Recently, while reviewing my household budget, I discovered an unexpected expense item. From online video services (OTT) to music platforms, gyms, and car wash passes, I was spending over $300 a month solely on subscription fees. When signing up for them one by one, I didn’t think it was much of a burden. However, adding them all up, it was not a small amount. I was surprised myself at how much my list of subscription services had grown.
Looking back at the subscription service items, there was an interesting point. Most of them were not essential expenses for maintaining daily life. They were things started for various hobby activities, such as watching movies, listening to music, and working out. Yet, before I knew it, expenses for hobbies had turned into fixed monthly expenditures, much like rent or telecommunication bills.
When starting a subscription service, you are not simply purchasing a pass. When signing up for a gym membership, you expect yourself to work out consistently, and when purchasing a car wash pass, you picture yourself taking good care of your car. Signing up for an OTT service brings imaginations of relaxing times freely enjoying desired movies and dramas. In a sense, purchasing a service also means purchasing expectations for future daily life.
However, my future self does not always move according to plan. Sometimes I skip workouts due to a busy work schedule, or other appointments pop up when I planned to watch a movie on the weekend. Even so, the monthly billing date arrives without fail.
This reveals the fascinating structure of the subscription economy. While the amount of money a company receives each month is fixed, it is uncertain how much consumers will actually use the service. Companies secure a stable source of income, whereas consumers commit to expenses in situations where they do not know whether their time and life will flow as planned.
Of course, regular passes are much more economical than individual payments if used frequently. The problem lies in the gap between the moment a subscription is decided and the moment the service is actually used. When signing up, people think they will use it sufficiently, but fulfilling that promise in a busy daily life is harder than expected.
What is even more interesting is that the fact that payment has already been made changes one’s attitude toward hobbies. Instead of going to the gym because one wants to work out, people go because the membership fee would otherwise go to waste. Even on days when one wants to rest, there is a feeling that the service must be used to match the subscription fee. An activity started for enjoyment turns into a task of getting one’s money’s worth.
Conversely, canceling services that are rarely used is not easy. Although busy now, one thinks there will be time next month, or that it will be needed again someday. Canceling a subscription feels less like a decision to reduce spending and more like giving up something previously desired.
Such changes also affect household spending structures. In the past, expenses varied depending on the frequency of enjoying hobbies; now, a constant cost incurs regardless of actual usage. When rent, insurance premiums, telecommunication bills, and various subscription fees are added together, the destination of a significant amount of money is determined even before a paycheck arrives. Consumption started out of enjoyment can accumulate and reduce the margin to choose other pleasures.
That does not mean the subscription economy should be viewed solely in a negative light. For individuals who listen to music daily or work out consistently, monthly flat-rate services are both a much more economical and convenient choice. However, one might wonder if subscription services are sometimes chosen based on how much one wants to use them rather than how much they can realistically be utilized.
The subscription economy provides the freedom to enjoy desired things at any time. However, being able to use something at any time and continuing to pay for it are two different stories. Perhaps what needs to be checked in the household budget is not just the amount withdrawing every month, but what kind of lifestyle is expected with that money.
