Day#12: Evaluate Subscriptions.

Posted by on Dec 1, 2009 in 25 Days to Healthier Finances, Frugal Tips | 3 comments

This is Day #12 of “25 Days to Healthier Finances”, a series of blog posts where Frugal Pinoy readers and myself work on 1 task a day to make our financial lives better. Please stay tuned for the next installment of this series, which will be up tomorrow. Here’s today’s installment:

We are all subscribers. Whether it’s for cable TV, internet service, magazines, or gym memberships, there’s always that extra something that we regularly pay for each month. We often think we’re getting a good deal or that we’ve minimized our expenses – until we review our subscriptions. So that’s what we’re going to do today.

Today’s Task: Evaluate your subscriptions.

Here’s a list of subscriptions you may already have (including the ones I listed above):

  • newspapers
  • magazines
  • cable TV
  • cellphone service
  • internet
  • gym memberships
  • video rental shops (I’m sure a few of you still have these)
  • online subscriptions (to certain apps, online tools, etc.)

Note how much you are spending on these things each month, and add up these monthly expenses to see how much you spend each year. If you’re spending more than you’d like, maybe it’s time to trim down these expenses.

Trimming Down Your Subscriptions

If you suspect you can cut back on these expenses, here are some ways you can do it:

Look for free alternatives. With major newspapers and magazines publishing their content online, there’s rarely any reason to buy the printed version. When I was a working student trying to make ends meet, I saw that my mom’s newspapers subscriptions cost us P750/month. That may seem like a small amount to you, but for someone who’s trying to support a small household with a part-time income, that’s a lot of money. It seemed wasteful to subscribe to them when I can get the same content for free (and with no paper waste too).

As for cable TV, if you find that the shows you enjoy are also aired in free TV channels, why pay for them? Unless you need the late night reruns or the latest episodes (which the free channels also show), there’s hardly a need to subscribe. If you’re a PLDT DSL subscriber, check out WatchPad, which allows you to watch some cable channels for free (if your internet provider has a similar service, take advantage of it).

Look for cheaper plans/providers. Canvass for options that allow you to get the same service at a lower price.

Go a la carte. Ramit Sethi discusses this in his blog, IWillTeachYouToBeRich. Basically, instead of paying a flat fee per month, try to find a pay-as-you-go model. Here are some ways to implement this:

  • Instead of using a postpaid cellphone subscription, use a prepaid one.
  • Instead of paying for a monthly gym membership, pay every time you walk in. People tend to overestimate the number of times they go to the gym.
  • Buy your favorite magazines only when the covers or table of contents truly interest you.

Remember: the point is not to eliminate subscriptions altogether. It’s to evaluate them and see if there are ways we can cut back or be mindful of these expenses.

Read More