5 Tips to Save Money on your Monthly Subscriptions
With the news that Amazon is set to increase the monthly price of its Prime service for UK customers for the first time since 2014, we look at ways in which you can save money on your monthly subscriptions…
From September, Amazon Prime’s subscription will go up an extra £1 to £8.99. Its annual membership will also increase from £79 to £95. This is due to higher operating costs and is, claims Amazon, the first price rise in eight years.
But what do you do if you really can’t afford to pay any more for your monthly subscriptions including Amazon Prime? In conjunction with Deal.Town we share our advice on how Brits can reduce their monthly outgoings and get the most out of their subscriptions.
Says Sam Whilliance, a discounts expert at Deal.Town:
“If you are paying the Prime subscription price, it is important to make use of all of its services, not just one or two.
“While most people take advantage of the free next-day delivery service and the thousands of songs, films and TV shows available to stream, with Amazon Prime you can also read play new games and read thousands of books- something many people may not use.
“You can also carry out a weekly shop with Amazon Fresh, which offers Prime members in certain locations free, same-day delivery on food shops over £40.”
In this article, we look at 5 ways you can save money on your monthly subscriptions.
1. Split your monthly costs
If you are living in a household with someone else who has a separate Netflix or Spotify subscription, split the cost if possible. This will allow you to take advantage of any free trials or discounts on offer for less.
Spotify offers a Premium Duo plan for £13.99 a month, perfect for two people in the same household, in which you can save around £72 a year, versus the price of two individual subscriptions.
2. Reduce the number of subscriptions you have
Take a look at the channels and services you are regularly consuming content from and question whether you really need to pay for all of these TV and film streaming services at the same time.
You may only have Netflix for a certain series or film, so if that is the case, you can temporarily cancel your other platforms whilst you are bingeing on one series.
Netflix, Amazon, Prime and Disney+ all allow you to cancel a monthly plan without an exit fee, therefore continue alternating the platforms you pay for in order to save some money.
3. Downgrade your plans
If you are on a premium plan but don’t actually fulfil your use, downgrade it. For example, at the moment Netflix has three separate plans; basic, standard and premium.
If it is just you watching Netflix but you are on a premium plan, it is worth reducing your plan down a tier.
4. Take advantage of free trials
Music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music will let you listen for up to five months without paying anything.
Therefore, if you want free music for a year or two, why not use the free trials whilst you can and avoid spending a penny.
5. Cancel what you don’t use
Many of us are guilty of signing up to services during lockdown to help pass the time. If you still have those subscriptions active but aren’t actually using them then click cancel!
While they may only be small outgoings, it all adds up. If you are confident you are going to use a service for a year, it may also be cheaper to opt for an annual fee as opposed to monthly.
