Monthly flat rates: the dilemma of subscribing or living

Life is a flat rate. A constant drip of spending. The subscription society has mutated us. We no longer live to work, we now work to live and pay out-of-pocket cell phone fees. 

I start the day listening to an Ivoox podcast, but not just any podcast or any way. Much better if it is with good audio quality, if the content is exclusive and if it has no advertising. Besides, I can track the listening on another device at the same point where I left it. It's 9.99 euros per month. You must have it. 

But my mind needs music. From Manolo Escobar to C. Tangana, carols or the summer hit. Also without ads, of course. And if I can choose the lists and play them without consuming data, so much the better. They are worth the 9.99 euros per month. I've already got 20 euros and it's not 12 o'clock in the morning. The pride of being a consumer. 

I can read, but I don't have time to pick up a book. I subscribed to the Kindle for 9.99 euros a month, but I don't like that feeling of not having the book in my hands. The smell of papyrus. Every morning on public transport I am listening to the podcast, but I would like José Coronado to read 'The Valley of Terror' by Arthur Conan Doyle. And what could be better than to hear Emilio Aragón reread the stories told by his father, Miliki. Audible is another 9.99 euros a month, but voices like these are worth it.

I have been working all my life with Word and Excel, and now I have to switch to free tools that I can't share with anyone and I don't know how they work. Microsoft loves me and wants me every month in exchange for 7 euros. It offers me a lot of programs that I don't know what they are for, but they are there just in case. Teams has been good for me to do online meetings in this pandemic. Money worth investing. Almost 40 euros and I'm already sitting in my office. 

Spanish TV or Antena 3 TV series have too many commercials and it's getting late. It is no longer fashionable to watch live TV, football League at most. 'Money Heist' has gone over to Netflix and it's been two seasons and more than 50 chapters. I can't miss House of Cards to see how Netflix buried Kevin Spacey without waiting for a conviction that cleared him of all charges. For 8 euros a month, it's worth it. Just like the 5 euros from Apple TV, which I will start paying when the three months are over for free. Defending Jacob is a masterpiece of judicial plots. On HBO I have yet to see the documentary of my hero Jesús Gil and the series Patria, although I have already listened to the 21 hours of the audio book. For 9 euros it's worth having a lot of good series on hand. What will 62 euros mean to me if I can invest them in culture?

I just found out that the 36 euros per year for Amazon Prime includes Amazon Prime Video. An extensive catalog of series and films. The latest from Santiago Segura is funny, but the good thing is that they have the Torrente saga. I also want to see Fernando Torres's documentary and how it takes its toll on Simeone. I have seen the series McMafia and Startup and it is worth every euro of the subscription. 

The 140 euros I pay for watching Spanish National Football on Movistar+ doesn't satisfy me. Watching the Premier League, at the same time as LaLiga and the Euroleague, at the same time as the Champions League, is complicated but essential for keeping up to date. The best League in the world, some early morning MLS games and the bikes for 9.99 euros a month are worth it. You pay and that's it. It's 75 euros in quality content.

In June 2020, El Corte Inglés got the ball rolling on the issue of shipping. I bought things that never arrived or that the delivery guys lost. Now they assure me that I can continue consuming for 19.90 euros a year and that the products will be at home in two hours. Another service that is worthwhile. A payment like that, per year, is not even noticed.

I always liked Photoshop to edit photos and make funny memes to share with my brother-in-law. Adobe is the company that manages that program and has released a version for the iPad and iPhone. I find it a bit expensive to pay 60 euros a month to edit photos of Julio and Pablo (Iglesias) but, once you pay, you don't even remember. It's worth it. 

And all those photos I take with my phone, the ones sent to me by my family or the gigabytes of images and videos that are automatically downloaded from WhatsApp have saturated my phone. I discovered Dropbox and I no longer have space problems, because everything syncs without me doing anything. I found it cheap to pay 9.99 euros a month to keep my phone safe. I've been paying about 100 euros between monthly and yearly subscriptions. I do not do the math. Everything is necessary and makes my life easier. 

In my free time I play video games. At first I had the PlayStation and FIFA, but I got bored playing against the machine and they told me about a monthly subscription to play with geeks from all over the world. I paid the 60 euros per year, but I could hardly finish the first game. The level is high and passing the ball is very quick. It was worth the expense to get to know the world of online gaming, although I didn't get anything back. Now I have switched to Xbox, because they charge me the same for playing online, another 60 euros per year. This time I have finished the game and my rival has written me privately to congratulate me. FuckU, loser, told me the first virtual friend I have. As I don't like to go shopping for physical games to avoid consuming plastics and harming the environment, I have subscribed for 12.99 euros a month to Xbox Game Pass to play everything. Most of them are discontinued games or games from past seasons. There is one pinball game that makes it worth the outlay. 

The last flat fee I paid was for a Moleskine agenda, notebook, planner that I found for my mobile. We have to take care of the trees and I'm moving on to the digital issue. 14 euros a year doesn't cost me much and I take notes from time to time and use it.

Due to the pandemic, I have decided to stop paying the 55 euros per month for the Madrid transport pass. I have bought an electric car with a very cheap flat rate. For 250 euros a month I have everything but the gasoline. A bargain. 

In one year I leave about 4,000 euros in monthly subscriptions, not counting the one for the gym, which I still pay for, but it's worth it. Approximately 20% of my annual salary ends up in obligatory payments which, sometimes, I don't even remember that I have activated until I get the charges. And it's too late. I have the feeling that I don't get the most out of things, well, almost nothing. There are months that I intend to use everything, but I'm sleepy, hungry and the doctor said I was beginning to have emotional agony and acute stress. It's worth it, though. Or so they say.