Ask the Readers: What Subscriptions Do You Pay For?

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Guest, Leigh, and Amber for winning this week's contest!

There are so many subscription services available today. Everyone has heard of the traditional magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Many people subscribe to Netflix. But did you know there are subscription services that will deliver food, activities for your kids, books, and even clothes to you each month?

What subscriptions do you pay for? Magazines? Newspapers? Netflix? A food delivery service? If you don't have any subscriptions, do you ever find yourself buying magazines at the grocery store checkout or paying for movie rentals at Blockbuster?

Tell us what subscriptions you pay for and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — here's how you can win!

Mandatory Entry: 

  • Post your answer in the comments below. One commenter will win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

For extra entries:

  • You can tweet about our giveaway for an extra entry. Also, our Facebook fans can get an extra entry too! Use our Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win one of the other two Amazon Gift Cards:
  • a Rafflecopter giveaway

    If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

    Giveaway Rules:

    • Contest ends Monday, November 5th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after November 5th on the original post. Winners will also be contacted via email.
    • You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
    • This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered, or associated with Facebook.
    • You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.

    Good Luck!

Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Guest's picture
Stephanie Reed

Only world of warcraft

Guest's picture
Michael

We pay for the newspaper (three days a week here in Detroit). My wife has a magazine subscription that she pays for. I have a magazine subscription that I get for free through our recycling rewards program so that technically might not count. We dropped Netflix about three years ago, but I was loyal to that for years prior. All in all, not too bad!

Guest's picture
Eunice

I subscribe magazines like National Geographic, Maclean, Backpacker, National Geographic Traveler, and some Chinese magazines on my iPad. Occasionally I would buy magazines in grocery stores based on the content of that particular issue, I like Chatelaine also.

Guest's picture

We don't pay for any subscription services. We have Netflix but it's a gift from a family member. No cable, no magazines, no newspaper, no auto-purchases from amazon... I think maybe once in the last two years we got a movie from Redbox, but otherwise we don't pick up those products on impulse either. I guess the only "subscriptions" we have are to our utilities - power, gas, water, internet, and cell phones.

Guest's picture
Adam

Netflix (~$10/mo)
Mobile telephone service (StraightTalk ~$45/mo w/ Galaxy Note II)
LastPass (~$10/yr)
Web host (~$130/yr?)

I periodically subscribe to Audible.com, but I have a *ton* of Audiobooks already and I have plenty I enjoy rereading (as I am doing currently with Dune).

Guest's picture
Linden

Self, Woman's Health, Heath Magazine, Fitness Magazine, Allure and Netflix.

Guest's picture
Guest

New York Times online and Netflix. I live in western rural Montana, it makes sense not to go the Multiplex I can see six movies for the price of a months netflix. Reading the NY Times online is an important part of my morning, I feel well informed about world events and culture.

Guest's picture
Natalie

I subscribe to Birchbox and Runner's Magazine. I am quite late in renewing my Economist subscription.

Guest's picture
Jenny

I VERY rarely pay for subscriptions. (And I receive about 15 magazines a month) The last one I paid for was to "Gun and Garden" and that was at a discount of $3.75 for the whole year (6 editions) I buy a Sunday paper too, but do not subscribe to it.

Guest's picture
kat skull

I definitely pay for netflix. I don't know what I would do without it!

Guest's picture

I only have one subscription, Cruising World magazine. It's my investment in the education I need to move aboard a sailboat in two years.

Guest's picture
Matt

Amazon Prime!

Guest's picture
Christie

I love my Victoria magazine subscription, but nothing else comes close to making me want to spend actual money on it!!

Guest's picture
ACSKay

Love my Netflix and so does my daughter! I get Shape, Whole Living, Outdoor, Family Cirlce (ending soon), and a free year to Better Homes & Gardens. My daughter gets High Five (gift from Grandma). Got a gift one for my sister for Taste of Home. I just think the food (jelly cheese etc) and wine ones are just too expensive for monthly deliveries. Though I almost thought of the Gevalia coffee for my sister for a gift. Occasionally I'll get Rachel Ray or Fitness or All You.

Guest's picture
Candice C.

I subscribe to Netflix instant streaming and watch on my Mac and Wii and LOVE it! My budget is pretty tight as a grad student but it's totally worth it. Combine that with free Hulu and who needs cable? I also subscribe to two magazines - one of which was free by cashing out points with Recyclebank and another at a deep discount, like $5 for a year.

Guest's picture
Scoutmaster

We have Straight talk cell plan ($45./month)

Because I homeschool, I get the following;
Weekend Newspaper for current events

And because we travel ALOT;
Budget Traveler
Backpacker

WE ALSO frequent our local liberary alot, so when I saw a deal on Black Friday for magazines (only $5. each), I bought the liberary the following subscription for everyone to enjoy;
Consumer Reports
Lego Club
National Geographic for kids
Southern Living
We don't have cable or netflicks. We rent movies @ redbox as needed.
We spend our money on family life as thats the Best "subscription" there is!!!

Guest's picture
Pam

I have two magazine subscriptions, and they are magazines that I can't check out at my local library. Checking out past issues at the library is the way to go! I also subscribe to the our Sunday newspaper for the ads and coupons, since I am a BIG couponer. I'm contemplating subscribing to Amazon Prime for their e-books and movies, but I'm still doing a little research to find out if this would be a good value.

Guest's picture

none. there is enough free stuff on the Internet.

Guest's picture
greg

Spotify!

Guest's picture
Dan

No subscriptions for me!

Guest's picture
Desiree

I pay for the Economist and for Fitness magazine. I am considering an ongoing subscription to BirchBox.

Guest's picture
kimberly

Our house subscribes to World of Warcraft about 6 months out of the year. Mainly during the summer. Every so often, when our cable company offers a deal on premium channels, we sighn up for those, too. I only have free magazine subscriptions, but I get quite a few!

Guest's picture
Kate

The only subscription I pay for is Netflix.

Guest's picture
Shannon

I subscribe to Parents Magazine (it was dirt cheap and I love the ideas), Money Magazine (though I got it with airlines miles) and up until last month the newspaper (I cancelled it since we had delivery issues and they never address them when we contacted customer service)

Guest's picture
MVP

We pay for Netflix Streaming, Self magazine & online Consumer Reports.

Guest's picture
Happy Love

I subscribe to two magazines ("Parenting" and "Mother Earth News"), two consumer ratings organizations online (Consumer Reports and Consumer Labs), and Netflix (2 discs/mo.). I try to maximize the value for the dollar.

Guest's picture
Monica P

The only subscription I can think of is Real Simple magazine. I also have a gift subscription to Netflix.

Guest's picture
lostAnnfound

Sunday paper & Netflix. Cable also I suppose, but it's the basic package, about $12.00 per month.

Guest's picture
KF

Only netflix at the moment. I was using skype for awhile, but moved over to google phone.

Guest's picture
Eric

I have Netflix, a wine club, and Dollar Shave Club. All give me great value, so they are worth it to me.

Guest's picture
Brenda Faulkner

Daily newspaper and magazine subscriptions!

Guest's picture
Guest

I subscribe only to Netflix. But, I do benefit from my significant other's subscription habit of 2 daily newspapers, countless magazines (The Economist, Fortune and the list goes on and on) and numerous journals that pertain to his profession (Daedalus, Baltinistica, etc). To his credit, he reads them all and is frugal in most other ways. Reading is his main form of recreation.

Guest's picture
Amy

magazines (too many!), netflix, and spotify!

Guest's picture
steph

we subscribe to 2 magazines, businessweek & fast company and that's about it!

Guest's picture
Bethany

Zootles (for the kids!)

Guest's picture
Joan

One magazine subscription for TV Guide and I also subscribe to Cox Communications for my cable, telephone and internet service. That covers all of my essentials for daily living.

Guest's picture
Therese

Our daughters subscribe to the Beer of the Month club for their Dad. He likes the different tastes that he normally wouldn't try because he doesn't drink much.

Guest's picture
Guest

Consumer Reports.

Guest's picture

I subscribe to magazines, but it's only because I got them with my airline miles or for a really great deal!

Guest's picture
cwaltz

I just got a subscription to Cooking Light. Most of the time though I get magazines for free because of my demographic.

Guest's picture
Stefanie

We subscribe to Netflix, Hulu Plus (but no cable! big $$ saved), I subscribe to Glamour magazine and my husband subscribes to the New Yorker.

Guest's picture
Daria

Readers Digest/Better Homes and Gardens

Guest's picture
TERRY KERR

Subscriptions that I pay for include;
Wired magazine, Southern Living, Speed Sport News and Florida Today Newspaper (Sun. & Wed).

Guest's picture
Stacey Farkas

We pay for magazine subscriptions like HGTV, Comsumer Reports, and we also
Get the daily paper and the Sunday paper. We had Netflix for awhile but
We never watched it so we cancelled it .

Guest's picture
sudheer

We got Barron's ($100/yr) and other basics like basic cable and internet, cell phone & vonage.

Guest's picture
Amy

I subscribe only to Birchbox and Amazon Prime. I used to get the daily paper, but that turned into a disaster. It's a shame that our newspaper isn't more focused on customer service.

Guest's picture
Laura

We pay for the Sunday newspaper. I subscribe to Woman's Day and Midwest Living magazines.

Guest's picture
Sara N

Comcast DVR, Sunday newspaper, and a few magazines.

Guest's picture
Edward

"Subscriptions"?!! Have you gone mad, man? I'll never get rich if I have those. Oh... Wait, I have a free one--it's called my *library card**.

Guest's picture
Susan D

I subscribe to several religious and arts journals. I can't get them at the library. A couple are available for Kindle, so I don't have a lot of hardcopies taking up space.

Guest's picture
Sue

I use to subcribe to the Sunday post newspaper only for the ads and coupons. I found out they offer a 'Sunday Select' for free which is only the ads and coupons so now I get them for free.

Guest's picture
nes

the new yorker.

Guest's picture
Roger

We subscribe to Smithsonian and Consumer Reports.

Guest's picture
Rebecca B. A. R.

We subscribe to Netflix, high-speed internet, my husband gets cooking magazines and other magazines that he got for a really good price. We also get Reader's Digest, which I got for an annual subscription for $10.

Guest's picture
Chad

Netflix
Winder Dairy
NRA Membership

Guest's picture
NJJ

I'm a mag-hag so I have a lot of magazine subscriptions Essence, Ebony, Jet, O Magazine Heart & Soul, Latina, and All You. The high value coupons make the subscription so worth it!

Guest's picture
Kim

Newspaper - weekend only. Netflix - summer only for the kids. Magazines I get for free by saving coke rewards points.

Guest's picture
jaleo

netflix, harpers, atlantic, the wa post, the wall street journal, various magazines that we use only because our frequent flier miles would expire unless we used them so we bought a magazine subscription as it was cheapest.

Guest's picture
KelR1

None! All of my mags are free (received as holiday gifts, paid for with Coke Rewards points, or just took advantage of free subscriptions I found online), don't have cable anymore, don't get the newspaper since I read the news online...oh, I do pay for internet. That's it.

Guest's picture
Chris Duncan

Only magazines - National Geographic, Vegetarian Times, Garden Gate (some sort of garden magazine if this is not right).

Received as gifts: National Geographic Little Kids, Bon Appetite, Sunset

Guest's picture
Melissa Hansson

We subscribe to the local paper (Sundays and Tuesdays only for ads & coupons), Netflix and Hulu Plus. My husband bought me a gift subscription to Birchbox last year, so I get a monthly box of beauty samples that I LOVE. I also subscribe to a monthly fiction email from writer Caitlin Kiernan.

Guest's picture
Gregory

I pay for Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and Men's Health, but only because I read Men's Health cover to cover. Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus replace cable for me.

Guest's picture
Stefanie

I have 3 magazine subs, but I don't pay for them - I get them through Recyclebank rewards. The only paid subscription I have is for my local paper - but only 2 days a week, including Sunday. And the price was $20 for a year, which, with the coupons I get each week in the Sunday paper, pays for itself.

Guest's picture
SRS

I pay for Blockbuster Total Access, Glamour, Self, and Women's Health magazines, and Birchbox.

Guest's picture
Kate

Local newspaper 4 days/wk
US Weekly
Elle magazine
Money magazine
Urbarn Farms magazine
All You magazine
Shape magazine
Netflix
Roku
Amazon Prime
Hulu

Wow...we subscribe to a lot more than I realized.

Guest's picture
Trina Ryefield

hulu, netflix, rhapsody, flickr and mozy

Guest's picture
Candy

Netflix and Weight Watchers are the 2 subscriptions I pay for. I got Better Homes and Gardens, Women's Fitness, Glamour, and Self magazines for free. I'm thinking about getting an audible.com account soon.

Guest's picture
Rebecca M

Even though we're in the age of digital magazines, my favorites tend to be 750MB + … which takes *forever* to download. So, I stick to my paper copies coming in the mail. I do subscribe to Netflix, for the once-a-month movie craving…still cheaper than going to the theater (and paying for a babysitter!). I just finished reading your article about subscribing to a meal-planning service…now I'm considering that. :)

Guest's picture
Mike L

Amazon Prime is the only thing I subscribe to, besides the cell phone, and gas/electric. No paid magazines, newspaper, cable, or NetFlix.

Guest's picture
Lynda

Los Angeles Sunday times, Netflix, and NBA League pass

Guest's picture
Mary Redlinger

My husband and I have digital subscriptions to the New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We also subscribe to Netflix.

Guest's picture
Raina

I don't have any subscriptions and don't buy magazines.

Guest's picture
Guest

Mental Floss magazine is one I can't give up!

Donna Freedman's picture

I pay for a subscription to The Atlantic ($10, on special) and I'll probably renew because it was offered at that rate again if I bought another one (it will be a holiday gift for my sister and her husband).
I used to subscribe to a newspaper in Seattle. Now I'm sharing a friend's house; she pays for a newspaper subscription. I'm going to offer to chip in.

Guest's picture
Marc L.

The only "subscription" I pay for is my cell phone contract.

Guest's picture
Lisa

Currently I only have one subscription to a magazine but am letting it lapse when the subscription time is up. Also, I have Directv...if that counts as a subscription.

Guest's picture
Mel

I subscribe to Netflix, the local weekend paper, two mags for me and one for my husband, and Julep nail polish club.

Guest's picture

I have a subscription to our church magazines, and also one for Country Living. I don't regret it one bit! It's like Christmas every month. :) Other subscriptions, I've found to bring on more clutter than anything else.

Guest's picture
Guest

Kiplingers. Love it.

Guest's picture
Dayla

newspaper, netflix, and amazon.com :)

Guest's picture
Karmagrrl

Okay, I consider Amazon Prime a subscription service because I have to pay every year but it is totally worth it. I make the fee back in free shipping each year and make money on the deal buy not having to pay for many, many videos. Another bonus is my one free book a month I borrow through the Prime Lending Library. It is worth it's weight in gold. I don't really subscribe to any magazines anymore as my library loans them, and I do not care that I am reading them a month behind everyone else. I have had Netflix twice, and both times I found that I could get the movies/TV shows from the library faster.

Guest's picture
Debra

I love reading magazines when working out and currently subscribe to Time, Runner's World, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, and Self.

Guest's picture
Ryan Walls

I subscribe to Netflix, National Geographic Magazine, Popular Science magazine, and Pandora Internet radio (add free).

Guest's picture
Debra K

Hulu Plus and Netflix. My husband has a GameFly subscription that he's planning on canceling for at least 6 months.

Guest's picture
Natalie

The only thing I can think of that I pay for is the newspaper. I have a couple magazine subscriptions, but those were from rewards points so I didn't actually pay for them. We occasionally rent a movie from Redbox, but not often enough to justify any kind of streaming movie subscription.