Six Monthly Subscriptions I Can’t Live Without (for Now)
That I’m happy to pay for.
For a year, I paid for Elizabeth Goddard’s monthly subscription to learn ConvertKit. Twenty bucks a month for an entire year. Guess how many times I logged on? Three.
Subscriptions are the best way to make passive income (hello! Netflix), and why I’m trying to develop a subscription-based model that everyone clamors for. If you follow bloggers who make a ton of money, most are moving from digital products to subscription-based models for monetizing blogs.
After paying a full year for a subscription, I rarely used, I’m very discerning about subscriptions I pay for now. They add up quickly, and if don’t pay attention you’ll soon you have a Tesla-sized monthly payment in subscriptions, many of which you don’t use. Think gym membership.
I continually strive for growth and improvement in certain areas; mind, body, financial health, education, and business. I like to see forward momentum in all these key areas.
The following apps help me do so and why I think they are worth every penny.
Six worth the Monthly Charge
Medium — Improves education, mind, and business
Medium expands my mind and business acumen. The Medium Partner Program (MMP) is five dollars a month ($50 annually) for unlimited access to every story, an ad-free experience while financially supporting the writers you read frequently.
You can also make some money if you publish.
Because I’m creating content, I don’t have a lot of time to be a reader on Medium, but the creativity and quality here are better than any other platform for writers. I stumble across articles multiple times a week that I can’t wait to read.
It is a special place for readers and writers alike.
Stock Advisor — Improves my financial life
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is $20 a month and worth every penny. You can join now for only $99. For the value they offer, I can’t believe it is only $20 a month.
David and Tom Gardner started The Motley Fool in 1993. I’ve been reading them for a long time and joined the Stock Advisor several years ago. They teach people about money, how to save and invest, giving expert stock picks each week.
I have made thousands of dollars from their recommendations. Their average 2020 Stock Advisor recommendation is up 76%, vs. the S&P’s return of 26%; since 2016, they got an average return of 182% vs. 57% for the S&P. These guys love stocks!
Receiving weekly Stock Advisor picks directly to my inbox reminds me to pay attention to my investments, invest and save more, and look into that next new stock they recommend. The Fools invested in Amazon, Shopify, and Netflix and told their 400K+ subscribers to invest as well before these companies became household names.
The Stock Advisor subscription is worth every cent.
Jon Brosio — Improves my business
I have zero tech-savvy but own several blogs to monetize. It isn’t easy. You need patience, technical skills, and someone who knows more than you, so you don’t spend hours and hours googling how-to-do videos.
I recently joined Jon Brosio monthly subscription for $9 a month. On his website, Tribe Loyal, he offers a course that teaches all things blogging. I’m only in lesson two. The course allows you to go at your own pace, so you can plow through the segments if you want. I like this subscription because I can ask Jon all the “dumb” questions (there are no dumb questions) about the technical side of things or whether he thinks my niche is a good one to monetize. And get this, he gets back to me via email within an hour.
I will keep you abreast of how his course turns out and what I learn. I’m super excited to have some help all in one place without hiring someone to take over and create a blog for me.
I want to be a part of the creation process with accessible help when I need it.
Peloton — Improves my health and body
I recently bit the bullet and bought a Peloton bike to increase my cardio without going on a five-hour hike for similar results. I can now write for a few hours and then hop on the bike for 30 minutes or an hour when I need a break from writing without having to get in my car and drive somewhere.
I’m trying to simplify my life and never get in my car again within reason. I live in a busy metropolis — which I love and would not want to live anywhere else — but I don’t love being reliant on my car. Covid made me question just how much time I spend in the car, so I rearranged some things in my life. I’m creating a life so that everything I need, friends, exercise, work, school, is within a five-mile radius. The peloton app has workouts for every fitness level and a variety of different exercises from barre to mat pilates and intense bike rides.
Grammarly — Improves my writing business
I’m a writer, so I pay for the pro subscription on Grammarly. It isn’t cheap, I think it is around $120 a year.
I use Grammarly every single day as a spell checker and all things grammar, so for me, it is worth every penny. Although I don’t listen to every “error,” the app suggests correcting, it allows me to spot typos quickly.
You have to be discerning with Grammarly, or it can turn your writing from interesting to bland. Rely on it for typos and other mistakes you just don’t catch while reading your work aloud.
Calm — improves my mind (plus it’s free)
This app is free. You can’t go wrong with free unless it is one of those crappy sugar-filled drinks people try to unload on you at outdoor concerts and events, and you feel awful after you drink a week’s worth of sugar in one sitting. You can go wrong with free.
You can’t go wrong with a calmer inner dialogue.
How you chatter to yourself and what you say will inform every aspect, determining the quality of your life.
If you want to get into meditation to feel calmer, reduce stress and anxiety, and be a happier person in general, the Calm app is a good place to start. There are so many goodies on this app to help you get through five-minute sits to an hour sit eventually with enough practice.
There is no single action you can do today to bring more presence, awareness, peace, and tranquility than starting a daily meditation practice. Finding balance in your breath will positively influence all areas of your life, from your relationships with family to how you deal with employees, friends, or business partners.
When we’re aware of our thoughts and who we are, why we do things, it increases our awareness and brings more satisfaction to our overall life. If you want to know the quality of your life, sit for an hour and listen to the quality of your thoughts.
They will inform you how happy you are.
Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering type-A personality. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.
