Recurring Subscriptions: How Much Are They Actually Costing You?

In this day and age, everything seems to be switching to a recurring subscription type platform. Have you ever stopped and thought to yourself, "I wonder how much all my recurring subscriptions are costing me?" Yea, you probably haven't but that's okay, I'm going to lay it all out here and show you how much money I've saved by cancelling recurring subscriptions I've found in the past few weeks as I get serious and ultra frugal on my path to financial independence. You're going to be mind blown by how much these actually cost you over the course of a year and will be scrambling to cancel the ones you truly don't need. So without rambling on for any longer, here's a list of the recurring subscriptions that I found while going through my statements:

• Netflix - $13.99/mo
• Microsoft Office 365 - $9.99/mo
• Audible - $14.95/mo
• Xbox Live - $9.99/mo
• Amazon Prime - $120/yr

Now you may think that it's not that many recurring subscriptions and you're absolutely right, it's not but I came to the conclusion that I don't need all of them. First on the chopping block was Audible, that was one of those free trials that you forget to cancel and then forget all about it. I tried the whole listening to audio book thing and it's just not for me. I kept having to rewind to re-listen to parts of the book that apparently went in one ear and right out the other. Now that Audible was gone, my savings a month was $14.95/mo x 12 = $179.40/yr that I'm saving, just by cancelling one recurring subscription service! Next to go was Microsoft Office, I had it while I was in college since I was a finance major and figured I should have Excel and well I just never canceled so it was costing me $9.99 a month x 12 = $119.88/yr. Just by cancelling two recurring subscription services, I've already saved a total of of $299.28 a year. The last one to get the chop was the Xbox Live subscription. I came to a realization a few months ago that I really don't game online anymore, all my friends are busy with their marriages, children/fur babies and don't really game anymore and to be completely honest I don't have that many friends. I think my Xbox live list of friends consisted of 5 people at most. That's another $9.99 x 12 = $119.88/yr. By cancelling 3 recurring subscriptions, I've saved a total of $419.16 a year. Now, you may be thinking, Jake, there's still two more on your list that you haven't mentioned. Well I decided to keep those, Amazon Prime I share with my brother, so that costs me $60 a year and Netflix I share with the whole family and I feel I get value out of both of these services. The rest I didn't value enough to keep forking over my hard earned cash every month. I highly suggest you go through your recurring subscription services and determine which ones you get value out of and if you can't think of a reason why you value it, well then you probably don't need it and should cancel.

Until next time,

On Track to FI

Financial Goals for 2019

Well, I'm back and this is my first year really focusing on becoming financially independent so I don't have to work until I'm 65. I don't mind working but I'd much rather have the choice to work than being forced to because I wasn't responsible enough in my 30s.

• Use Mint to keep track of all income, spending and investments. As well as set budgets for myself as I tend to spend more than what I should especially when it comes to transportation since I love to drive and probably make many unnecessary trips.

• Increase my total dividends for all accounts to $150. I don't have all my Consolidated 1099's so I don't know what my total was for 2018 yet but I will post that here when I get them.

• Increase my income. If I'm going to do this whole become financially independent thing, I'm going to have to increase the amount of money I make because a wage from my W-2 job as a staff accountant isn't going to cut it. How? I'm not exactly sure but hey my parents always said I was good at figuring stuff out so I guess I have that going for me. 

• Increase my 401k Contributions. Already done. I guess I can chop this line item off the list right? Wrong.  Increased from 106.66 to 146.66, not nearly enough. That's only $3,519.84 a year. Honestly, I wish I could max it out but on my salary, there's no way unless I find another income source. 

•  De-clutter. I currently own  a 1999 F-150 with 217,000 miles. It's seen better days and will most likely see the scrap yard sometime this year unless I can find someone to sell it to. I also own a 1994 Pontiac Firebird Formula with a blown motor, I need to either get the ball rolling on fixing it or just junk it.

•  Increase my emergency fund and pay down debt. I have some credit card debt from some of my younger, stupid, more irresponsible days. Around $5,000 with one student loan at $2,800. I'm  hoping to have this paid off by summer, $2,668 of that $5,000 is 0%, so I'm not in too much of a hurry to pay that one down. My emergency fund has $2,000, I'd feel better with around $5,000. This blog for me to share my journey into FI but to also hold me accountable. 

Those are my goals for 2019 thus far and I'm sure I will add new ones as the year progresses. I'm going to try and post at least twice a week. There's so much content out there already on FI and the different avenues people took to get there, but until we meet again. 

Happy 2019 and the road ahead!

Well, 2018 is over and it's been 5 months since I posted here, (Don't worry, that's one of my goals for 2019, is to write more). Honestly, not sure what do say about 2018. Every year has its ups and downs. Not going to lie, there was a point in 2018 where I wasn’t happy at all, wasn’t sure if my career choice was for me, school wasn’t going well, living with a rare disease and the bi-weekly infusions were taking its toll on me, not so much physically but emotionally. But then it hit me, are we truly ever going to be 100% happy? No, we’re not, life isn’t all about unicorns and rainbows. Everyone has problems or issues their facing. If we’re 100% happy all the freaking time, there would be no point in trying to become better at something. If you can accept the fact that you’re not happy or are just average, you’ll become something great. For 2019, reading more, traveling more, and spending time with those around me are all on my list. 

First off, this rare disease called Pompe disease (not going to get into all the details, you can Google), is a blessing in disguise but it's also a curse. The bi-weekly infusions get old and trying to schedule them with work is annoying, plus making up time I missed. The multiple doctor appointments once a year, where I see 3-4 doctors in one day, so it gets old, tiring and emotionally exhausting. Since it's a progressive disease, you don't know what the future holds, but you have to take it one day and a time. For the most part, that's exactly what I've done. Some days, I'll feel down and depressed, thankfully, I surround myself with supportive people who understand. If I didn't have the support of friends, some of who I've never met before (only online) or family, I honestly don't know what I'd do. Sure one of my problems is a health problem, but then I remember, everyone has problems. Some have health problems, some have money problems, some have relationship problems. It's up to you to figure out how you cope/deal with your own problems.

You're life is what you make it. Don't settle for mediocrity. Become the best you; you can be. For 2019, I want to travel more, to new places, not the same places I've been year in and year out. I want to meet new people, get to know those around me better. I want to wake up earlier, get more done in a day and take my dreams and turn them into reality, not just some after thought in the back of my mind.