u/elizabeth-0645

starting to feel like netflix/disney/prime/etc all together are becoming stupidly expensive just to watch a few shows and movies here and there

been trying to cut down on subscriptions recently and realised half my monthly spending is basically entertainment apps at this point

mainly looking for good android apps/media players/self hosted setups/ alternatives that people actually use day to day

dont mind paying once for a good app, just tired of constant monthly subscriptions for everything

curious what setups people here are using

Man, UFC 328 main event is finally here. Khamzat Chimaev vs Sean Strickland for the middleweight belt.

Borz is on a tear and Strickland is Strickland lol. This one’s gonna be wild.

Anyone got predictions? Who you got?

half of them i dont even remember signing up for

streaming services, apps, cloud storage, random free trials that quietly turned into monthly payments, food delivery memberships etc

none of them seemed expensive individually but added together its honestly ridiculous

cancelled loads of them tonight and somehow feel both financially responsible and slightly betrayed by myself

Update*: Someone in the comments recommended Buytelly, and it’s been life-changing. Thank you so much!

i swear i dont even buy expensive stuff but somehow money just disappears constantly

checked my bank app properly for the first time in ages and theres just subscriptions everywhere. netflix, spotify, random apps, movie rentals, food delivery memberships, cloud storage, random “free trials” i forgot to cancel etc

its like every single thing is only $5-$20 so i never think about it but together its actually cooked

feel like im decent at avoiding huge purchases but terrible with convenience spending and recurring payments

what actually helped you guys fix this?
trying to be better with money lately but honestly feels harder than i expected

I’m 59 and only in the last year or so started properly paying attention to my finances and thinking seriously about FIRE, even if I’m a bit late to the party.

One thing that’s surprised me is how much I’m spending on subscription services. Mostly sports packages and streaming for shows, plus a few smaller recurring things I’d honestly forgotten about. Individually they didn’t seem like much, but added together it’s a noticeable monthly outflow.

I wouldn’t say I’m struggling, but it does feel like this is an area where I’m losing money without getting proportional value back, especially as I don’t watch nearly as much as I thought.

For those further along the FIRE path, how do you approach this? Do you cut everything aggressively, rotate subscriptions, or just budget a fixed “entertainment” amount and stick to it?

Appreciate any advice or perspectives.

Update*: Someone in the comments recommended Buytelly, and it’s been life-changing. Thank you so much!