Taking off from the last instalment of Going Minimal on news consumption, we now look at minimalizing subscriptions. Like news, subscriptions are an invitation to receive something, be it news, entertainment, food, music, software or access to a physical entity, usually provided for a fee. Periodically reviewing subscriptions to ensure value-add can easily save you hundreds of dollars each year and eliminate unnecessary distractions from daily life.

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save hundreds of dollars each year & eliminate unnecessary distractions

Manage and monitor

To cut down on subscriptions, you first need to assemble a list of them. Run through recent bank and credit card statements, as well as your email's inbox. If you use an online payment tool, such as PayPal, sign in and look for recurring payments, filter the date to show between 15 months ago to today as some may have offered a few months free.

As you find each charge or scheduled payment, add them to your list or spreadsheet. When you think you have everything, order by due date, oldest to latest or month-by-month over a calendar year. Useful information to track on each subscription would be sign up date, recurring payment date, next instalment or annual payment date, price and cancellation terms. The list can also be used to stay on top of your budget and personal expenses.

Stay or go

With around 80% of households in the UK, US, Australia and many parts of Europe subscribed to at least one streaming service in 2021, giving up a service even temporarily can give you FOMO. To make matters more challenging, during these volatile times when we often find ourselves at home, streaming services can be a welcome distraction and time filler, which is usually what we're trying to avoid. So, what do you do?

Some subscriptions are undeniably essential. These can include software subscriptions for work or study, services that improve well-being or free you up for more valuable pursuits, and sometimes even those that don't get you closer to your goals but serve as a form of self-care. Choosing which subscription to keep, pause or cancel is circumstantial, but there are a number of questions to ask yourself when weighing up the value of each, such as:

• Do I use it often?
• Does it serve a professional or educational purpose?
• Does it help me earn money now or will it in the future?
• Is it good value?
• Are there cheaper or free comparable alternatives?
• Does my employer or educational institution offer a corporate or education discount or free access?
• Can I share the subscription and cost with family or friends?
• Do I waste a lot of time on it and regret it?
• Does it provide any health benefit, including mental health or self-care?
• How do I feel when and after I use it?

Subscribe, unsubscribe and resubscribe

The majority of subscriptions out there today offer monthly billing and cancel anytime options, and some even offer weekly billing, such as gym memberships and food delivery services. Just as life has ups and downs, so do our needs and free time, which means subscriptions shouldn't be left to take your money forever once you've signed up.

In the current environment, you probably feel the need to be more indulgent or generous with how you spend your time and money, but subscriptions can quickly accumulate, particularly when so many offer free trial periods and one can easily forget to unsubscribe. And when you know that a subscription is only a few dollars, it's easy to become complacent until you realize you're signed up to four streaming services that total over $400 over 12 months! Plus, what might have been a good idea during a quiet period may not be much more than a productivity or money vacuum for most of the year.

Unsubscribing or resubscribing usually takes a few minutes and like other areas in life that can be minimalized, unsubscribing and saving a few bucks can give you a weird sense of relief. It's another thing you don't have to plan for nor think about, leaving you with more freedom to do something that's more valuable in the long-term.