Subscription services are all the rage these days. Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, TIDAL, Pandora, Google Play Music and Slacker are worth billions of dollars combined and aren’t even all of the available music services available in the App Store or Google Play Store. Video streaming services have even more options. Chances are you are subscribed to at least one subscription if you own a smartphone or tablet, but let’s take a look at the five services I can’t live without.
The New York Times
There’s only one true news source that I trust and it is The New York Times. In an age of fake or corporate motivated news, The New York Times has managed to stay independent and continues to lead the way for quality and responsible reporting. It’s not owned by business moguls like Jeff Bezos (The Washington Post) or Rupert Murdoch (Wall Street Journal) who have personal agendas. Instead it’s owned mostly by a newspaper family, The Ochs-Sulzberger family, and has delivered quality content for over a century. The New York Times has won 122 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.
I read the New York Times everyday as soon as I wake up on my iPad Pro and even read a few articles before bed to stay current on all of the world’s events. In a world of declining print newspapers, the Times has managed to stay current by adding a record number of digital subscribers in 2017. Subscriptions aren’t cheap at $3.75 per week for the basic plan, remember though you’re getting award-winning content.
Sworkit
Health is no longer as easy as it was to maintain now that I’m in my late 30s in comparison to my 20s. Not only does our metabolism slow as we age, but finding time to set aside to work out seems more difficult with each passing year. I’ve always been a big gym goer since my teens, but as a resident of Southern California rush hour traffic gets in my way far too often than I’d like. It can take me 30 minutes just to drive five miles to get to my gym.
In order to cut out the excuses, and to get myself back into shape, I’ve been using Sworkit on my iPad and Samsung Galaxy S8+ every other day for 30-60 minutes per session. What I love about the app are the pre set up workouts, with videos showing me how to perform the exercises. The programs are also set up for a wide variety of users, where it’s not limited to advanced athletes or beginner users only. You can pick from individualized workouts, custom workouts, pre created workouts (my favorite), you can join multi week programs custom designed for your personal goals and you even have access to a personal trainer.
I pay $7.99 for the premium Sworkit monthly subscription. I consider it a bargain compared to the $65 I spend on a gym membership that I barely use. Sworkit works and my abs are even sore from yesterday’s 30 minute session.
Google Play Music
$14.99 per month for access to over 30 million songs is why I choose to go with Google Play Music. I pay a little extra to have up to five family members on my account each one of them can play music from 10 devices. I use my subscription to listen to music mostly, but even listen to entertaining podcasts a few times a week. I also love that Google Play Music doesn’t have any ads to interrupt my listening sessions.
It’s compatible with just about all of my devices: Samsung Galaxy S8+, iPad Pro 12.9, Le Eco Android TV, my Microsoft Surface Tab 4 at work and I even listen to it on my commute to work.
A single monthly subscription for ad-free music costs $9.99 per month.
DirecTV NOW
I cancelled my cable service almost two years ago and have never looked back. I tried internet TV subscription services like SlingTV and YouTube TV, but neither are anywhere near as good as DirecTV NOW. I pay $35 a month (early adopter pricing) and with that I get every single station I watched on cable TV and save over $50 per month. As an AT&T wireless customer I also love that I can stream unlimited DirecTV NOW video without impacting my limited data plan.
Every area has different rules on local broadcasts. In San Diego I get NBC, Fox and ABC so I can stay up to date on local news and information. AT&T also hooked up premium subscribers with a free subscription to HBO Go which normally costs $14.99 per month on its own. I’m grateful for that hook up because I’m a huge fan of Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley. If you’re on any other internet subscription package, I highly recommend you give DirecTV Now a try. It even offers a free 30-day trial for new subscribers. AT&T wireless customers with Unlimited data plans can add-on a subscription for as little as $10 per month.
Some of my favorite channels:
- ESPN
- Discovery Channel
- History
- MLB Network
- Animal Planet
- Food Network
- BBC America
- Comedy Central
- HBO
- HGTV
- Velocity
- USA Network
- TNT
- AMC
- Travel Channel
You can view the complete channel lineup here.
Texture
I love to read: books, magazines and newspapers. When it comes to magazines I’ve switched over to Texture since it gives me access to over 200 titles. I may not read all of the titles, but for $14.99 per month I have access to almost all of my favorites.
- Maxim
- Consumer Reports
- Conde nast Traveler
- Men’s Health
- Rolling Stone
- National Geographic
- Time
- Wired
- Real Simple
- dwell
- ESPN
- Food & Wine
- GQ
- Mens Fitness
Those subscriptions alone cost well over the $14.99 I pay per month. They also used to add up to a large collection of paper that I recycled every month. Another great part about Texture is I can share it with my mom who gave me my love of reading.
Prices start at $9.99 per month. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial at texture.com.
