It’s not surprising that the costs of subscriptions are going up along with utility bills, interest rates and food. Those helpful folks at Which? have rounded up ten ways to save money on your favourite streaming services. Read on to find out how to slash subscription charges.
Share your subscriptions
Most services have plans you can switch to that could help you save, without losing personalised features. Without delay, you can share your Amazon Prime benefits with another person in your household, halving the cost.
Check for bundles.
Most mobile phone providers offer free extras with your contract which could give you access to your favourite streaming site for up to two years. With this in mind, make sure any new contract is right for you, and make sure you shop around for the best deal.
Use cashback offers.
You can earn money back on monthly and annual payments if you choose to make them with a cashback credit card. With this intention, just remember to pay back what you owe each month to avoid interest charges.
Select the cheaper annual option.
If you have a favourite streaming site and know you won’t want to cancel, why not buy the membership in one go, rather than paying monthly.
Rotate monthly subscriptions.
Do you really need to pay for all the TV and film subscriptions you enjoy at the same time? Netflix, Now, Amazon Prime and Disney+ will allow you to cancel monthly subscriptions at any point with no exit fee.
Do your homework.
If you want to watch something specific, check out which platforms have it and shop around for the cheapest one. For instance, free app JustWatch pinpoints where you can find TV programmes and films and compares the best prices.
Downgrade your plan.
You could save by switching to a cheaper plan. For example, Amazon Prime offers a basic membership called Prime Video for £5.99 a month. It doesn’t include other benefits such as free delivery, but on the positive side, it’s worth it if you only want to stream shows.
Snap up free trials.
Some services will give you a free trial. Music streaming services, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and YouTube Premium all currently give new users a one-month free trial. Another key point to remember, is to diarise the date the trial ends or set an alert or you may end up accidentally paying for the next month.
Cancel what you don’t use.
If you have multiple bank accounts and different bills going out from each of them, you could lose track of the subscriptions you are signed up to. Therefore, some banking apps have features that make it easier to stay on top of bills.
Choose free alternatives.
You can use All 4, ITV Hub and My5 for free, as long as you are not using them to watch live television. For free music, BBC Sounds allows you to listen to live radio and has podcasts and playlists galore – all free of charge. For this reason, if you fancy free e-books, magazines, and newspapers, join your local library.
For more money saving tips, read our blog on how to save money on transport costs, here.