According to last week’s Wall Street Journal, Netflix gained an additional 16 million new subscribers. That’s double what they forecasted for the quarter. To shareholders like myself, that’s great news. The increase in subscribers means added revenue to the company’s bottom line and that means increases to the stock price (insert cash register sound). Just this year alone, the stock is up 34%. I call that a win!
I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little entertainment in their life right now. Whether you are binging on your favorite show to catch up on past season or if you’re watching movies as a pastime, we all need an escape. We’re stuck at home which means we’re able to spend more quality time with our families, but we also want to find ways to take a mental break and entertain ourselves. Although we need it, it doesn’t have to stop us from preserving our cash. The average Netflix subscription will run you $156 per year. That may not seem like a lot of money, but let’s take a look at it another way.
The average emergency, prior to the pandemic, could be resolved with $400. That annual Netflix subscription is 39% of what we would need to stash away for an emergency and gain some peace of mind. In many instances, families have other paid streaming services in addition to their Netflix subscription. All of these sources of entertainment equal dollars that could be set aside for the future. According to a recent survey by The Wall Street Journal and the Harris Poll, Americans spent an average of $37 per month on streaming services in March 2020. That’s an annual expense of $444. Can we say ching ching again.
So, we need the entertainment, but we also need to save our money. Talk about conflicting goals... How can you balance those out? Well, Parade, an American magazine, published a list of free streaming services that can definitely help. Click here to take a look at the list. Give one or all of them a try and see if your entertainment sweet tooth is satisfied. If it is, that’s money in the bank. I have used Tubi, Vudu, Sony Crackle, Hoopla and YouTube and have no complaints.
Although this article focuses on Netflix, feel free to insert any streaming service you are currently paying for and the idea remains the same. Save money where you can while still entertaining yourself.
You can also find a list of more resources at https://www.facingfinances.com/covid19.
Blessings to you and your family!