The streaming service you pay for and rarely open will wait for you.
Your Daily Dad Joke
This is my step ladder.
I never knew my real ladder.
Rotate, don’t stack
There’s a night most of us know. You sit down, scroll past four or five apps you pay for every month, and end up watching the same show you always watch. The others just keep charging, quietly, in the background.
That’s why I wanted to pass this along.
You may have seen Fortune add it up this fall: eight of the big streaming services, without ads, now come to $139.41 a month at list prices. Most homes don’t pay for all eight. But two or three, added one good show at a time, is a real line on the card bill.
So why do people keep paying for the ones they don’t watch? Usually it’s one worry. If I cancel, I lose my list, my history, everything I set up.
Here’s the part most people don’t know. At least for Netflix, you lose almost nothing. I checked Netflix’s own help page. You keep watching until the end of the month you already paid for. Netflix keeps your viewing history, your ratings and your recommendations for 24 months after you leave, so if you come back next spring, it’s all still there. Restarting is a button on the account page.
That changes how you can think about these. They aren’t memberships you have to defend. They’re month-to-month. You can keep one or two, and switch when the show you’re waiting for comes back.
Two catches worth knowing. If you pay yearly, or the service comes bundled with your phone or internet plan, cancelling works differently and you may not get money back for the unused months. And every service has its own rules, so read its help page before you cancel, the way I did with Netflix.
The one thing I’d do this week. Look at your last card or bank statement and find every streaming charge. Pick the one you watched least last month and cancel it today. You’ll still have it until the month runs out. Then put a note on your calendar for the show you’re waiting for, so coming back is a decision and not a guilty surprise.
I know. Cancelling something feels like giving something up. It isn’t, really. It’ll be there when you want it.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about this before the holiday shows start piling up.
How many streaming services does your home pay for right now, and how many did you actually watch last week? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.
If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.
Taking five minutes to look at what you pay for every month is a kind thing to do for yourself. You don’t have to give up the things you enjoy. You just get to choose them on purpose, one month at a time.
— Steve
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A longer video from me: Why I’m Afraid of Getting Monetized on YouTube. About 20 years ago my website made $28,000 a month from Google ads in its biggest months, and I didn’t control any of it. Why that still scares me, and the one question I’d ask about any check you depend on.
SEE A SCAM? SAY SOMETHING. If one has landed on you or someone you love, tell me at tips@getoutofdebt.org. The ones that can warn other people may show up here. Leave out account numbers and passwords.
If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.
This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.
Wow. This hit home. I don’t watch all the services I pay for. In fact, I hardly watch TV. I just never thought of canceling and restarting. I guess, I was afraid the price would increase if I stopped and restarted. Thanks for the advice!