Take World of Warcraft, for example. $15/month isn’t really a bad deal if you compare it to other forms of entertainment. Going to see a movie at the theater would cost you $7 (or more) for 2 hours of entertainment.

If you’re playing even just 6 hours/month of WoW, that’s only $2.50 per hour. Cheaper than renting DVDs, really. If you spend your time playing it instead of watching TV, you could even cut out your cable TV and just play WoW instead.

I don’t actually play WoW. Just using it as an example. I am an avid game player and give myself a monthly budget, whether that is for buying new games or paying subscriptions.

[...] To verify eligibility, these websites will ask you to enter your e-mail address. If your employer (or school, in some cases) qualifies, you may receive discounted plans or equipment. It’s a quick and easy way to reduce recurring montly costs! [...]

Thanks as ever for all your wise advice!

[...] Recurring expenses can be especially insidious. Long-term contracts and installment plans often contribute heavily to negative cash flow. If you truly need to make a major purchase, save the money to pay in full. Don’t buy things you cannot afford. [...]

[...] you want to save money, one of the easiest ways is to cut out monthly subscriptions to stuff you don’t use that much. It doesn’t have to feel like deprivation. My top suggestions [...]

[...] Get Rich Slowly is thinking about XM Radio and recurring monthly expenses. [...]

Also the annoying thing about online memberships if that you often forget about them and end up paying the fees for several months before you get round to cancelling them.

I capitalize the cost to compare with other products I might buy. Using a 5% cap rate, 12*$10/5% is $2400, a true lifetime cost for a lifetime benefit. Is it worth it to me? Only a very few are. Would love to have an Tivo HD, but it isn’t offered with a lifetime subscription and it will never be worth what it costs to me.

I would go out of my way to pay for monthly expenses like gym membership and insurance up front if I was getting a discount so that I wouldn’t have the monthly obligation. It’s much harder to budget with a bunch of monthly bills, not to mention the hassle of paying them or keeping track when the charges are applied to accounts.

Great post.

They offer XMPR which features some NPR programs but not your local. I do not drive as much now but XM is great and find it hard to go back to regular radio which I never listened to very much.

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I agree that we need some, but I find for myself that I get excited about some new thing, subscribe, and then hardly pay attention to it a few months down the road. It is very true that you can cut out a lot of these services and not even miss them.

I have the minimum possible cable TV, solely because Comcast charges more for internet only. I keep that to a minimum by calling in every time the latest promotion expires and quoting them the last rate quote I got from AT&T. I have a hard limit on the cost of internet service, the day I can’t drop Comcast below that limit is the day I go with whoever else I can find.

My cell phone service is a time block somewhat more than I use in a month, the next block down is less than that, so it is the best balance I can manage.

My home phone is a VoIP service, $25/month for effectively unlimited calling to anywhere I’m likely to call. This is handy for talking to friends in places like Canada or Germany.

Then there are things that are worth the money. I have an on-line storage service that I use to keep encrypted copies of my various electronic records in case of problems at the house.

I am taking an on-line course in Japanese, this is self-paced, no grades or such. This is a course that you take because you want to learn, and even though my usage is uneven, it is there when I have time and I have access to teaching staff for questions. It is worth the $19.95/month for the flexibility. Convenience does have value. Also, this particular expense qualifies both as education and entertainment.

Thats it, the smaller the list the easier life is.

I can’t figure out how to get rid of Comcast, however… I have an HDTV and I have become addicted to the DVR services. I am gone during the week for business, so recording the shows in HD is great. I don’t know if I can do away with the service, as much as I hate paying their fees. Why oh why does HDTV have to be so fantastic and expensive?

we have cut ALL magazine subscriptions! It would just clutter my home and made me feel inadequate as a mother, wife and decorator! I even quit my starbuck habit! sniff sniff. The things we do for retirement savings. Sigh

The newspaper costs me $11 a month. That comes out to $132 a year. It’s definitely worth it for me. I use coupons and the amount I save with coupons is more than I spend on the paper. I could just get the Sunday paper delivered for $9 a month, or drive to the store and pick up a double edition (twice the coupons!) for $2 each, but I read four sections of the paper everday, and more on Sunday.

The gym. For me, again, it’s worth it. 24Hour Fitness has a corporate membership which I’m available for, so I get a discounted rate, and I didn’t pay sign-up fees. I did opt for the “multiple gyms” membership instead of the “single gym” membership. I use two of the gyms near me, two by my parent’s home, and another in Northern California whenever I travel. I attend the yoga classes regularly, and some of the other classes. I currently pay $35 a month ($420 a year.) It’s pretty steep, but I use the gym often. When I signed up, I opted for the monthly plan because I wanted to make sure I would continue to use the gym. Now that I have, I’ll be paying a $600 lump sum for three years ($16.67 a month) and if I’m still with the gym after that, my month rate goes to $5 a month. The $600 plan is now an excellent deal for me.

Blockbuster. Oh, dear. This is where it’s dangerous. I chose Blockbuster over Netflix because of the “Return to Store” option, plus there was a special offer. I’m on the three movies at a time plan, at $19.38 a month, and can end up with seven or eight movies in a week. I calculated that I’ve spent $1.36 per movie. BUT I gotta look at the big number: $155.04. Ouch. Yeah, the per unit cost is cheap, but the overall cost is not. My schedule is going to get busy again in the next few months, so I may not be able to keep up my movie watching pace. I’m thinking I’m gonna cancel my Blockbuster Online account – I can always sign up again later.

The key thing for me when it to comes to monthly costs: how much is it costing overall?

I have this argument with my friends when they’re tempted to get satellite radio– Why not buy 1 or 2 albums a month instead of a radio subscription? At the end of 1 year, you’ll have a well started music collection to show for your money rather than NOTHING. For the same amount of money, the pros/cons of buying albums far outweighs any satellite radio subscriptions, in my opinion.