UntilfreeWhat Your Subscriptions Cost per Year, in Days
A streaming plan, a gym, cloud storage, an app or two: each one is small. Added up and multiplied by twelve, they often come to more than people guess.
From monthly to yearly
The yearly cost of a subscription is the monthly price times 12. A $15 plan is $180 a year; a $9.99 one is about $120. "How much is my streaming per year" is just that sum, using the price on your latest statement, since prices change.
The harder part is finding them all. Bank and card statements, the subscriptions page in your phone's app store and your email receipts usually turn up a few that were forgotten.
Why days, not dollars
$1,140 a year is an abstract figure. "Twelve days of spending" is not. The estimate above divides the yearly total by what an average day of your life costs you. If you spend $3,000 a month, a day costs about $99, so $95 a month of subscriptions is about 12 days of spending each year.
The same idea, applied to one-off buys and to your hourly pay, is in what it costs in hours of your life.
Invested instead
$95 a month invested for 20 years at 5% growth after inflation comes to about $37,700 in today's money. That is not an argument against every subscription; it is a way to compare a service with what it competes against. The latte factor makes the same point for daily habits.
Ana adds hers up: two streaming services, a music plan, cloud storage, a fitness app and a news site, $95 a month. She spends $3,000 a month, so that is about 12 days of spending a year. She keeps the four she uses every week and drops two, which takes the total to about $55.
Which ones to keep
A simple test many people use: "If this were cancelled today, would I sign up again at this price?" Rotating services, keeping one streaming plan at a time and switching every few months, is another common approach. Annual plans can be cheaper per month, but only for something used all year.
Questions people ask
How do I work out subscriptions per year?
It is each monthly price times 12, added up. Yearly plans count at their yearly price.
How much does the average person spend on subscriptions?
Surveys vary widely and often find people underestimate their total. The figure that matters is yours, from your own statements.
How much is a streaming service per year?
Its monthly price times 12. Prices change often, so the latest statement is the reliable source.
Are annual subscriptions cheaper?
Often per month, yes, but you pay for twelve months up front, so they suit services you use all year.
What does "days of spending" mean?
Your yearly subscription total divided by what an average day costs you. It turns a dollar figure into time.
Price any cost in days of freedom
In Untilfree, Price it turns any amount, one-off or monthly, into how far it moves your freedom day. Mark it "Skipped", "Bought" or "Added to savings" and watch the date shift.
- One-off buys and monthly costs
- Unlimited for the first 3 days, then 3 a day free; unlimited with Plus
- Share the time kept, never the money
App Store · Free · Ads, optional Plus · No account · No bank link
Untilfree gives estimates in today’s money (after inflation). Taxes and state pensions are not included. This page is general information, not investment advice.
Published · by Srofia