With the number of music, online gaming and video streaming services seeming to grow each week and prices only ever moving in an upwards direction, it’s important to occasionally review whether you’re getting maximum value from all your spending.
Free Trials
Free trials are the obvious starting point to save money.
Most of the bigger music streaming services offer a free trial to new customers and, because the libraries are pretty much the same on all services, you can switch from a current paid subscription to a free trial without having to stop listening.
And while Netflix axed its free trial some years back, some of the other video streamers do offer free periods to new and selected returning customers.
For example, Amazon offers free trials of Prime, including to customers who’ve previously used but cancelled the service, while Apple offers free trials to its various content services, including Apple TV+, Apple Music and Apple News+, when you buy a qualifying new device.
Audible also offers a free trial which even lets you redeem an audiobook that you can keep even if you decide not to continue with the service.
Gamers can also make use of free trials of cloud gaming services while Prime offers players inclusive games and a bundled tier to its own Luna cloud service.
Extended free trials can also be bagged from third parties, for example Sky VIP runs various offers and deals throughout the year, while Currys’ offer of three months free Apple TV+ (among other services) to those who sign up to its Perks newsletter is a persistently popular deal.
Included Benefits and Bonuses
Of course, the problem with free trials is that they’re strictly time limited and generally only available once. But with some careful shopping around it’s possible to maximise the value of things you’re already paying for.
For example, some mobile phone plans include bundled benefits such as inclusive Netflix, Apple TV+ and TNT Sports, while various banks offer perks such as free Apple TV+ or Disney+ on selected accounts.
There are also ways to maximise the value of new purchases.
Some retailers run deals where they’ll boost the value of a gift card, codes and vouchers can help unlock extra discounts at many online retailers, or secure perks such as Golden Nugget casino bonuses, while careful shopping around can bag you cash back which you can use to offset the cost of your favourite streaming or gaming app.
And of course there are deals to be had at certain times of the year, including Black Friday and the festive period where there’s fierce competition for customers and subscribers.
Annual subscriptions
If you’re planning to use a service all year round, the signing up for the annual plan can be a bit of a sting up front but normally offers a useful saving against paying the monthly rate every month.
But if there’s a service you’re using less often, it’s always worth considering switching to ad-hoc subscriptions for a few months when there’s something new you want to watch, listen to or play.