5 Ways To Save Money On Subscription Services

Nowadays there are subscription services for everything! At times, it can feel hard to turn them down considering how convenient they can make your life.

We tell ourselves, it’s only £7.99 a month, right? Before you know it, you’re signed up to that tempting welcome offer and you’re paying hundreds every year without noticing.

If you’re actually using these services and can afford them, that’s great! The problem comes when you don’t get enough use out of it. Or you forget to unsubscribe and your money has been draining.

Once you add your subscriptions to your rent, energy bills, and other financial responsibilities, the number can be quite substantial. Especially given the current cost of living crisis…

Without having to cut your subscriptions completely, here are some ways you can save yourself some money on subscriptions…

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1. Look for discounts

When you’re going to pay for a service, you should think about how you want to pay for it. Many subscription services offer an introduction deal, which can help you decide whether you’re committed to it or not.

Just remember to cancel if you don’t want to start paying full price!

A lot of services also offer a large discount if you pay for all of them in one go. This includes buying a year’s worth of subscription instead of monthly charges.

You can save a decent chunk of money that’s worth a few months of subscriptions to other services.

Of course, you’ve got to part with a large amount of your money now, but you’ll be saving money later in future months.

This only really works out a good deal if you know that you’re going to be using a service a year down the line. So make sure you understand what you’re paying for before you do it.

It’s also worth checking places like your mobile phone provider. Brands like O2 and Vodafone offer special deals on subscriptions like Disney+ and Audible.

2. Get cashback

Speaking of discounts, cashback sites like TopCashback and Quidco offer cashback when you purchase subscriptions like Disney+.

This is when you’ll receive a portion of your money back every time you purchase something via these sites.

Sign up for free trials with ‘get paid to’ cashback sites like OhMyDosh and you’ll also earn a decent stack of cashback!

Related: How does Quidco work?

3. Share with family & friends

Sharing certain subscriptions with family or friends can cut these bills in half. Plus, you’re not only saving your money, but your loved ones are too!

Simply share an account and reap the benefits that you would if you were paying for your own account.

Note that not every subscription service allows sharing in this way (Netflix for one is changing its rules :(). So you should make sure to read the rules when signing up.

4. Pay attention to price changes

A lot of the time, these apps and websites will often update their deals and prices. They should inform you of price hikes.

However, you might find that you’re suddenly being charged more than you’re willing to pay.

In an ideal world, you would be monitoring this and checking your bank account daily. However, we’re all busy and sometimes these changes can come as a complete shock.

A rise in price could be a good sign to cancel that subscription and look for a better alternative!

5. Only pay for what you need

It can be really tempting to go for the best plan with all the bells and whistles. However, if you’re not going to use all the features, try a basic plan or free trial first.

Do your research and read reviews online to help you decide which subscription is best for you. You can also consider temporarily pausing services or downgrading when you’re not using them as much.

This will help you save money and consider whether you could live without the service or not.

There we have it! My top tips to help you save some cash on your subscriptions. Let me know if you have any ideas of your own…