As more and more companies shift to a subscription model, we all find ourselves juggling multiple monthly fees just to access basic stuff. The average American has 4.5 subscription services that cost them close to $1,000 a year, and many of us have a lot more. And why not? Subscription services offer convenience, and if they turn out to be not worth the money, you can usually just cancel.
Some of these services cost more than doing things the old-fashioned way, but some subscriptions can actually save you money, despite the up-front monthly cost, if you use them the right way.
Car washes
Washing your car is part of its regular, necessary maintenance. A thorough wash clears away salt and other grime that can corrode your car’s parts, improves visibility through the windows, and actually prevents rust—plus you can add all sorts of coatings that protect it from the sun and weather between washes. It’s generally recommended that you wash your car every two weeks at minimum to keep it grime-free and in tip-top shape, and that can add up. A basic wash typically runs about $10-$20 (which would be $20-$40 per month, or up to $520 per year), but detailing with multiple add-ons can balloon that cost to $200 or more (or more than $5,000 per year).
The math here is pretty easy: If the monthly car wash subscription costs less than two washes a month, you’re going to save money over the course of the year. If the subscription is unlimited and you wash your car more than twice a month, those savings will add up a lot quicker.
Used books
Books can be expensive—some paperbacks now retail for $15.99 or more, and hardcovers can go for $30 or more. Reading is an expensive habit if you insist on owning your books instead of borrowing them from your local library. If you’re willing to read used books you can save a boatload of cash, assuming there’s a convenient source for them in your area. Or you could sign up for Used Books Monthly.
If you read four books a month, you can choose a genre and receive randomly selected books every month. One book per month is about $5.49, two will run you $9.99, and four books per month starts at $16.99, but goes down to $15.74 if you pre-pay for a year. If you’re buying a ton of new books to feed your reading habit, this could save you a lot of money—if you’re okay with the adventure of random books.
AARP
AARP being a pretty good return on investment isn’t exactly a secret, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that anyone over the age of 18 can join. And the deal is pretty sweet—an annual membership is $12 for the first year and $16 annually after that. Since AARP has a broad range of partners, these memberships are pretty easy to recoup within the first month, meaning that every discount you get after that is pure gravy.
Kid’s clothing
Kids are expensive—it’ll cost about $310,605 to raise a child born in 2015 to the age of 17. And clothing is a big part of that expense, especially as you watch your kiddos outgrow their clothes on an almost daily basis. Parents spend nearly $800 a year on clothes for their kids on average, or about $65 per month.
That makes a subscription to rent your kids’ clothes a pretty good deal for a lot of people. For example, Rent-a-Romper subscriptions start at $32 per month for seven items ($47 for 15) that you can personalize. The kid wears the items as long as it makes sense, and then you can swap them any time you want. Your kids always have clothes that fit and that they like, and you save a little bit of money, at least until they reach the age when your clothing choices become The Worst.
Subscription tracking
You might not think that adding one more subscription can actually save you money, but signing up for a service that manages and tracks all those other subscription services can really save you cash. According to one survey, 42% of us have paid for a subscription we forgot about, which is literally throwing money away.
A service like Rocket Money or Trim can make managing all that a lot easier, saving you money by helping you trim subscriptions you’re no longer using and keeping you aware of how much you’re spending. Trim costs $99 per year, but claims it can save you significant money over the long term by helping you manage your budget. Rocket Money has a free version and a seven-day free trial for its premium level (and its low-end subscription is a little cheaper at $72 annually), so using it to manage subscriptions can be a win for your budget in every way.
