Over Subscribing

There are subscriptions in life that we're just accustomed to. We pay rent monthly, mortgages, TV, internet, phones, and bill after bill. But recently I was looking at cutting back on expenses in my life and some of my subscriptions were on the chopping block.

This thought came about because of a little rant I had to myself about music subscriptions. I use Spotify and Google Play Music. On Spotify I come and go with the subscription when I'm in the mood for music as I only listen to songs I like, never new music unless I've picked it up off the radio. So for me, paying £10 a month really isn't worth it. When I got myself a Google Home for my kitchen it came with three month's free music, so of course I switched over to that, and then carried on the subscription after the offer, again, at £10 a month. But it's just come to the point where I've decided it isn't music mood anymore.

After cancelling that subscription (and realising that Google Play Music is a waste of time, but that's a rant for another time) I started wondering about what else there was that could go.

I actually don't have that many frivolous subscriptions at the moment, it was just music and Netflix. I even thought about cancelling that. I have over 2000 DVDs, it's not like I'm short of something to watch, and I can always sign up again when new series start... of start charging the moochers for their share of it, which I'm almost certain they use less than I do.

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A subscription isn't just for Christmas

I thought back to all the subscriptions that I've had. I've had crafting magazines, Graze boxes, puzzle books, gym memberships, Poirot DVDs, monthly books and CD subscriptions. I've had Now TV, Netflix, Spotify, Google Play Music and I've currently got Virgin TV. I've had standing orders at the local comic book store, and I've tried monthly nerdy boxes and packs online. All of these with varying success, and god knows how much money thrown at them.

Did you know that you can even subscribe for your prescriptions? I joke of course, it's not quite a subscription in the same way... you don't just get sent some random drugs in the post. (Mores the pity I hear some of you say.) But you can pre-pay 3 or 12 months and get all your prescriptions covered for that period. And it's a good plan when you actually know about it.

The downward spiral

When looking for what was out there on the internet then went down the rabbit hole... I know you can get basic subscription. TV, films, music, magazines, book clubs and the like. But I wondered what else I'd been "missing" out on... and you know what? Part of me wished I hadn't looked.

So, not only are there the book clubs that I remember, but they've expanded. You can get a book club for pretty much every genre imaginable, for teens, for adults, for little children. You can get them with book accessories, or as hardbacks, with tea, with chocolate, or with book club notes and discussion points. Of course there's the magazines as well, any genre you can think of! Or perhaps you're feeling adventurous and want to get one random magazine each month from the company's wide selection of publications?!

You fancy crafting? Well how about... stationery? From antique styles to modern art. Perhaps sewing kits, crocheting, knitting, craft packs for adults, craft packs for children, or just mystery craft packs for you to embrace your imagination. Boxes of random fabric squares for projects, with or without the ideas to go with them.

If you're about home and health, we've got the boxes for you. No end of make-up options, day wear, night wear, mermaid wear. While you're waiting for your monthly bottle of nail varnish to dry you can relax with an artistic perfumed candle. Ladies, you can relax even more to know that your monthly box of "monthly" products will be there so you don't run out. Of course it's not just for the ladies, guys you can get your own skin care and pampering boxes too, and handcrafted razors. We can't forget your pets either, you can get boxes of food, treats and toys for your cats, dogs, guinea pigs... and so many other animals.

After you've finished pampering yourself you can put on your socks, tights, boxer shorts, exercise clothes, watches, shirts, t-shirts, cufflinks, jewellery and shoes before heading out for the day.

Food (and drink) for thought

Photo by Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash

There was so much food... sooooo much. Not only can you get your groceries from supermarkets easily now, you can get loads of stuff on subscription from Amazon Pantry too. But if you fancy something a little more... swanky... you can get any of the following...

Artisan foods - Bacon - Baking kits - Beer (and if your peckish, some jerky) - Cake - Cheese (or a combo with charcuterie meats too) - Chocolates - Cocktails - Coffee - Cordials - Fresh juices - Gin - Honey - Hot sauce - Japanese snacks - Meal prep boxes - Meat - Nibbles (of the healthy variety) - Organic baby foods - Pies - Ramen - Rum - Sandwiches (Cheeseposties, genius name) - Sausages - Scones - Tea - Vegan foods - Wine

Best of the rest

There were just too many options to list, and what makes it worse is that these were just the ones I found from links on the first page of Google.

Top on my list of the extras were various nerdy boxes. Games, comic books, figures, badges, t-shirts, retro (comics, vinyl and even cassettes), and Lego. In this search I actually ended up ordering myself a geeky box, so we'll see how that one off goes when it turns up... and yes I do realise that this started as a way of spending less money.

Hugs in a box, which is a box of mindful things to help those with depression. While it sounds like a nice idea I don't feel like the products inside the box will work. It would hopefully, however, make for a nice surprise if you sent one to someone to let them know you're thinking about them.

Art prints... this seems perplexing to me, art is such a personal thing. Having someone else send you something seems risky.

Magic boxes... the witchy kind, not the rabbit out of a hat kind.

And depending on how your personal life is going there are all things from date night packs to adult products.

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All of these things are out there, and someone must be buying them. I worry that sometimes we have more money than sense. Why do you need to buy any of these food subscription boxes when we could make the stuff ourselves for a fraction of the cost, even if we paid the supermarket to deliver it to us? It feels a little like we're lacking in imagination, are we so devoid of ideas that we've actually decided to make other people choose for us?

Call me cynical, but some of the boxes I've looked up really don't seem like value for money, unless you're taking in the convenience of not having to think of something into consideration. Some I would think are just making money for old tat.

My cautionary tales

In particular I'm thinking of the comic book subscription I tested - 16 comics for £20, plus a couple of bits of merchandise. The blurb uses the word box (or similar) 10 times, the picture is of a box (admittedly computer generated)... so yeah, I was a little surprised when I signed for a stack of comics books inside a grey plastic postal bag with a key ring and lanyard on top with no indication of this wonderful subscription service I'd decided to become a part of.

There was not a comic among the pile that was really worthwhile, all of them looked like old stock that wouldn't shift. And I'm almost certain that's exactly what it was, and who can blame them for finding a way to make money out of all this old stuff? I'm sure some people would find the contents intriguing. For me though, getting a stack of comics that are not stand alone stories, none of which are the first in the series felt entirely pointless, and the accessories that were included were worse quality than you'd find in Poundland.

I cancelled the subscription an hour after I received the first "box". Had it even remotely lived up to the inflated description then I probably would have gone for a second month regardless of the slightly inferior quality.

The other thing that I've tried is a fruit box subscription. I kept seeing one of their vans driving around, and after a couple of sightings I decided to find out what they did. I emailed them from my work email asking for prices and what sort of things they supplied, and without even waiting a couple of hours they turned up with a free box of stuff to give it a go. An excellent ploy, because that first box was amazing, and of course everyone in the office loved it. Sure it was £20 a week, but it was fun, a novelty, and convenient.

But there's a reason the first hit is always free, it makes you realise what you're missing. After that first taste you're hooked. So when the quality starts to slide, you don't do anything about it because it's a one off, it'll get better... but it never really does. Now I get fruit from the supermarket every week. I spend about £4 on bananas and oranges, or some variation of whatever looks good. That's a £16 saving for not being lazy.

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What really amazes me about all of this though? Everyone seems to have forgotten the original food/drink subscription box. We'd splash out almost every single day on one... A bottle of milk delivered to our door with a whistled tune and a tinkling of bottles in crates.