My 5 Most Valuable Monthly Subscriptions And The Single Least Valuable One
Source: Medium, Sayan Das
Photo: How Personal Finance Software Helps You Get More Out of Your Money (lifehack.org)
Recently, I made a conscious effort to trim down the number of subscriptions I was signed up for as part of a larger effort to streamline my finances.
I was never particularly poor in the personal finance department. For example, I would strategically use my credit cards for specific purchases and make sure that I maximize the corresponding rewards for travel or miscellaneous purchases. Some of my friends still can’t figure out how I manage to travel so frequently; the key is to be savvy with credit cards, spending, reselling etc.
Despite this financial awareness, I decided to take an extra step and organize my monthly expenses in a spreadsheet to identify any sources of unnecessary money leaks, which could then be diverted towards more useful subscriptions or transferred to my investing account.
During this process, I learned to identify monthly subscriptions that are truly valuable to me and others that I am potentially wasting money on. This led me to assign a certain “value” number to each service and when I ranked them, the list was clear. Note that this list can widely vary for different people and depends heavily on one’s lifestyle and preferences.
The main goal of this article is to help readers assess their own subscriptions and re-evaluate the value they are deriving from them. Maybe there is a need to trim down on certain services (I certainly do) or get others that maybe more useful. So hopefully this is relatable and educational at the same time.
One thing I want to clarify early on is that this list includes any recurring monthly expense and is not simply limited to SaaS (software as a service) products such as streaming services. Items such as recurring car insurance payments could also count if they happen to provide good value.
Here we go! These are my top 5 subscriptions:
1. Google Drive Storage
Sometimes I feel like I live in Google Cloud, which is kind of like digital real estate. It’s safe to say that if there’s a particular ecosystem that I have adopted, it’s Google’s. Some of the other usual suspects that constantly promote the idea of an “ecosystem” are Apple and Microsoft, who also offer a large suite of both software and hardware products. However, I have found myself actively using more than 20 Google products on a regular basis, which makes the company from Mountainview more valuable to me than the other two giant corporations.
If you have explored some of my other articles on Medium, you’ll know that I like to work on data-related projects. I realized that keeping the study material, Python notebooks, datasets etc., on a computer’s hard drive was not the most sustainable idea in the long-term as there is always a chance of data loss if the physical drive got corrupted or the device was lost/stolen. At the same time, I started to understand the power of cloud services and it’s massive potential for the future.
Hence, I decided to thoroughly adopt the cloud infrastructure for storing all types of files and subsequently enrolled in a Google Drive storage subscription a couple of years back which currently costs me $2.50 per month for 200GB worth of space, equating to $30 per year. In fact, the price per month gets reduced if the subscription is purchased on a yearly basis.
Another important aspect of having this storage space is that I can access any of these files easily on my phone or any computer once logged into my Google account, providing me with great portability and flexibility.
Furthermore, I could easily share these files via links or other apps as the Google Drive suite of products is widely adopted. Think of Google Docs or Sheets. Also, if you download Drive to your desktop, files can be synced directly from your computer instead of having to manually navigating to your Drive and the uploading files.
A key aspect of Google Cloud for me is it’s Colaboratory Python notebook software which I use thoroughly. All notebooks on the platform get directly saved on Drive and I could also easily import data files already saved on the drive.
In addition to the Python projects, I also use the drive to store various other files such as networking notes, investment strategies, podcast recordings, photos, miscellaneous notes etc. At $2 per month, this service is invaluable to me. Quite frankly, I would pay up to $5 per month for the same offerings.
Having said that, this service may not appeal to everyone, especially people who prefer the Apple ecosystem, which provides similar offerings and has the advantage of iCloud seamlessly working with the devices. Personally, I have an iPhone as well but I have still found working with Google Drive to be fairly user-friendly.
2. Spotify
Spotify is another service which I cannot imagine life without and could have very easily been #1 on this list. Back in college, we would use other free services such as Grooveshark, Pandora, SoundCloud and even Youtube in order to listen to free music. Alternatively, we would store music on our iPhones and iPods which seems like a thing from a distant past.
Not only would we scramble to download free music from services such as Limewire and Bearshare but also need to go through the clunky iTunes software to sync music to the iPhone, which was a rather painful process. Spotify completely changed the music streaming game when it arrived.
Having used the free version of the service during college, the biggest drawback was the inability to download songs for offline mode. Hence, moving to the Premium version was a no-brainer. At $4.99 per month for a Student account, it was a great deal even then. An Individual account on the other hand currently costs $9.99 per month, which is what I have now. However, I have never batted an eye at the price as the value it provides is tremendous.
It contains the largest database of music of any streaming platform with 70 million songs and holds 35% market share compared to the likes of Apple Music, Amazon Music and Youtube Music. For the monthly fee, one has access to both old and latest music from essentially all artists out there. Another benefit Spotify provides is the ability to download music for offline use, which adds to it’s portability.
Additionally, the platform is well-organized and enhances the listening experience through various browsing options such as customized recommendations, a plethora of genres and specifically curated playlists. Furthermore, the platform also hosts several podcasts and radio stations. Personally, I don’t explore the podcasts and radio stations that much but make heavy use of the recommendations, genres and playlists to explore new music.
And if all this wasn’t enough, Spotify also provides me with a free Hulu subscription (with ads), which is ridiculous if you think about it as it is an entire separate subscription of it’s own for the price of $0 per month. Hulu is one of the most popular streaming services out there and provides a lot of quality content.
Lastly, a one-off offer from Spotify even provided me with a free Google Home Mini. Do I use it regularly? No. Is it cool? Yes. I rest my case.
3. Amazon Prime
At this point, Prime has become an essential service for everyone. Amazon’s massive product portfolio coupled with their fast 2-day (sometimes even 1-day) delivery on eligible items makes this subscription a part of everyday life.
What makes this service even more valuable is the supplemental Prime Video streaming service. Currently, I am paying $9.91 per month for the entire subscription and quite frankly, I would argue that just the 2-day delivery aspect of it could be worth that price. The additional streaming service makes this subscription a no-brainer.
Another advantage of Prime is Amazon’s partnership with Whole Foods. The e-commerce behemoth acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13 billion and officially entered the grocery and food business. Since then, members were able to get discounts on purchases from Whole Foods through their Prime membership. Furthermore, their Amazon Fresh service provides same-day deliveries within 2-hour windows.
Despite their various offerings, the two services I get most value out of are Prime shipping and Prime Video. When it comes to their Video streaming service, on average, it contains higher quality content than both Netflix and Hulu making it an even more of a bargain. Three spectacular shows on Prime that are worth watching are:
Fleabag
Panchayat
Vikings
These are just a handful of the various shows, movies and documentaries on offer on the platform. One could also rent or buy exclusive movies through Prime if they wanted to, however that is not part of the subscription price.
4. AT&T 1000Mbps Internet (including HBO Max)
This service is the odd one out on this list. Generally, people don’t think of internet service as a subscription. But technically they are, as you pay a monthly fee for the service and some areas provide different options when it comes to providers as well as different plans for the specific provider.
In my case, I have the AT&T 1000Mbps internet service. Do I need 1000Mbps internet? Definitely not. Why do I have it then?
The plan is only $10 more than the 100Mbps plan
It’s only $60 per month for the promotional period with the price eventually increasing to $70 per month
It comes with a free subscription of HBO Max
HBO Max, in my opinion, has the best catalog of movies, shows and documentaries. It’s better than Netflix, Prime, Hulu and Disney. Let’s not even talk about Apple TV. To receive this service for free is simply incredible.
As mentioned before, it is important to keep in mind that I am talking about quality on average. Yes, Netflix does have a lot of good content but it has an equal amount of poor content. That ratio is far better for HBO.
When we purely talk about the internet plan, the average price for 100Mbps speed is $50 per month which is $20 lower than what I pay. However, note that I am receiving a substantially higher internet speed AND enjoying HBO Max for free. Hence, the value for this plan is undeniable.
5. Medium
Not only do I contribute to Medium as a writer, but I also spend a lot of time reading articles related to data science, finance, productivity, lifestyle etc., topics that I myself like to write about. However, these are just a handful of categories that exist on the platform and users can explore hundreds of others.
The aspect of Medium that I enjoy the most is that most of the articles are relatable as they are written by independent or freelancing contributors. Yes, you need to take some of it with a grain of salt but over time, you come to realize which ones are most credible and provide real value. The case is similar with Youtube.
Furthermore, Medium has partnered with several great publications to provide official content. Some of my favorite publications are:
Towards Data Science
The Startup
Data Driven Investor
For the price of $4.16 per month ($49.99 for the yearly subscription), a Medium subscription is a great deal. If you opt for the monthly service, it’s slightly more at $5 per month which still offers fantastic value.
Why did I pull the trigger on a Medium subscription when one can access the articles for free?
I found myself going back to various data science articles, mainly on Towards Data Science, on Medium. Since you only get a limited number of visits to the platform per month, I would have to wait several days or weeks to access the content again.
When I finally got the subscription, I started to explore topics beyond just data science and found other valuable articles as well. Another benefit for me was that spending time on Medium meant I spent less time on social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook which, one could argue, might even be more valuable than the subscription itself.
My least valuable subscription — Netflix
My worst subscription in terms of value for money is Netflix. I know that a lot of people would disagree with this since it’s one of the original streaming services and has become a household name at this point. However, there are reasons why the this subscription has slid down the list of my favorites over the years:
Declining content quality
Lack of complimentary/supplementary offerings compared to Spotify or Amazon Prime
Regular price increases
Replaceable by Youtube (even with ads)
Netflix raises prices in an elegantly subtle manner where they simply notify their subscribers of the hike every other year via an inconspicuous email. Most subscribers wouldn’t even bat an eyelid at the price increase (myself included) and would continue on with their life. However, when you look back at the original price, the significance of the increase becomes apparent.
For example, if we look at the Standard option, there has been a $5 per month price increase from 2010 to 2019. That is a massive 62.57% increase in price per month. A single dollar increase per month may seem insignificant but it’s a huge deal for the company in terms of revenue. If Netflix were to hike the price by another dollar today, with the current number of subscribers (75million), they would instantly be making $75 million more per month.
That’s the beauty of having a SaaS product. It’s great for the company but not so great for the consumers.
That’s the end of my Netflix rant. Despite the price increases, I am probably still going to stick with it. It’s the same situation with Apple (more specifically the iPhone). No matter what the price is, people probably can’t think of a life without them.
Feel free to comment below what your favorite or most valuable subscriptions are. Also, don’t hesitate to roast me regarding my opinion on Netflix.