Getting and Spending: Subscriptions and a purchase
As a new-year's cleanup, I cast a beady eye on the subscription services line in my household budget, which had ballooned like sourdough starter in the back of the fridge during the pandemic, and never got punched down until now. It was a hodgepodge of video streaming services; media outlets content that costs extra; Substack and independent newsletters. I had cancelled the one still-delivered print magazine, then subscribed to the digital version. It added up to a good chunk of change, and aside from the New York Times Cooking feature—because I need to make a cookie as big as a dinner plate—I could go months without reading any of the subscriber-only content. Subscriptions have always been with us, but in the past five years the model has overtaken actual ownership in new categories, such as clothing rental and meal-box deliveries. And just try to get out of it! I tried to cancel The Idler, whose spirited "Drinks with the Idler" Zoom meetups lifted my spirits d...
