounts for other stores or services. You might have options for free or discounted memberships at other places through the subscription. Just remember that if you ever cancel the subscription, you may need to cancel the other “perks” separately.

Even my health insurance has perks. I can earn points by doing things like preventative services (which are included at no cost), reading articles, and taking short online health courses. If I max those points out, they send me a $100 Visa gift card every quarter. And they offer discounts and coupons at a variety of health stores and services.

Don’t Keep What You Don’t Use

If you find yourself with a subscription to something you’re not using that often, cancel it. It’s not worth it to have a membership to a gym if you only go once a month. Paying for something because you “might use it” is a waste of money.

Do a personal audit of all your subscriptions and determine how often you actually use them. Divide the total cost of the subscription by the number of times you use it per month or year and you’ll get the actual cost per use.

Ask yourself these questions. Is it worth it? Would it be less expensive to pay for it per use or item? Do you really care enough about it to keep paying for it? Can you get what you need from somewhere else, or in another way?

One of the subscriptions I recently gave up is Audible. I love books and I drive a lot for work. Instead of music, I am typically listening to a book or a podcast.

But after careful consideration and research, I realized that once I listen to the book, I rarely listen to it again, or at least not for a while. And the public library is connected to apps like Libby and Hoopla, both of which give me access to free audiobooks. Sometimes I have to wait in line for one, but there are so many I want to read, I can listen to something else while I do.

On the rare occasion I can’t find what I want on one of the free apps, I can always purchase the audiobook and there are multiple places to do this. Whoever has it cheapest gets the sale. Doing it this way costs me less than $40 per year vs. keeping a subscription that’s around $165 per year after tax.

Summary

• Understand the benefits and usefulness of a subscription or membership before you decide to buy.
• Read the fine print and know what’s included, how the renewal works, and what the cancellation policy is.
• Compare the cost of annual vs. monthly membership and go with the less expensive option.
• Shop for cheaper alternatives.
• Don’t keep subscriptions you don’t use.
• Use every single perk that doesn’t cost you extra.

Subscriptions and memberships can be great money saving tools if used properly. Skip the ones you don’t use or don’t need. If you’re not sure, take advantage of the trial membership. Just remember to put a reminder in your phone to cancel it prior to the renewal in case you don’t want to keep it. Take advantage of everything included in the ones you do use. And remember that you can change your mind.