Do you have a monthly subscription (other than tv) and is it worth it?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

The Birchbox ads on Instagram always catch my eye as they look so pretty. But I don't spend £13 per month on make up as it is so why would I want the contents?

Yet they look so pretty!

A quick Google tells me there's a fuck ton of monthly subs out there- socks, flowers, bath products, stationery, etc. A worm hole.

Does anyone actually recommend one?

Not me, but my
Mum was 60 this year and as part of her presents I got her a monthly subscription to bloom and wild, so flowers through her letterbox, and a book club subscription to willoughby book club. She loves both!

Apple Music, News+ and TV+ on Family Sharing
Kindle Unlimited

We get a fruit and veg box every 2 weeks from Oddbox. I use all the veg in soup for my lunches (regardless of what the veg is, it all goes in!) But sadly the fruit often doesn't get eaten, we all prefer chocolate

I have Kindle which is not just great for books, but I get loads of magazines too. I also have Craft Gin Club which is a lovely treat although I only get it every 1-2 months.

I have a spicery Subscription. Get the spices and recipe for a 3 course meal every month. I love it as the food is always great and makes us try so many n different new recipes etc and made us much more adventurous on our cooking. Helps us not get into a rut

I have Amazon Prime and use a lot. It's worth every penny to me/

I have amazon for the prime delivery, dont really watch the TV app, Spotify as I listen to music everyday and I get one called taffy mail which is a monthly subscription for an American sweet box, has loads of crisps, cereal, drinks and sweets etc that you can't get over here and its my treat for the month (even if the kids raid it more than me 😂) I would love a makeup one but I dont wear it very often so it would be a waste but I love little monthly subscription boxes!

Audio - I love audio books and the some of series on audio are great (Victorian Secret read by Stephen Fry is one of them)

Prime filmAn are ok but mainly for next day orders and offers. Netflix

I did have Now TV but Netflix is enough I only have so many hours of the day I can watch tv (or my iPad)

Spotify

I have the body project (online work out videos). It's about a tenner a month and I work out 3-4 days a week. I'm fitter than I've ever been and it's the right mix of familiarity and variety.

I'm NOT an exercise fan, but I've done home workouts a long time (Jillian Michaels and the like). But it's been brilliant for me, I've been much more consistent and beats the gym or running by miles.

I also pay quarterly, so just when I'm starting to flag a bit - the payment goes out and nags me into doing more!!

Les mills on demand, I’ve cancelled my gym membership now, I love it!

Another vote for Bloom & Wild. There's something very decadent about regular fresh flowers, and it feels like a real treat, whereas I'd always be worried that I wouldn't like something in a food or make-up one.

Happy to share a code if anyone wants to try it.

@AlohaMolly the book club one sounds great for DM. Did you decide for your DM or just second guess her choices? I think mine would read anything anyway, but not sure I could pick her favourites nowadays.

This is a great thread for a nosey, I've always wondered what people have on subscription, thanks!

I'm not going to be a useful addition as the only things I pay for monthly are Netflix and my SIM card, but it's good to read everyone else's.

I am considering paying for Spotify as the Covid reminders are getting me down in the middle of listening to a nice Christmas playlist, but everything else I don't really spend money on (flowers, makeup) or use the library for (books, audiobooks).

I have loads.

Craftpod
Craft subscription Box
Cotton and Twine
WufWuf
Audible
Readly
Fat quarter club from somewhere.

I’ve tried -

Not another Bill. Ok but not me.
Birchbox. Bit Meh.
Gin craft club. Nice one off gifts if you like gin. I have too much gin and not enough desire to drink it.
Scrawlrbox. Ace but I have too many pens now.
Spooky box club. Cute but I don’t need more stuff.

Hello fresh was absolutely ace when I was really ill and suffering burnout. It took the stress of meal planning away. Just ordered it weekly and done. Was worth the cost for me. Thinking of getting it again actually just to see through the new year and give me time to reset a bit. Lockdown and endless cooking and meal planning I’m pooped.

Veg boxes were always good. Had Abel and cole now switched to a local supplier who does similar. Always too much fruit and not enough veg though. I just want oranges and blueberries.

Oh deer stationery box was nice. I got those for a couple of months to gift to friends. Well received.

Entertainment I have all the usual ones but I’m going to trim those way back I think. Mostly the tv.

Will probably get a gym membership soon, never had one.

Lots of new ideas here thank you! I've enjoyed googling and looking up all the subscriptions you've mentioned. I think I'm going to try the cosy craft club!

A toucan box for dc 2. Dh gets fresh roasted and ground coffee, razor blades and skincare stuff on a monthly basis. I pay for photoshop and instant ink each month.

I’m embarrassed by how many we have 😬

Craftpod (me)
Kiwico (ds)
Little crumbs (dd)
Sky tv
Netflix
Disney
Amazon Prime
Couple of magazines (Tesco vouchers)
Audible
Spotify

And I’m wondering about Smol!

BT TV which includes NowTV (which includes Sky Atlantic, the main reason for getting it)
Amazon Prime which includes Prime Video. I subscribed when I was doing a university course so currently get it at half price, so it’s been totally worth it this year for getting stuff delivered.
The above two give me plenty to watch so I’ve not bothered with Netflix although there are a few series I would like to see.
MoveGB - the fitness class I attend (in happier times) is bookable through them so I just do that and get the classes for a couple of quid cheaper. You can also do free taster classes with other providers but I haven’t bothered.
Radio Times!

At the moment I have free trials of:
Apple TV
Kindle Unlimited (which I’m probably going to bin as I can’t find any books I fancy or have actually heard of)
Les Mills on Demand (which I probably won’t continue if my gym classes ever restart, as I seem to need a real life class to motivate me)

For the last three years I have given my mum monthly letterbox flowers from Bloom and Wild. They last about a fortnight and, without exception, have all been lovely. I highly recommend that subscription.

For the same length of time I have bought my father the London Review of Books. Not my kind of thing at all, but he likes how much reading there is in each issue, that the articles cover such a wide variety of topics, and that it is a 'dip in' read that he can just pick up whenever.

My brother has bought our dad a subscription to Private Eye, which he also loves.

I was bought a subscription to Swollen Panda socks - a monthly pair of jazzy socks. Except they are not. They are run of the mill socks. One pair had cats on (not a fan), one pair were stripey, this months are pink with no motif at all. I woulfdn't recommend that subscription.

Swole Panda, not swollen...

I've just stopped my audible as I had too many credits so just pausing for a while to catch up.
I did have birchbox and loved it, I've just stopped it though as I had it for a year and I've got a lot of face masks etc. To get through. I may retry it once I've got through them.

DP has a beer box which he loves which is about £30 pm.

Just to the people discussing magazine subscriptions my library does this for free as part of my library membership. Things like BBC good foods mag and gardens one. Worth checking out.

I have Papergang and Spotify. Both are how I'm managing to get through Coronavirus in one piece.

Spotify, Headspace, Blinkist and Vogue. Love all of them!