Monthly subscriptions that make your life better

[Waveafterwaves]

Just that really! What monthly subscriptions/ payments do you think are so worth it , little luxuries , save you money etc?

After having to budget a bit I realise I have quite a few and have cancelled some , but for me there are some I just can’t - added up it’s not a small amount but I feel justified with them!

• Theme park passes - I have passes for my children ( one dc is entitled to a carer card so I only pay for the children ) - I have Merlin ones that are pay monthly and I have them for a very local theme park that isn’t actually a subscription, I did pay outright as Christmas presents , but they are so useful! Even if I have no money , we can go and have a day out! It actually makes the school holidays a lot easier as I don’t have to worry if I don’t have money - we stick to the local ones, take a packet lunch and we have refillable cups so with the discounts it can cost us next to nothing for a good few days per week!
• Kindle unlimited - reading is my thing! I must get through a book a week at the very least, more when I’m off work! It’s £9.50 per month but I couldn’t be without it - I don’t drink , or go out really so it’s my treat.
• I have Amazon prime , Netflix and Disney plus - we don’t have sky or anything, this is all we watch. However , I am thinking I need to cut down on these !

What are yours ??

This is quite interesting as my kids have often said I’m a sucker for anything coming in the post and we have a lot more than I realised!

We can afford them though, and as we have significant savings, pensions etc I’ve become more comfortable with spending small amounts each month/year on ‘luxuries’.

Annual - Amazon Prime and Spotify family - these are for everyone. I also have a Fitbit premium subscription and one for a podcast app, which I started using after getting really fed up with Apple Podcasts.

Monthly - for everyone - Netflix, Smol laundry and dishwasher capsules. For me - Bloom and Wild flowers.

We also alternate between other streaming subscriptions like NowTV, Apple, Disney - generally only have 1-2 at a time and cancel after a few months depending on discounts etc.

More sporadic - Simply Cook recipe kits, Craft Gin club, Smol spray tabs, occasional/one off beauty boxes. We’ve also got/ have had block subscriptions to a few different magazines - some kids ones/National Geographic when the kids were younger, hobby related and Good Housekeeping.

Finally there are some which I don’t see as subscriptions, but monthly payments to a few different podcasters/writers through either Patreon or Substack. Some of these I’ve had for a few years and intend to continue, others are more recent and possibly short-term.

@Waveafterwaves in the kindle book deals section, there’s a header called Prime Reading that you can click on

I like YouTube Premium - you get YouTube music included in it as well as YouTube without the ads.

I have an annual subscription to Everand for audio books and ebooks which I think is about $86 per year. I also intermittently have Audible when they give me a special offer, currently £3.99 a month. Depending what I'm doing I can easily listen to one or two audio books a week, and Everand is good for reference ebooks, like quilting, cooking, gardening etc.

I always have one subscription to a quilting magazine, currently an annual one with Make Modern which is Australian. I used to have a Quiltmania subscription but they closed and I miss it, but tbh it was always a bit above my ability, at least I have the patience and ability to consider the Make Modern patterns.

We always have two video streaming subscriptions, so we change between Netflix, Disney Plus, Now, Amazon Prime and Apple TV depending on what the family want to watch.

None! Cancelled all of them - just about covering my household bills let alone subscriptions!

Spotify premium family, so everybody can have their own music when they want it and I can have my 15 hours of audiobooks, which generally includes all the latest audiobooks.

Damm you @ClearHoldBuild - the page is now open. The finger is hovering. I’m calculating how long it takes to get to Chorley (it’s about just under an hour from me…).

Skin+me is the only one I have now.

Subscriptions soon add up. At one point I had a few and it was just extra 'stuff' I didn't really need.

I get meals weekly from Frive as I have health problems and struggle to cook

I’ve tried the various beauty boxes, skin and me, Smol, Freddie’s flowers, Gousto etc and if money was no object I’d have them Back but don’t really miss them.

I have kindle unlimited & Prime. I read about 6-8 fiction books a week (not novellas) - I do speed read and have always been an avid reader. I have prime as I benefit from the subscribe and save, Amazon warehouse, refurb etc. I also read their books. Amazon prime doesn’t let you access as many books as KU which is why I have both. I love that I can access most the magazines etc that I like as well (thinks that’s the prime side).

I have no TV. I home schooled my youngest and after teaching him our household budget at 10 he didn’t feel it was worth it for a tv licence and sky etc. kinda agree. So it’s been 15 years. He’s working, gaming or football etc. I’m working, reading or painting things that didn’t move fast enough.

ChatGPT. I use it for work and home and the voluntary work I do. I have the paid version (and also use Open AI in other work software). I build apps with it, I use it for dealing with voluntary matters, it’s helped me meal plan and do a health reset. It helps me shop to my budget, to the food genres I like and in the 3 local shops I like. Prepared the suggested weeks menu, shopping list etc.

I have adhd and the peri-menopause fog is debilitating so this tool is life changing. It’s made me more productive that I have been in years. It’s recently diagnosed me with an
issue I have been begging for help with for over 5 years - associated grief. I’d never heard of it until I explained to ChatGPT how I feel and it explained what I had was real and it had a name. Now I’ve accessed a specialist group and therapist.

Bold Beans. I am not going back to tins.

Good pair days monthly subscription
Wine delivered to your door, what's not to love? 😃