A quick inventory of things I currently subscribe to (prices per year):
- Washington Post ($48)
- Netflix ($132)
- Hulu ($144)
- DirecTV Now (mostly for my mother-in-law) ($180)
- Amazon Prime ($99)
- Spotify ($180)
- Overcast ($10)
- Setapp ($120)
- Six Colors ($60)
- Digital Ocean ($60)
- Slate Plus ($59)
- Micro.blog ($60)
- iCloud Drive ($120)
- The Incomparable ($60)
- Feedbin ($30)
- Backblaze ($60)
Total: $1,422
I think I might be missing a few things. The overall cost there is not insignificant, but I have a hard time knowing what I’d cut. Right now, I’d say the three most vulnerable are The Incomparable (I listen a lot less than I used to), Digital Ocean (I could probably just use Netlify), and Micro.blog (I could just use this Hugo site with titleless micro posts).
I’ve saved about $720 a year by cutting the cord and not having traditonal cable, which pays for items 2-6. That makes me feel a little better about the considerable chunk of money I’m spending on these services. I think I’d like to support more journalism then I do. I’ve been toying with getting an Ars Technica membership for a while. It’s one of the few sites I’ve read for literally more than a decade and still really like. And if the Agenda app sticks (I just started using it a few weeks ago), then I think I’m likely going to shell out for the subscription.
Honestly, I’m already feeling the subscription fatigue settle in. How many more $5 per month can I afford