Last week I got a notification that Disney+ was increasing to $18.99/month for the ad-free plan.
Something clicked. Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.
That’s more expensive than the Adobe Photography plan (Photoshop + Lightroom) at $9.99/month.
More than Figma. More than ChatGPT Plus. Almost as much as the project management tool that runs my entire business.
So I did a full audit of ALL my subscriptions. The results? Honestly embarrassing.
I was spending $556/month on digital services:
- Entertainment: $154/month
- Professional tools: $151/month
- Learning/development: $67/month
The ratio was completely inverted. I was spending nearly as much on passive entertainment as on the tools that generate my income.
The Uncomfortable Math
Here’s what my monthly entertainment stack looked like:
| Service | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | Usage Rating (1-10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disney+ | $18.99 | $227.88 | 4 |
| Netflix (4K) | $22.99 | $275.88 | 6 |
| HBO Max | $19.99 | $239.88 | 3 |
| Hulu (no ads) | $17.99 | $215.88 | 5 |
| Apple TV+ | $9.99 | $119.88 | 2 |
| Amazon Prime | $14.99 | $179.88 | 7 |
| Paramount+ | $11.99 | $143.88 | 2 |
| YouTube Premium | $13.99 | $167.88 | 8 |
| Spotify | $10.99 | $131.88 | 9 |
| Peacock | $11.99 | $143.88 | 1 |
| TOTAL | $153.89 | $1,846.68 |
$1,846.68 per year. On entertainment. While I was complaining about not having enough budget for professional development.
The Rebalancing
I made three changes:
1. Killed the zombie subscriptions
Peacock (1/10 usage), Apple TV+ (2/10), Paramount+ (2/10), HBO Max (3/10) – all gone. That’s $53.96/month or $647.52/year.
2. Implemented streaming rotation
Instead of keeping Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu active year-round, I now subscribe to 2 services for 2 months, binge what I want to watch, then cancel and rotate to different services.
This cut my entertainment spend from $154/month to $78/month – saving another $912/year.
3. Redirected the savings
I took 50% of what I saved and redirected it to learning platforms:
- MasterClass ($10/month)
- Coursera Plus ($33/month)
- KelbyOne for photography/Lightroom training ($16.58/month)
- LinkedIn Learning ($30-40/month)
The Result
I gave myself a $1,500+ annual raise.
No side hustle. No extra clients. Just being more intentional about subscriptions.
More importantly, I shifted 8+ hours per week from passive consumption to active skill development. The ROI on that is incalculable.
Every Subscription is a Vote
Here’s the thing that really hit me:
Every dollar you spend on a subscription is a vote for what kind of person you want to become.
When you pay $19/month for Disney+, you’re voting for “person who watches TV.”
When you pay $33/month for Coursera Plus, you’re voting for “person who develops new skills.”
Both are valid. But when the TV vote drowns out the skills vote 2:1 or 3:1, you’re not making a conscious choice—you’re defaulting to the path of least resistance.
The average American watches 3-4 hours of TV daily. That’s 1,095-1,460 hours yearly.
If you spent even half that time on skill development, you could become genuinely excellent at almost anything.
Your Turn: The 10-Minute Audit
Pull up your bank statements and credit card transactions from the last 3 months. Look for recurring charges. Make a list.
Ask yourself three questions about each subscription:
- Usage: How often do I actually use this? (Rate 1-10)
- Value: What impact does this have on my career/life? (Rate 1-10)
- Alternative: Could I accomplish the same thing for less or free?
Anything scoring below 4 on usage AND below 5 on value? Cut it immediately.
The Bottom Line
If you’re spending $150+/month on entertainment subscriptions and less than $100/month on learning/development, your subscription portfolio is upside down.
The fix isn’t painful—it’s liberating.
You can give yourself a $1,500-2,000 annual raise just by being more intentional about what you’re paying for and why.
Entertainment is a luxury. Development is an investment. Act accordingly.
Want the full audit worksheet? Download it here (link coming soon).
