Living in a subscription based world
Ever since the days of DVD rentals by mail and 1-800-Contacts the consumer’s need for subscription-based services has skyrocketed. Customers can now pay a monthly price for almost anything from collectible bobbleheads to nostalgic candy. As college students, there are so many unique deals offered in the valley and on the web just for having a university email or being in the right place at the right time. Here is the essential guide to some savings that can’t be found in the financial aid office:
Entertainment
1) Hulu+Spotify
It’s no secret that procrastination is an important skill for all college students, and while Netflix and Pandora are both great on their own, there isn’t a deal out there for better value than the team-up between Hulu and Spotify. Hulu is a streaming app that allows for week-to-week watching of new TV shows the day after they premiere on live television. Spotify is a music-streaming service that has no commercials and offers free listening to anything at any time. Separately Hulu costs $7.99 for service with ads and Spotify costs $9.99 for premium. However, for any student with a university email, the cost for both services and Showtime together is a mere $4.99 a month.
2) Moviepass or Sinemia
In the last year Moviepass has revolutionized what it means to go to the movies. However, a lot has changed since their initial subscription service, which allowed for one movie a day every day of the year. Now, the newest iteration of Moviepass offers subscribers three movies a month at the low cost of $9.99. While Moviepass does offer some restrictions, recently another service called Sinemia has entered the game and they offer the same deal for any regular format movie. Aggies would be wise to pair their Sinemia subscription with the free Lary H Miller Megaplex Rewards card that offers coupons for concessions based on how often a customer sees movies. The combination would allow a movie date almost once every week of the year with discounted treats.
3) Loot Crate or Funko Pop boxes
Loot Crate is a themed service that sends out a collectible box of geeky goodies each month for only $15.99. The boxes typically include Funko Pop Vinyl characters, T-Shirts, posters, and more based on the theme of the month. Amazon also offers subscription boxes like Smugglers Bounty, a Star Wars collector’s box, for only $29.99 every two months. Fandom is back in fashion and Utah is home to one of the largest comic conventions in the nation. Aggies can celebrate their geek pride each month while decorating their dorm with the new box’s surprises.
ESSENTIALS
4) Dollar Shave Club
The Dollar Shave Club is the essential membership for anyone who needs to shave, smell good, and leave the bathroom feeling fresh. With a wide variety of products including razor blades, toiletries, and body wash, The Dollar Shave Club has customizable packages as low as $5 a month so subscribers never have to be caught running into their professors in the razor aisle ever again.
5) Grocery store reward cards
Cache Valley has no shortage of local grocery stores, from Smith’s, Lee’s Marketplace, and Macey’s, to name a few, and each of these grocery stores also offer rewards cards that can save their customers cold hard cash on every visit.
6) Amazon Prime, Microsoft Student, and Adobe Creative Cloud
Sure, while at college it may also be nice to have subscriptions that relate to school. Well, Amazon Prime’s $7 membership is the perfect way to get free shipping on student’s textbooks and hard to find school supplies. Microsoft Office and Adobe also have various discounted student pricing options for their products with a valid university email.
FOOD
7) Chick-Fil-A Calendar
This service is more limited than the rest as it only comes around once a year. Each year Chick-FIl-A sells their “Cow Calendar Cards” which include a cow-themed calendar for the upcoming year and an exclusive Chick-Fil-A card that has a different unique deal for every month. The calendars can be bought at Chick-Fil-A stores in December.
8) Hello Fresh and Blue Apron
Hello Fresh and Blue Apron are fresh ingredient meal delivery services that offer everything needed for a dorm-cooked meal delivered right to the subscriber’s door. Hello Fresh costs $6.60 per meal and Blue Apron is $9.99 per serving making it the cheap and convenient way to eat healthy at home.
9) Olive Garden’s Pasta Pass
Last year’s unlimited pasta pass from Olive Garden sold out quickly. The pass allowed customers to eat unlimited pasta for eight weeks from September to November, the perfect window for those Fall semester cravings. The pass cost $100 and those who missed out on the opportunity can still take advantage of Olive Garden’s Unlimited Pasta Bowl Day on September 24 and try again when the pass goes on sale again later this year.
There are a wide variety of other subscriptions, discounts, and rewards cards all around the valley. These are just a few of the options that Aggies can check out to destress their lives this semester.
—erickwood97@gmail.com
@GrahamWoodMedia