[USER]

How many streaming services does everyone have and how much is too much?
Will this make a huge difference in when I can actually retire?

With the growing number of streaming platforms available today, many people find themselves subscribing to multiple services for access to a variety of content.

However, the cost of these subscriptions can add up quickly, especially when you’re planning for the future.

The question is, how many streaming services are too many? At what point does the monthly subscription fee become a financial burden that might impact long-term financial goals, such as retirement savings?

As retirement approaches, managing ongoing expenses becomes increasingly important. Can the accumulation of multiple streaming services be seen as a financial drain that prevents people from maximizing their retirement contributions or other essential savings?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue. How do you balance entertainment costs with long-term financial planning?

Should people consider cutting back on subscriptions to boost their retirement savings, or is this not a significant concern?

[Derek]

It’s the cutting out Starbucks everyday theory. If you sacrifice all your happiness and deprive yourself then it won’t make a difference.

Compromise: rotate out streaming services every month. Binge one service, cancel, get new one, repeat

[John]

IMO it’s the monthly fees and subscriptions that will derail your fire journey the most. I am FI and RE but I have 0 streaming services.

[Barbara]

I don’t think it will have a huge impact on your timing for retirement, and cutting out every pleasure doesn’t really make for a nice journey to that point anyway.

How many services to have is really a personal preference. I don’t like wasting money on them if I’m not using them, so we tend to rotate through them based on what we’re watching at any given time.

When shows we like on one service are between seasons we cancel that one.

And there are ways to get a lot of them at a discount.
Right now you can get Hulu/Disney+/Max for a total of $19.98/month for a year (Hulu & Disney with ads, Max with no ads)

We always have Amazon Prime since we have their credit card (might reevaluate that though)

For others I’ll buy gift cards when there are discounts or freebies – Target currently has a promo where you can get a $15 Target GC if you buy $100 in Apple GCs (which can be used to pay for Apple TV+).

Or I’ll buy gift cards at stores that get me a high multiplier with certain credit cards.

There are get discounted/free plans a few other ways too – if you have Walmart+ I think you can get Paramount+ for free, and some cell phone providers also include certain streaming services with their plans.

Amex Platinum has a monthly entertainment credit that applies to some streaming services, but that’s just a little extra.

It definitely wouldn’t be worth it to pay for that card unless you can really take advantage of all its benefits.

[Tracy]

I doubt ppl are spending more than $100-150 a month. In the grand scheme of things this is trivial. And if it’s not u got waaaay bigger problems

[Darren]

My wife and I realized we only really watch one show at a time. So we subscribe to one service at a time while we’re watching one show, then pause or cancel and pick the next show.

I also do a lot of free trials if there’s certain things I want to watch that are a one off thing.

And we get Max for free from my father-in-laws sign in

[Shaun]

Yes, cutting back on streaming services will help. Read the millionaire next door for many more examples. I stop and start streaming services all the time.

I refuse to watch any shows that are not available to binge watch.

I will cancel a service once I’ve ran out of binge worthy shows and start a new one.

You can always restart a service once they get something new on.

[Toni]

Now’s the time to sign up. Peacock is $20 for the year
Hulu with Disney + $3 a month
Plus several others.

[Knee]

I just rotate them month to month. Never more than 1 or 2 a month. Some months I have none.

[Luciano]

We subscribe to Netflix year round. YouTube TV 3 months for just NFL patriots games, and prime is free with amazon membership.

[Sarah]

We change it up. We have prime because we use it for shipping etc. We have netflix but cancel it for months at a time when we find we’re not using it.

We have Hulu because we have a hulu/spotify deal and it’s $10 a month for both.

We are probably going to buy the peacock $20 for the entire year and we currently have Max because it’s $3 a month for the next 6 months.

All in we’re paying about $25 a month for streaming and we don’t have any cable so to me that’s worth it and won’t have an impact on our ability to retire.

[Mily]

I spend $19 on Netflix and Disney Plus w/ Hulu. I refuse to spend more unless they’re the month for free as I don’t have much on the other sites that I like

[Eva]

It really depends on you as a person behaviorally. Will it be a slippery slope of other subscriptions / services?

Will you utilize? Could you rotate services every few months instead?

Will having them allow you to save in other areas more damaging to cumulative spend?

[Eunji]

I have none. But what I do have is my favorite movies on DVD and it’s good enough for me.

[Jody]

During Black Friday we find deals on Hulu or peacock that make it a few dollars a month. That is usually the only time we sign up for streaming services.

[Candace]

4: Disney+ Hulu, HBO, Max Netflix. Every month I contemplate canceling one but ultimately there’s some thing for everyone on them so I haven’t gotten rid of them.

I think it’s a small price to pay for the entertainment value.

but if I had to get rid of one like today, it would probably be Netflix

[Julie]

I pay for Hulu with live tv instead of cable. That gives me espn and Disney plus. I also have Amazon prime for free shipping.

I get Apple TV and Netflix free from my cell phone company.

[Author]

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