Death by 1000 subscriptions

Subscriptions were supposed to make our lives easier. But now they’re like zombies that just won't stay buried— crawling out from every corner, every month,

gnawing at our wallets.

It all starts innocently enough: a few bucks for convenience, a little fee for peace of mind.

Everything you need, right there at your fingertips.

Except, now we’re drowning in it— death by a thousand subscriptions— a horrible narrative we signed up for without even realizing.

Everywhere you look, there's another fee. It’s not just Netflix and Spotify. It’s the pet food,

razors,

the note-taking app you use once a week.

Even your toothbrush has a subscription plan now.

At first, it seemed manageable. Practical, even.

But somewhere along the way,

it stopped being about convenience

and started to feel like a boa constrictor— slowly squeezing tighter with every new sign-up, every tiny monthly charge that we barely notice until it's too late.

We didn't feel it at first. But suddenly, we're struggling to breathe— the sheer mass of all these “tiny” charges pressing down on us.

Five bucks for a newsletter? Sure, why not? Twenty for cloud storage? I guess I need more of it.

But those little fuckers have a sneaky way of adding up, like mosquitoes— one bite at a time— until you’re not sure where your money is going every month.

Subscription fatigue barely scratches the surface here.

It's not just about the money— the constant vigilance and background stress.

Remember to cancel that free trial before it converts,

fumbling with endless logins,

forgotten passwords,

awkwardly dancing with customer service just to cancel something you barely use.

It stopped being about owning things— now it’s about “unlimited access,” except we’re paying for it endlessly. We signed up for this—willingly. We traded ownership for widespread access, and in doing that, we gave up more than we realized.

We’re renting our lives, one monthly fee at a time. And it’s so hard to escape, because these companies have latched on like their survival depends on it. Hint: it does.

They’re not selling you products— they’re selling relationships.

We, exhausted, keep paying, because it’s easier than sitting down, sorting it all out, and cutting ties with the things we don't use. We don’t like dealing with our problems, and that’s okay.

But maybe it’s time for a subscription audit—a moment of reflection.

A look at all those spooky little cuts to our bank accounts, our sanity, and deciding which ones to let go.

The goal isn’t zero subscriptions—it’s finding that sweet spot where convenience stops becoming complacency. We’re taking control, not just paying for our own slow demise— one recurring payment at a time. 🎃