Money matters: subscription services
In this week's Money Matters column, Wrekin's Debt & Energy Manager Dan Bebbington reveals how to save money on subscription services.
Disney+ recently became the latest subscription service to announce a price hike with annual increases of up to £36 starting in November.
Whether it’s streaming your favourite TV shows, movies or music, the rising cost of subscriptions means many are feeling the pinch.
With that in mind, here are some handy tips on how to save money on subscriptions without missing out on the best entertainment.
Sharing your account is one way you can do this. While companies like Netflix are cracking down on this practice, others are more relaxed.
Spotify’s Premium Duo plan costs £14.99 a month, and can be used by two people from the same household, providing a saving of nearly £84 compared to two single subscriptions.
Amazon Prime also lets you share benefits with another person in your household.
Paying annually rather than monthly is another way to reduce your outgoings, with most services offering a discount if you pay for the full 12 months up front.
It’s also worth considering whether you need to have all your subscriptions active at the same time.
Most platforms allow you to cancel your monthly plan with no exit fee, meaning you can plan ahead and rotate which services you use.
Comparing the price of what you want to watch or listen to across different platforms is another good idea.
For example, you might find some TV shows featured on paid services are also available for free on places like BBC iPlayer.
You could also downgrade your plan to a more basic one. This might mean losing some of your perks or being faced with adverts, but the financial savings can be worth it.
Remember that free trials are your friend, with many services offering incentives for the first month or so. Just don’t forget to cancel the subscription before payments kick in.
Phone providers and banks sometimes offer a free subscription as a sweetener to sign up so keep an eye out for those deals too.
Most importantly, always keep track of your subscription payments via your banking app and make sure to cancel any you no longer use.
Hopefully these tips will help you enjoy your subscriptions without breaking the bank.
15th August 2023