I still have one more box coming up, but after that, I'll be ditching subscription boxes…at least for now! This is a bittersweet decision for me because I absolutely love subscription boxes. They have been such a fun experience for me over the past couple of years. What's not to love about getting a surprise present in the mail every month?!
I've decided to change things up, however, because I'm not sure that the value of the subscription boxes I've been receiving are truly worth the prices I pay for them. Value is very much subjective and just because a hat is listed as $58, doesn't mean that it's worth $58 to me! When I really challenged myself to take a good look at the value I was getting out of subscription boxes, it didn't seem worth it given my current financial goals. While the retail value of the items I am receiving is always quite high, they weren't necessarily products I would have picked out for myself.
Now, receiving products I wouldn't have picked for myself could be considered a good or a bad thing! It allows me to try new products I wouldn’t have otherwise known about which has helped me discover tons of new brands and interests! At the same time, however, it also lands me with a ton of products that I don't necessarily need nor use. I know that it's impossible to curate a box that everyone is going to like, so this is in no way a reflection of the quality of the subscription boxes themselves, but more so a reflection of the personal value I place on subscription boxes.
In order to get the best of both worlds, I'm going to try to be more open minded about trying new products in different categories that I might not normally try but using the $$$ I used to spend on subscription boxes on purchases that I can select on my own. Although I might not get as much retail value out of the items, I know I'll get more personal value out of the items because they'll be items I'll be much more likely to use!Instead of doing subscription box reviews, I'll start doing monthly budget posts to show you what I've purchased instead!
There's definitely a lot I will miss about subscription boxes. The fun surprise of not knowing what's in each box, What I'll miss most about subscription boxes is the "gift to myself" feeling! It always feels like Christmas morning when I receive a colorful subscription box in the mail. Self-care is something that is a high priority in my life and I've always found that subscription boxes are a great way to feel like I'm caring for myself! For now, however, I'm trying to be more proactive about managing my money and setting budget limits for myself by re-budgeting that money into a "happy" budget where I hope to get more value out of that money while also getting the same types of products that I would have received in a subscription box.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic of subscription boxes! Did you find subscription boxes to be worth the price tag? What are your favorite subscriptions? Who knows - maybe in a couple of months, I'll be back on here blogging about how much I missed my subscription boxes after I decided to cut them out of my life! :P
