Five Surprising Subscription Services That Can Really Save You Money
As more and more companies move to a subscription model, we all have to juggle multiple monthly payments just to access the basics. The average American has 4.5 subscriptions to services , which cost them about $1,000 a year, and many of us have much more. Why not? Subscription services are convenient, and if they don’t turn out to be worth the money, you can usually just cancel them.
Some of these services cost more than the old-fashioned way, but some subscriptions can actually save you money despite the initial monthly fee if you use them correctly.
Car washes
Washing your car is part of its regular and necessary maintenance. A thorough wash removes salt and other dirt that can eat away at your car’s parts, improves visibility through windows and actually prevents rust, plus you can apply all sorts of coatings to protect your car from the sun and weather between washes. It’s usually recommended to wash your car at least once every two weeks to keep it clean and in great condition, which can lead to a build-up of troubles. A basic wash typically costs around $10-$20 (which would be $20-$40 per month or up to $520 per year), but detailing with a few add-ons can increase that cost to $200 or more (or over $5,000 per year). .
The math here is pretty simple: if your monthly car wash subscription costs less than two washes per month, you’ll save money over the course of a year. If your subscription is unlimited and you wash your car more than twice a month, these savings will add up much faster.
Used books
Books can be expensive: Some paperbacks now sell for $15.99 and up , while hardcover books can cost $30 and up . Reading is an expensive habit if you insist on having your own books rather than borrowing them from the local library. If you’re willing to read used books, you can save a ton of money, as long as you have a convenient source for them in your area. Or you can subscribe to Used Book Monthly .
If you read four books a month, you can choose a genre and receive random books every month. One book per month costs about $5.49, two books cost $9.99, and four books per month starts at $16.99 but drops to $15.74 if you prepay for the year. Buying a ton of new books to satisfy your reading habit can save you a lot of money—if you’re happy with the adventures of random books.
AARP
It’s no secret that AARP provides a pretty good return on investment , but many people don’t realize that anyone over 18 can join. And the deal is pretty good: annual membership costs $12 the first year and $16 a year after that. Because AARP has a wide range of partners, this membership is fairly easy to pay for itself within the first month, meaning every discount you get after that is pure gravy.
Children’s clothing
Children are expensive: It would cost about $310,605 to raise a child born in 2015 to age 17. And clothing makes up a big part of that expense, especially if you watch your kids outgrow their clothes almost every day. Parents spend an average of about $800 a year on clothes for their children, or about $65 a month.
This makes a children’s clothing rental subscription a great deal for many people. For example, a Rent-a-Romper subscription starts at $32 per month for seven items ($47 for 15) that you can personalize. The child wears these items as long as it makes sense, and then you can change them any time you want. Your kids always have clothes that fit them and that they like, and you save some money, at least until they reach the age where your clothing choices become worse.
Subscription tracking
You might not think that adding another subscription can actually save you money, but subscribing to a service that manages and monitors all those other subscription services can actually save you money. According to one survey, 42% of us have paid for a subscription that we forgot about, literally throwing money away.
A service like Rocket Money or Trim can make managing all of this much easier, saving you money, helping you cut down on the number of subscriptions you no longer use, and keeping you informed of how much you’re spending. Trim costs $99 per year, but claims it can save you significant money in the long run by helping you manage your budget. Rocket Money has a free version and a seven-day free trial for the premium tier (and its budget subscription is slightly cheaper at $72 per year), so using it to manage your subscriptions can be a win for your budget all around.