Cancelling as many subscriptions as possible

[FuglyBitch]

Trying to reduce our software/streaming plans outgoings as I just feel annoyed at large capitalist organisations trying to bleed us dry, and move us to a model where we don’t own anything. Frankly, I want out.

• Apple iCloud - £8.99/month - cancelled, I’ve just backed up 40K images on to a hard drive.
• Spotify - £12.99/month - listen on the free one, but lost all my playlists
• TV licence - £174/year - cancelled, deleted iPlayer and don’t watch live TV
• Sky TV - £40/month - cancelled over a year ago

Subs We have, need to work out a plan to cancel

• HP printer plan - £1.79/month for 10 pages a month, use it mainly for kids work
• Disney+ - get it as part of our bank account, will keep while we can
• Amazon prime - £95/year - free delivery and Prime TV. I want to move to buying more locally and not impulse buying stuff

what do you pay for and are thinking of moving off?

I have an HP printer that wanted a sub, I just never signed up and use it normally as a printer. Works fine. I obviously buy cartridges.

I print quite a lot so a library (no idea where there even is one) wouldn't work for me.

We have
sky- broadband, basic tv, 3 mobiles and Netflix included for €120
apple One - €25 for 3 phones
Disney- €10

I do all my printing in work. Which isn’t much these days tbh.

Would never pay Amazon & use them as little as I can. Don’t use Spotify or pay for Apple iCloud. Use a lot of Sky & have Netflix as part of it. Don’t watch movies or need Disney. Think the TV licence is a good thing.

I bought a new HP printer for my mum earlier this year - quite a straightforward one. And there was a lot of info about setting up the ink subscription - but I just set the printer up without it, (there was info in this as well, but they obviously don’t recommend it!) as we are likely to use the printer a lot in a short space of time, and then not at all for months. It was a bit nerve-wracking opting to do it without the subscription (as the written info made it sound like not having the subscription was such a bad idea), but it’s actually been no problem at all, it works just like the old printer.

We always buy phones secondhand, and get the cheapest sim-only deal. We have looked at the figures previously, and (compared to buying a brand new phone upfront) it always costs more to have a new phone as part of the monthly payment. But secondhand phones are just as good, in our view!

We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and smart tvs for BBC iPlayer - tv is important to us as entertainment.

i have had actual magazine subscriptions in the past, but sadly I often didn’t manage to read the magazine, so didn’t renew.

I used to have an Ocado pass, but cancelled that, as I stopped using Ocado so much and I was just paying every month for a very occasional delivery. I now shop in person (usually Lidl), or online with Iceland (free delivery).

You have to be careful nowadays as everything seems to be geared up to paying forever and never owning anything.

It was the same when I was looking for a new car. They want you to pay deposits / fees etc to rent one, basically, and come back every two or three years to do it all again.

I like to actually own what I have paid for.

You can consider rotating between subscriptions. Surely we don't use all of them all the time. I cancel netflix for a good 6-8 months a year during the warmer months as I don't watch much TV and run out of things to watch anyway.

The only subscription I always have is prime.

Perimenoanti - great idea and probably something we may do.

The printer was a good deal at the time because it wasn’t a large outlay to begin with, I guess that’s how they tie you in

Florencesndzebedee i didn’t realise ad free mums net was a thing.
Reminded me of that black mirror episode, where the sick woman was on a subscription for her medication, and they kept upping the price, once she was tied in, the cheaper versions had ads

I'm sure I am paying for Microsoft 360 which I don't think we're using on any devices except the laptop I use once in a blue moon.

I've cancelled Readly because I only use it for the observer on Sunday which I can access directly on the website I think and two magazines that we have print subscriptions for.

Keeping OS maps because it's good value and I like to have it.

I don't think the HP ink is bad value, the ink lasts way longer on subscription than it ever did before, I always get tons of free pages so it can cope with surges of use at exam time or similar and I never have to think about it for a couple of quid a month and the printers are dirt cheap.

Will at some point chuck young adult dc off Netflix and Spotify family plans and reduce or rotate those with others.

I think that HP printers are now programmed to insist that you can only use genuine HP cartridges though. On my old HP printer I could use much cheaper 'looky-likeys' bought from Amazon, but when it finally gave up the ghost recently I ruled out HP as a replacement for this reason, and went with Canon instead.

As a general rule I think that the actual printers are loss-leaders for the companies, it's the ink where they make their money.

I've been meaning to go through this for a while, so tha ks for the nudge!

Netflix was £12.99/month, but I just swapped it to the £5.99 one reading this thread!
Disney+ £129/year. I was going to open a new Lloyds account as its free with them, but the DD for our annual sub came out maybe 2 days ago. Very frustrating.
Prime we do watch but use it mostly for shopping. And we use it a lot.
I have Google storage and Microsoft I think, but again, I'll be cancelling those and moving everything to Amazon having read about it on here.
Mobiles are only about £35 for three phones.
D&G insurance are over £50/month. I have claimed on these and they've been worthwhile. But right now I could do with the money more.
Vets4Pets £53/month, again, useful for monthly meds but can I justify it right now?
Nintendo £3.50/m for one of my sons.

I think I need to do a good overhaul really.

Yes sorry I have a HP and I think you do need to buy genuine cartridges, but you don’t need the subscription. I’m in on an old subscription though so I get 10 pages a month for free and that is usually enough for me so I’ve never actually tried to cancel as I basically get free ink.

Netflix, Smol, Spotify (could probably stop that one to be honest).

I've recently cancelled TV licence as not worth it and mostly watch Netflix. I try and make use of free trials then cancel once it's over.
I don't bother with Amazon prime as I wait until my basket goes over the minimum spend then get free delivery anyway. Or wait until they offer me a free prime trial again which they do from time to time.

I don't have any of that stuff. Amazon orders get delivered to a nearby locker for free. Currently have Spotify on an offer, it'll be cancelled at the end of the promotional period. Have never had Netflix or Sky anything like that.

I have:
tv licence paid monthly
sky tv with free Netflix with ads £15 and I got a £40 voucher when I signed up (Martin Lewis)
amazon to (DS has prime)
I’ve just done a bank account switch to Lloyds £200 reward and free Disney+ with ads for a year there is certain criteria
Kindle unlimited £9.99 I read a lot
apple storage 0.99
BorrowBox for audible books free (library)

SparklyCardigan I didn’t realise you could get free delivery to the Amazon lockers

I have a TV licence, and I pay Apple a couple of quid a month for photo storage. I buy my phone second-hand, which works out about £1 a month, but I do pay £13 for a SIM only contract because it includes roaming in Europe.

You can get SIM only for less than that with Europe. Mine is Smarty, £8, loads of GB, and free Europe.

I'm changing soon to Lebara because I need EE, due to the Smarty (02 I think) network being a bit rubbish in my house, that will be £9 I think but also with Europe roaming free. Waiting to see if I can find an intro offer or deal on it though.

Get rid of Prime, re subscribe for free with the offers / when you order something next. Might not work the same for you, but we generally get a month's free offered after popping stuff in our basket and then not checking out. Tend to subscribe about once every year/18 months.

I’ve cancelled all my magazine subscriptions on the basis I wasn’t reading them . Gone to Sim only on the mobile now the contract has expired .

I got rid of all except Amazon I only have one at a time otherwise it costs too much 😊

I have moral objections to Amazon and Spotify so I no longer use those - plus it's really cut down on clutter and impulse purchases.

At the moment I only pay for TV licence, Tidal and Headspace app. We rotate subscriptions so it's either Netflix or Disney at a time. Netflix has been paised since summer as we have free Disey at the moment.

Both mobiles are on £8 a month pay as you go. I do printing at work if I need it (though rarely do). I did have a Look Fantastic beauty subscription for a while but have stopped it. DH has magazine subs but he pays for them himself

Remember all those paying for magazine subs to check out what you can borrow from the library. I had a serious magazine habit now I borrow digital magazines from the library and there are hundreds to choose from.

Exactly. ”You will own nothing and be happy.”

We must resist this madness.

What is harder to resist is built-in obsolescence.

You can also get magazine subscriptions with Tesco clubcard vouchers. I have a Tesco credit card which I use for most purchases( pay off every month) so I get a good amount of vouchers.
Using my vouchers means I don't pay anything for RAC breakdown, annual magazine subscription and annual membership of the RHS, and still have some spare.