Week 3 Challenge: Review your subscriptions
Subscriptions. I’m going to break this down into a few blogs, because subscriptions can be the sneaky killer of the household budget surplus.
Today I want to go through some tips for saving on your streaming.
Foxtel
Netflix
Stan
Disney Plus
Apple +
Amazon Prime
So many options! Here’s how we stripped our budget
Foxtel: this was the first to go. We took advantage of a free installation and no contract package to get signed up and then as is often the case… we just kept paying. Cancelling saved us about $74 per month. One of the common arguments for having Foxtel is that you need to have it for sports. I’ve heard that Kayo can be a good alternative. We cancelled ours last year and never looked back, but I’m not going to add the savings to this years challenge.
Netflix, Stan, Foxtel Go, Apple + and Amazon Prime
We try to only have one subscription at a time. Usually its netflix, but Stan has some great shows that they like to release one episode at a time – Younger and Your Honor being amongst the ones we love. We try to only have Stan 1-2 months per year and binge watch what we have been missing- or take advantage of offers that come up with Telstra for a few few months here and there. But there are some great offers out there that can see you ditch the subscription fee completely if you want to (in exchange for ads that seem to run too loud compared to the program!)
Savings $14 x 10 = $140 per year
We managed to get Apple + for free with our recent phone purchase, so we aren’t paying for that, and we don’t have Amazon Prime, Kayo or Foxtel Go. Here are some free alternatives for streaming services if you decide to cancel and can’t find something to watch.
FREE STREAMING ALTERNATIVES:
9 Now: Great for documentaries – true crime and nature and reality TV, a few oldies to binge too. Not to mention Life Style- we love Open Homes Australia
7 Plus: Great for re-living your teen years: think One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, Brother’s & Sisters, The Secret Life of Us. Super Trashy Reality TV- Heartbreak Island, Geordie Shore, Temptation Island and a huge collection of movies I’ve never heard of.
10 Play:
10 Play is the winner for Sit Coms- Seinfield, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Mom, The Middle and Crime TV – with the CSIs and NCIS
SBS on Demand:
Sport with NBA replays and loads of movies and documentaries
ABC iView
A great selection of tv shows and movies with easy to navigate categories;
ABC kids and ABC me has the kids covered. Then there’s news, movies and documentaries as well.
Red Bull TV
Free sports streaming
Do you still have DVD’s and DVD player lying around? We dusted off a DVD the other day for the kids to watch on the playstation and they absolutely loved it. I recently got rid of all of my DVD covers and put them in a DVD folder, and I eventually plan on downsizing or getting rid of our collection completely, but if you already have a DVD collection, revisiting on a no subscription month can be a good way to make a little more room in the budget.
NOW… in Week 1 we decided on selling somethings to build an emergency fund. We were away in Week 2, but I’m happy to report I sold an additional $210 this week.
Saving Tally:
Week 1: $ 420 + 210 = $630
Week 3: $ 140
Total= $1,850
Did you miss our Week 1 challenge? You can review it here.
or Week 2? Catch up here
At Accession Finance, we love helping our clients get the best finance offers for their circumstances. You can book an appointment with us HERE, we can’t wait to help you!
General Advice Disclaimer:
This represents general information only. Before making any financial or investment decisions, we recommend you consult a financial planner to take into account your personal investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs. This information is based on our personal circumstance and it will be different for everyone. Information provided on this website is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice.
Want your chance to win $7,500 CASH thanks to Accession Finance? Enter here!
About Me:
Who am I? I’m still figuring it out. I love being a wife to Tim and mum to our 2 boys. I started The Melbourne Kid in 2012 and stopped writing to focus on our family and our business Accession Finance. I am an accountant, I love being outside and in nature, I love the salty smell of the air at the beach. I love coriander and I hope you won’t judge me for it. And when I was 6 years old I knew I wanted to be a writer but my mum told me it was a dreamers job. So this blog… it’s the combination of what I know (numbers) and my childhood dream (to write) so thank you for reading and making my 6 year old self’s little dream come true.
