It's very subjective how we spend money on things. After thinking through all the subscriptions I have, I realized I'm spending way too much. So I decided to take a step back and actually think about whether each one is worth it or not.
Streaming
YouTube Premium costs me ₹1,490 a year, and I feel like, it's worth every rupee. I use an iPhone and can't use YT Revanced, so I rely on Chrome on my Mac and desktop anyway. The no-ads experience is genuinely useful, and the YouTube Music recommendations are solid enough that I don't feel the need to pay separately for a music service.
Netflix at ₹199 a month is the one I keep second-guessing. I don't know if there are good shows anymore. I haven't cancelled it yet because there are still things I watch occasionally, but this feels like the first one I should probably cut.
Amazon Prime was ₹1,499 yearly, It used to cost ₹1,499 per year, but I'm cancelling my subscription. I originally signed up when there were no ads, but they added them later anyway. Now, the ad-free tier costs ₹300–₹400 more. There’s also a separate ₹399 plan just for shopping, which I’ll switch to next year. Prime Video just isn’t worth it anymore.
JioHotstar for ₹499 a year is actually decent. I watch cricket, and they have HBO shows too, so it earns its place.
Crunchyroll at ₹499 yearly is fine for me. I watch anime occasionally, and while not everything is available in India and I could probably find it free elsewhere, the convenience factor when I'm on the go makes it worth keeping. There's something nice about just opening an app instead of hunting around.
Music
YouTube Music comes bundled with YouTube Premium, so that's already covered.
Spotify costs ₹129 monthly. It's a good music app, but I'm not sure I need it anymore. I could just use YouTube Music exclusively, which honestly does the job.
Fitness
CultPass Play is ₹11,000 a year. I took it recently because I wanted to swim regularly. I do like swimming. The problem is I haven't been consistent with it. But objectively, if you're actually going three times a week, it's a solid deal. I need to be honest with myself about whether I'll actually use this or just let it sit.
Web
My domain costs around ₹1,200 for renewal. This one stays.
iCloud is ₹219 monthly for 200GB storage. It's convenient and integrates well with my devices, so I keep it.
The Total
Adding it all up, here's what I'm actually spending:
| Service | Yearly |
|---|---|
| YouTube Premium | ₹1,490 |
| Netflix | ₹2,388 |
| JioHotstar | ₹499 |
| Crunchyroll | ₹499 |
| Spotify | ₹1,548 |
| CultPass | ₹11,000 |
| Domain | ₹1,200 |
| iCloud | ₹2,628 |
| Total | ₹22,252 |
USD: ~$266/year EUR: ~€251/year
Looking at this number, ₹22,252 a year is still a lot. It's not irresponsible—I can afford it—but it's a good reminder that these small monthly charges add up quietly until you actually write them down.
I'm going to cancel Netflix and Spotify and see how it goes. Amazon Prime is already gone. Maybe I'll also revisit the CultPass commitment if I don't actually start using it regularly. As for the rest, they feel like they're pulling their weight.
The real lesson here isn't that subscriptions are bad. It's just that it's easy to sign up for things when they're ₹99 or ₹199 a month, and then forget about them.
I will revisit this again the next fall.