Saturday, 01 August 2009
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Netflix+Rhapsody+Xbox Live = $$$
One of the easiest ways to lose track of money that you're spending is by signing up for one too many monthly subscription services. Ten dollars a month here and fifteen a month there can end up costing more than you think every month. And when they auto-charge your credit card or auto-deduct from your bank account, it becomes even harder to keep track of things. What's even worse is that when you initially sign up, you do fully intend on using whatever it is. But then the time comes when you aren't using it anymore, you think, "Meh, its only x dollars a month. I bet I'll use it next month."
My best personal example of this is Netflix. I signed up for a One-At-A-Time unlimited rental package for 11 bucks a month (which includes a $2 Blu-ray charge) so that I could watch Blu-ray movies on my PlayStation 3. The first two months I used it a good amount, both renting movies and using their online movie viewing stuff. But then I just kinda stopped watching movies. This went on for months and months and is still going on now, yet I still pay the 11 bucks a month, just for the piece of mind that I may use it next month.
In the end, it just isn't worth it to hold onto a subscription service if you aren't using it . It may be "But I should use it" or "I want to use it" or "I intend on using it" , but if you aren't doing it, you'll just end up wasting money. Most services are pretty easy to stop and start anyway and shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to do so. Worst case is you cancel a service just to start it up again a week later. Best case is you cancel a service that you would have otherwise left running and save yourself a good couple bucks.
Do you subscribe to any services that you aren't actively using?
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About the Author
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- From: Justin@xanga
- Name: Justin
- Location: United States
- About Me: I program, write music, play video games, eat, sleep and watch tv.
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Comments (3)
I've done that with MMOs a number of times. I'd play WoW or EQ (1 or 2) for months and months and then get distracted by something... a number of months would go by with slim to no play time, but I'd keep the account active "just in case."
With MMOs, it's kind of a 'loyalty' thing - and also just an unwillingness to give up on all the hours and hours spent on developing your characters and what not. But I eventually learned to activate when I had a craving for some pwnage, and deactivate/cancel when I found something else to do.
Still using NexFlix at the moment, but I've been guilty of keeping the DVDs for MONTHS, which I need to avoid. :)
But yeah, totally know what you mean.
Well, I've kept a lot of Netflix movies for way longer than necessary (happens when your mailbox is one of those crappy community ones that you have to walk down the street for). But if it makes you feel better, you can always put Netflix on "vacation" if you don't use it for a little bit. It's kind of nice, actually. I haven't done that yet, because I constantly use the "instant" viewing with Xbox, so it's useful to me.
nope.. not really.
I don't subscribe to services that I'm not actively using