Cancel culture is cutting subscriptions
The services I can live without and how much shedding them has saved me.
I don’t believe in cancel culture.
I believe in consequences.
But when it came to cleaning up my finances, I needed to start by cutting back. The first place I looked was at my many subscriptions. They had piled fast and proved costly. What’s worse is the majority didn’t fulfill a purpose or help me to reach my potential.
You name it, and I was paying for it. News. Sports. Music. Television. Games. Dating apps. I even forked over money monthly for pesky, fine-print fees.
Until I grew subscription fatigue.
I began scaling back two years ago, when I axed Sirius XM. My transformation then went into overdrive after car trouble struck last summer and a major repair bill forced me to reduce my expenses.
It was a needed wake-up call. I have since slashed more than a dozen superfluous subscriptions. My monthly savings: $188.67. Extrapolated over a year, subscriptions were costing me up to $2,264.04 annually.
Perhaps now you understand why I’m embracing frugality.
My quality of life wasn’t better with them. Now that I’ve removed them, I don’t miss them. Not only do I have more money, but I also have more time. Clarity and direction also have come.
Here are 15 services I’ve realized I can live without.
The Washington Post: This legacy newspaper still offers some of the world’s best journalism, along with a few of my favorite writers. But my subscription cost $100 a year, or $8.34 monthly. Much better deals have been offered since I canceled. But it’s too late for that. It’s not a necessity. I also receive The New York Times for free.
Vanity Fair: When Ta-Nehisi Coates served as the guest editor for the September 2020 issue, I signed up. Little did I know, I was still a subscriber all these years later. I just canceled Tuesday before it auto-renewed for another year at $44.99, or $3.75 a month.
Sling TV: I was an early adopter of this streaming service back when they charged $10 a month. It was much cheaper than cable and helped to usher in the cord-cutting era. But after their last rate hike in December, I was done with them. They jacked the cost to $43.60 a month, which would have cost me $523.20 this year. Essentially, all I watched was ESPN and news. Now I rarely turn on the TV.
Chicago Tribune: Local news matters. But I couldn’t rationalize continuing to pay a premium for a dwindling product. My subscription cost $15.96 a month, or $191.52 a year. Like the Post, better prices have been offered. But the Chicago Sun-Times has removed its paywall.
HBO/Max: Whatever they want to call it now, I was paying too much at $14.99 a month, or $179.88 a year. A few of their shows held my interest. But not enough to pay that price. I also have come to realize movies, in general, don’t do it for me. I can think of a million better ways to spend two hours.
Bumble: It’s been a year since I paid $14.99 a month for this dating app. It was fun while it lasted. I’ve graduated to greater things.
Audible: I love this service, but I’ve become smarter in my usage. Rather than allowing them to charge me $14.95 monthly throughout the year, I’ll pay only when I need a new audiobook or they’re offering a discount. Otherwise, I pause my subscription.
Canva: This graphic design service was my worst money move of May. It cost $12.99, and I foolishly paid for four consecutive months before finally canceling this week.
Netflix: There are some quality documentaries to be found. I recommend “Get Smart With Money,” “Money Explained” and “The Social Dilemma.” But at $10.89 a month, or $130.68 a year, I don’t need Netflix. YouTube is free.
Spotify: I was paying another $10.89 each month for commercial-free music. Now, I just turn down the volume and wait when commercials come on. I’ll live.
AmazonKids+: This was a service on Parker’s tablet I didn’t even know I was paying for. It cost $8.71 a month, or $104.52 yearly. Not anymore.
Bank of America savings: Beware. This corporate giant charges $8 monthly for a savings account if your balance is less than $500. I didn’t know because I wasn’t diligent. From Christmas Eve 2001 through October 2022, I was charged $64 in “maintenance fees.” I’ve kept the $500 minimum in the account since. But on Wednesday, I finally closed the account to direct that money to a high-yield savings account.
Disney+: I tried this service for a few months, mostly for Parker. But at $7.99 a month, or $95.88 a year, it wasn’t worth it.
NBA TV: The last thing I need is more sports talk, especially at $7.62 a month, or $91.44 a year. I receive it for free now as part of my job.
Oklahoma regional bank: Again, beware of the fine print with banks. Unbeknownst to me, my regional bank in my home state was charging me $5 a month to receive paper statements I didn’t even want. I was furious when I found out. But opting out was a breeze, and it put $60 a year back into my pockets.
