The Netflix Subscription Model for Your Finances: Are You Paying for Things You Don’t Use?
Your Money vs. Your Subscriptions: A Brutal Reality Check
Remember when Netflix was just a fiver a month? Ahh, the good old days. Now, between Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and a bunch of “free trials” you forgot to cancel, you’re easily spending £50+ a month on subscriptions…. and let’s be honest—you don’t even use half of them.
Now, imagine your bank account is your Netflix homepage—filled with financial subscriptions you barely notice but drain your wealth in the background. Let’s hit pause and start scrolling through what’s really going on.
The Financial Free Trials That Keep Charging You
🔹 Old Direct Debits – That gym membership you swore you’d use but haven’t visited since April 2024 (guilty)? That insurance policy for a device you no longer own? They’re sitting there, taking your money while you ignore them.
🔹 Interest Payments on Credit Cards – If you’re carrying a balance month to month, congratulations, you’ve subscribed to your bank’s most profitable service: Interest Payments. Pay off debt faster or move the credit to a 0% interest balance transfer card.
🔹 Duplicate Services – Do you really need three different video streaming platforms? What about that budgeting app when your bank gives you free spending insights? You’re paying for the same thing twice.
🔹 Lifestyle Creep Subscriptions – That £2.99-a-month cloud storage upgrade, that fancy coffee subscription, that VIP-tier app you got “just in case.” They don’t seem like much, but together? They add up.
Step 1: The ‘Cancel Everything’ Audit
It’s time for a subscription purge. Go through your bank statements like you’d go through your Netflix recommendations—ruthlessly. If you wouldn’t subscribe to it now, why are you still paying for it?
🚀 Action Plan:
Log into your online banking and look at every recurring payment.
Ask yourself: Do I use this? Is there a cheaper alternative?
Cancel, downgrade, or switch providers where possible.
Step 2: The ‘Do I Actually Need This?’ Test
For future spending, apply this rule: If it’s not worth paying upfront for a year, it’s probably not worth subscribing to.
Think about it: would you drop £120 right now for that monthly £10 expense? If not, it’s probably an unnecessary drain on your wealth.
Step 3: Automate the Savings
Here’s where the real magic happens. Every time you cancel a financial deadweight, redirect that money into something useful.
Set up an automatic transfer into a savings or an investment account for the same amount as what you’ve cancelled. It turns mindless spending into effortless wealth-building.
Example: You cancel £30 worth of subscriptions? Boom—redirect that into your Stocks & Shares ISA instead. Future you will thank you.
Final Thoughts: Unsubscribe from Wasted Money
Subscription culture is designed to make you pay for things without noticing. But you have control.
💡 Audit your spending 💡 Cancel the financial fluff 💡 Reallocate that money toward wealth-building.
It’s time to unsubscribe from the things draining your finances and start subscribing to your future wealth.
p.s. not advice obvs!