Tbh, I had my mind totally against ever paying for a monthly subscription for ANYTHING. If it required a monthly payment and I couldn’t own it, then it’s just a marketing scam. But I have gotten to the point where I was searching for a productivity app with certain features and (after trying about 50+ different apps) the ONLY one that fit my requirements was $3.99 per month. FML. I almost paid for it until I convinced myself I can have the same set of features if I just use 2 or 3 separate apps.
My hope is for answers that provide valuable utility in your everyday life, without a big financial liability. A couple bucks you don’t mind throwing in the wind for ultra convenience.
What is a monthly subscription/service you ACTUALLY consider worth paying for?
byu/no_nolan inFrugal
Posted by no_nolan
28 Comments
I know people will protest this, but I 100% think YouTube premium is worth it. Not only does it cut out the ads on YouTube videos which I watch way too much of but it also replaces apple music and spotify for me. I really like it.
Spotify. I get music, podcasts, and audiobooks and can share with my husband
This will probably get me downvoted to h*ll and back … but I still have the much-despised Prime subscription with no intention of cancelling it. Eh, it’s my only streaming service, plus e-books and audio books.
A gym membership
I subscribe to a password manager and pay about $60 a year.
Spotify, got a family plan with 5 friends and we all pay 3.50 a month instead of the regular 11-12 bucks a person (Canadian dollars)
Walmart Plus. The money we save on gas alone is worth it and we get Peacock for free.
PBS. $5/mo and I don’t have a guilty conscience along with actual enjoyment of the content!
i have zero subscriptions, and intend to keep it that way until death. i have found workarounds for everything, or just do without.
NYT Games. They had a promo for $1.50 a month. At 1 year I was able to cancel and reup for the same promo. I’ll be very sad when the scheme runs dry
Pimsleur
YouTube Premium has been the only subscription worth it IMO for me and my family. I don’t like ads and I don’t want my kid watching ads. I also love that YouTube Music is included in it too.
Audible! Cheaper entertainment for me than almost anything else and I get unlimited access to audible specifics and two books a month.
Tidal music. I use it a lot and at $11/month I feel like I get my money’s worth. I would’ve said Amazon Prime but their shipping speeds have been awful. I’ve been branching out to other places to buy stuff so there may come a day where prime isn’t worth it anymore. Still better than going to a store though.
I have Amazon prime, my fitness pal premium and Walmart delivery. I have some mobility issues that make grocery delivery a need, my son and I are both quite content with the TV selection on prime, and it is very much worth it to me to pay for the premium calorie tracker that allows me to scan barcodes.
The gym. YouTubeTV. Most months, but not always: Amazon Prime.
I guess my bank takes a small service fee every month, and I’d be up shit’s creek without a bank account, so that’s worth it as well.
PBS, Dropout, History Hit, YouTube Premium. Basically all my learning and entertainment right there. I also support a few podcast patreon.
YT premium (student discount). I make a $10/month donation to AArchive as well (not sure if that counts)
I have a subscription to my birth control.
The yearly fee covers the online appointments with docs/nurses to renew the prescription, and then every couple of months my card gets automatically charged for the medication and it gets sent to my door.
I save money on doc appointments, I don’t have to remember to refill my prescription and I don’t have to leave the house to get my meds.
Being chronically ill, this has actually been a huge help in my life.
An app called TheStoryGraph. Because I love books and statistics and that app is all about those. Also the project itself is really fantastic and the dev team is incredibly small, dedicated and very close to the users. Do I need it? No, but I love it and want to support the project as a direct competitor of Amazon’s Goodreads.
Depends on how much time you get out of it really. One streaming service gives me a good 50-100 hours a month. Another gave me maybe 5. Guess which one I still have.
MMOs (one at a time) were my only subscription while I was broke and starting out. It’s one of the most frugal things on the planet, but the activity is hollow and life consuming.
I go in and out of phases where I’ll use a gaming platform’s multiplayer subscription service, but usually PC gaming scratches that itch. (and online is free) Like the other two, the time to cost ratio makes or breaks these.
Yoga.
1Password
RealDebrid.
YAAAARGH! 🦜
YouTube music and bitwarden (for totp). Thinking about migrating to Enpass – lifetime sub costs 70€.
Soundcloud.
I listen to music for hours and hours on end. My favourite artists usually post their sets / residencies on soundcloud. To be able to travel without worrying about access to Internet for music is a must for me. It’s the only paid subscription I have.
I’ve tried to cancel Prime several times. It just gets the job done!
Im paying a yearly subscription to a budgeting app (Monarch). It automates everything and I love the interface. Just takes any work out of money-ing.
I also pay a yearly sub for Rosebud, AI journaling app. Possibly controversial but I’ve had better results in one month using it than I did in two years of therapy (with 2 different therapists).
I’ll pay for convenience and my time. Depends on what you value I guess.
If you need phone service honestly Visible. It’s exactly $20 a month and even cheaper with codes or the Visible circle.