Waiting on subscriptions to end

When I did a large cutback on my streaming services recently -- I unsubscribed to services that I didn't really watch -- I had a few that didn't end just then. You see, in the past, I had subscribed to some services on an annual basis rather than monthly. So, when I canceled subscriptions, those services continued to be available until the subscription ends.

That bothers me a little.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm in no way suggesting that the service end immediately. After all, if I paid for 12 months service, and I decide to not renew after eight months, I should still get the remaining four months. I'm not suggesting they end  the service immediately. It's something else that bothers me.

What's bothering me is that I decided I didn't want to continue the service because I didn't watch it, right? But now it's no longer in the back of my mind. I've brought it to the front. Now I'm thinking about that app/service. And I'm more likely to watch it.

Let's take Discovery+ for instance. They offered a good price for a yearly subscription, and I took it. But, I discovered I didn't watch it. During my purge, I canceled. But, with time left on the subscription, I didn't remove the app from my device. I mean, I had time left to watch, so why not keep it, right?

Well, the reason is I might actually watch it. And I might enjoy it. And I might want to keep my subscription.

Is that a bad thing? No, not really. But, if I renew my subscription, I've then undone my cutback, and risk going over budget on my streaming.

So, cancel something else, right? After all, if I'm watching one service more, then at least one service has to suffer from lack of watching, right? Yes, that's true. But then the cycle starts again. I cancel my subscription, then that service comes to the front of my mind. I start watching it, then decide I like it, and renew.

And so on and so on and ... well, you get the idea.

I need a plan for canceling subscriptions. A better plan. Right now, it's simply "I plan to cancel that." And that's really not much of a plan. I need a strategy and I need to stick with it.

Maybe no more annual subscriptions. That way, when I cancel, then if I don't watch in 29 days or less, I don't watch.

Maybe I just need to cancel everything, then if I launch an app and discover I'm not subscribed, then I know I've not been watching it.

I'll figure something out, I'm sure. My Streaming Life shouldn't be this hard. Maybe I'm just making it hard. Easy is the goal. And I'll get there.