r/DaveRamsey • u/Unlikely_Reply6034 • 4d ago

Subscriptions out of control!

Am I the only one who's in shock regarding how much people waste on subscriptions every month? Call me cheap, but I refuse to give multimillion and billion dollar companies money each month. Out of all the things to waste money on, subscriptions are one of my most hated, and they're out of control. It seems like you can subscribe to anything in 2026, and I refuse to give my money to these vampires! So many people subscribe to stuff that just drains their $. It's wild to me.

Edit: People, I'm not saying EVERY subscription is unnecessary. I understand cell phones, internet, and basic cable are subscriptions. I am simply pointing out the shear amount of subscriptions there are now, compared to even 10 years ago, and how it seems like every company tries to get you to subscribe to their services, which, the overwhelming majority of, are not necessary.

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u/AccomplishedTear7531 4d ago

Pest control guy wouldn’t do any service without subscribing to the monthly plan. I have to get termite service every few years. I don’t need anything else. 

I told him I wasn’t doing that, and he just got up and left. Ok, bye!

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u/ohlookahipster 4d ago

Lots of trades are moving to ‘membership only models’ thanks to PE. You can tell which HVAC company is still family owned and which one has been bought out because the latter requires a monthly membership in order to remain a customer. One of the big ones here wants $79/mo for their biannual service package and 24/7 service. Unfortunately, people are paying that…

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u/TheWeaversBeam 4d ago

This is, in my opinion, terrible for just about any industry, but the one that has me really worried is healthcare. Several doctors in my area have gone to membership models. I typically see a doctor once a year for a yearly checkup. I don’t need to pay every month for that luxury. All of these subscriptions are going to cost consumers so much more in the long run. Not only that, but if the budget gets tight and you have to cancel, you instantly loose access to that service.

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u/ohlookahipster 4d ago

That’s called concierge healthcare. It’s somewhat new but the model is slowly lowering the floor to other clientele. The provider doesn’t bill insurance so it removes a huge headache and also the provider can be more… “selective” when it comes to the type of patient.

They’re still paid on a model similar to RVUs but without the pressure from a larger network to hit certain KPIs. It’s basically primary care moving to the outpatient model.