LIFE HACKS
Budgeting Bootcamp:
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTIONS Story by Bailee Wicks | Design by Sara Roach
The ‘broke college life’ is not just a joke; it is a reality for many students. After stressful days consisting of class, work and then homework, you just want time to relax and unwind. Whether you’re listening to music on Spotify or Apple Music or watching movies and TV shows on Hulu and Netflix, these entertainment services are not free and if you are not careful, they can add up quickly.
Why get a subscription?
Subscription services usually contain niche products that are renewed on a monthly basis. Some of these services include: Ipsy, Birchbox, Spotify, Hulu, HBO, Apple Music and Netflix—just to name a few. Sophia Ferguson, a first-year screenwriting and directing graduate student, says that the ease of subscriptions catches her appeal. Subscriptions such as “Quip and Billie let me get a good-quality toothbrush and razor with monthly refills sent right to me for way cheaper than the grocery store,” she says. However, the ease of subscriptions can create a situation where you are paying for multiple services at once. 28
SPRING 2019 | ISSUE ONE
Senior Electronics Engineering Technology major Joseph Bui has had up to five subscription services at one time. “I had these subscriptions because different streaming platforms offered different shows and certain shows I wanted to watch on one, the other didn’t have,” says Bui. Ferguson has had six subscriptions before, but noticed that certain subscriptions were not as important to her as others. “I’ve stopped all makeup subscriptions; I just don’t need them anymore and I found they really weren’t worth it to me. I didn’t use the makeup I got and I really needed to save money,” says Ferguson. “I’m actively trying to cut my subscriptions down.”
