#i will gladly pay a months subscription just to watch this show if we get more of it later on

[piplup99]

just watched the first episode of prehistoric planet. these bitches were looking at the same moon as us

[diaryofasithchick]

TORONNETFLIX – SURVEY RESULTS (WITH EDITORIAL COMMENTARY)

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Astinus

It all began back in August of 2016 when Jasmine St. Philippe started a petition to bring the Old Republic era of Star Wars to Netflix on change.org.

As she stated in the original petition, “It’s no surprise to anyone that the Star Wars franchise has experienced a massive resurgence lately… However, it’s about time that the stories from over 3,000 years before the Battle of Yavin be told to both new and old fans of the franchise.”  I signed on to the petition when there were still fewer than 10,000 signatures, and have watched the number of fans jumping on board climb to well over 100,000 in just a few short months, and the numbers are still growing.

Like the number of signatures on the petition, my own excitement over the idea of a television series based on the Old Republic era has grown rapidly and exponentially as the #TORonNetflix movement gathers support and recognition from all over the Internet.  Receiving mentions on popular blogs and sites such as moviepilot.com, honortheforce.com, The Independent and many, many others, the World Wide Web is abuzz with enthusiasm for this project to be made.  With its unofficial tag line of “There is always a bit of truth in legends” (an apparent reference to Disney’s reclassification of all the characters and stories that previously fell under the banner of the “Expanded Universe”), Star Wars fans from all over the world from Andorra to Venezuela are taking up the call to support this idea.

However, as I reviewed many of the comments and discussions regarding the topic, I noted that fans have wide and varied ideas of how such a project should be produced.  To that end, I put together a brief survey in an attempt to put some real data behind the ethereal notion.  With just over 1,000 respondents, here’s what we’ve found so far (along with my own commentary).

DISCLAIMER: Please remember that neither myself, Jasmine St. Philippe, Diary of a Sith Chick, nor any of the individuals involved with this petition, this survey, or any of the other online discussions relating to the possibility of this series being made are officially related to or speaking on behalf of any of the companies mentioned here.  This includes, but is not limited to The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd., Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Home Box Office and others, or any of their subsidiaries.  As far as we are aware, there are currently no plans to produce or release a television series for Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Names of products, services, characters and other intellectual property owned by these companies are used for reference purposes only.

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

First, let’s get some of the basic numbers out of the way.  One of the main purposes for this survey was to get a gauge of how feasible it might be to actually bring a Star Wars: The Old Republic television series to a subscription service like Netflix, but I really wanted to find out if other similar services could be viable as well.  I tried to include as many individuals as I could without getting overwhelming, and I think we have some good information to work with here.

Approximately 83% of all respondents said that they currently subscribe to Netflix, with the next highest percentage of a bit over 30.5% going to Amazon’s streaming video service.  Rounding out the top four are HBO at nearly 26%, and Hulu at 12%.  Surprisingly (at least to me) was the fact that over 14% of respondents said that they don’t currently pay for any subscription video services.

As might be guessed by the current subscription figures above, most respondents indicated that they would like the series to appear on Netflix, followed by Amazon, HBO and Hulu.  However, the disparity isn’t nearly as wide when it comes to preferred provider as it is for actual subscriptions.  The weighted averages were much closer when trying to decide which service would be a better platform for the series, ranging from 7.57 for Netflix to 4.55 for Hulu.

The good news for potential homes of an Old Republic series is that 84.75% of the respondents said that, if the show were released on a service to which they don’t currently subscribe, they’d be willing to purchase a subscription just to be able to watch it.  A more impressive number, though, is that of those that identified themselves as not having any subscription services, over 90% said that they’d subscribe to whatever service were to pick this up.  Since the current response pool is only about 1,000 individuals, extrapolating these figures out to even just the more than 110,000 supporters that have already signed the petition means that there could be a sizable potential for additional revenue for whatever service ends up getting the nod from Disney, not to mention for Disney itself.

I mean, imagine if Hulu were to have this produced as an exclusive series.  Their somewhat lackluster 12% in this survey could jump up to over 80% overnight with one well-placed announcement.  That could mean an increase of almost 75,000 subscribers based just on the numbers we have so far.  Of course, these numbers don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the Star Wars fan base, so the sky’s the limit when it comes to new subscribers.

I myself would gladly subscribe to ANY service that offered a series, mini-series, and/or movies depicting the Old Republic era of the Star Wars universe.  I’m already subscribed to nearly all of the services explicitly identified in the survey, so I feel I have my bases pretty well covered, but I’m not ruling anything out at this point.

PRODUCTION STYLE

By and large, a majority (46%) of respondents would like to see Star Wars: The Old Republic produced as a live action television series.

One specific comment regarding this style:

“A show like the CGI Star Wars that are for pre-teens that have been on TV the last few years is a bit of a blowoff. A much more realistic TOR would be very awesome.”

– Sgt. Pepper

CGI animation came in second in regards to production style at 31%.  Those that favored a CGI series seem to prefer a more realistic animation such as those produced by Blur for the popular Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG video game:

“I would like to see the style similar to the trailers for the old republic online game”

– Anonymous

“I love watching the trailers of the Old Republic, it’s about time to make a TV series of it!”

– Maddie Ibuna

“Would like to see all the TOR trailers made into something”

– Anonymous

However, some of the CGI advocates would like to see the animation done in the style of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series:

“When I say CGI animation, I mean in the same style as Clone Wars, but I would also be okay with a live-action series.”

– OtakuCat

While still others didn’t have a specific animation style in mind:

“I only say CGI since a live-action of TOR and KOTOR would be very difficult to pull off, given the desired looks of certain characters and the money for costumes and such which might be half-assed for live-action. CGI would be a better pick assuming the animators pick a healthy style that can compliment a more mature and dark side of Star Wars (i.e., not Rebels animation)”

– Anonymous

There were also those who said they had “No Preference” when it comes to the production style:

“For the show’s format, I have said no preference, but I am actually between live action and CGI. Reasons being that live action would appeal to a wider audience, making the show itself more feasible, but all previous canon Star Wars shows have been CGI, and I’m just a sucker for [tradition], as well as liking the stylised approach Lucasfilm animation takes towards all of its CG projects.”

– Brian Holmes

Even so, several of those who identified their preference for CGI stated that they would be just as happy with a live-action series, as long as it wasn’t done “on the cheap”.  My preference is a live-action series, but with better production value than some of the other series that Disney has produced for television (I’m looking at YOU, Once Upon A Time).  With good writing and acting, the only thing that could cause this series to fail is if the special effects aren’t up to par with the movies.  If budget and time constraints would mean that the special effects would suffer in a live-action series, I’d much rather them put the money into a high-quality CGI production.

RATING

It’s clear from the respondents to this question that fans would like to see something more “mature” than what has been produced so far for either television or cinema.  At almost 48.5%, the preference seems to be a maximum rating of R / TV-MA, but PG-13 / TV-14 was a close second with 43.25%.  Based on the results from this survey, it would seem that anything lower just doesn’t have as much appeal.

A particularly insightful comment from one of the respondents regarding the show’s rating said this:

“…I bet most people said PG-13/R when…let’s face it, no matter what it will not end up being R. But it does need to not be a ‘kids show’…would be an awesome change of pace.

“…the vast majority of fans is WAY older than 18 years old. And so many people would LOVE to see a live action series for adults.”

– arokace

Also, this respondent had this to say about the possibility of the series being produced in a more “mature” format:

“…And with the whole ‘all-age’, family friendly approach… I think it would be fantastic and super exciting to see some darker, more mature content (Empire Strikes Back) in a new series.”

– Andras Balazs

My personal preference would be for PG-13 / TV-14, mainly so that I can share it with my kids more easily.  Something with a rating of R / TV-MA, while it might be interesting, seems a bit much for telling Star Wars stories.  As one respondent put it:

“I would even accept the show being on a local network like NBC, ABC, CBS, etc… since Netflix and other streaming services tend to make all their shows Mature. But I would love to watch KoToR with my kids and nephews.”

– Anonymous

In my opinion, the show can still be dark and mature without putting itself in a similar category to shows like Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead with regards to violence, language and other content.  My fear with going for a rating of R / TV-MA is that the writers and producers will TRY to put content in to reach that rating rather than just let it happen organically.  With a lower rating cap, the writers and producers will be forced to seriously consider whether that intense lightsaber battle needs to be as violent as it was filmed, or if they can let the audience simply “feel” the intensity rather than explicitly show it.  Of course, I tend to lean way to the Light Side of the Force, so my perception may be a bit skewed on this topic.

DEMOGRAPHICS

And, speaking of Force persuasions, here’s a fun fact: Most of the survey respondents seem to identify themselves as “Gray” Jedi, with a little over 41.25%.  Almost 32.5% consider themselves aligned with the Dark Side, and just over 26.25% say they lean with me towards the Light Side.

Other interesting little bits of information gathered from the survey: Only 5.25% of respondents were female.  Looks like we need to reach out to more of the Sith Chicks and Jedi Gals that we all know are there.

I must admit that I was a bit surprised to see that a majority of the respondents (35.5%) fall into the 21-29 year-old range.  As one who is a bit more advanced in years, I honestly expected the majority to be at least in the 30-39 year-old range.  Maybe the young guns just have a bit more time on their hands to take the survey.

COMMENTS

Finally, I asked respondents to include any comments they may have related to the production of this series, including such things as specific characters or story lines they would like to see.  So many people provided excellent comments, but I’ll try to summarize these as best I can.

Revan is by far the most asked for character: his story, his companions, his enemies, his battles, and his history all come up many times in the comments.  Everything from a simple retelling of his story in Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic to a more in-depth historical view of the life of this now iconic character has been requested over and over again by respondents to this survey.  Here are some of the specific comments about Revan:

“I would love to see Revan. There is so much hype about him and the Old Republic era and I’d like to find out about it all however I don’t have time and I don’t know where to start finding out about it ALL. So a series would be perfect to show loyal Star Wars fans.”

– Amaan Sajid

“Most of the characters are compelling, but Revan would be awesome to see”

– Wil

“I want to see the story include the Darth Revan era all the [way] up through the Eternal Empire (Zakuul) era. I would also like to see the main characters, Revan, Bastila, Malak, Darth Malgus, Satele, Darth Marr, Lana and Theron, Jace Malcom and more. Those are a few of the icons of the Old Republic franchise”

– Adrian

“Revan. I don’t think anyone will argue here. Explore some element of him, his life and his teachings. As a Gray Jedi, I cannot tell you how essential this would be to my fandom life.”

– Gavin Wilson

“Mainly, I would like to see a story set in Revan’s life. Would love to see what Disney could do with a character like Revan.”

– Matt Wright

One interesting storytelling suggestion that I found in the comments was this:

“Could it be Revan’s story told through the holocron in possession of Bane, while also telling the story of Bane’s era? Uniting both eras in a single series? And also some episodes where the plot revolves around the same place, but different time…”

– Revan the revanchist

As for other characters to include in the series, the Mandalorians, Bane, Exar Kun, HK-47, and Vitiate/Valkorian’s names came up quite a bit.  There are so many characters to which we’ve been introduced through games and novels that there’s really no limit to the number of stories that could be told in this era.

Which leads us to potential story lines to be used for this series.  Again, Revan’s name ranks at the top of the list.  Unsurprisingly, many respondents refer back to the BioWare games as a basis for the stories they would like to see.  Whether it’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, or the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, BioWare’s storytelling has left an indelible impression on Star Wars fans everywhere.  Most fans would love to see these story lines produced into a high-quality series to be enjoyed for years and decades to come.

It seems that some respondents have already given a great deal of thought to the possibility of this series:

“an interesting idea on how the seasons should go:

Season 1: all about The first Dark Jedi being banished from the order and the enslavement of the Sith species.

Season 2: Jump a few centuries to the times of the first great Sith Lords like Naga Sadal and the first wars with the republic

Season 3: possibly the longest season revolving around the first Knights of the old Republic games And Revan.

Season 4,5,6: i think most of the Major plot points of The Old Republic would fit into here.

Season 7: all the events revolving around Darth Bane and the creation of his infamous Rule of Two.

Season 8: jumping ahead a 1000 years we come to the events of Darth Plageuis killing his master and taking a young Sheiv Palpatine as his apprentice. The series ending in his death and leading into the events of Episode 1 the Phantom Menace.”

– Anonymous

Not to mention those who are so excited about the possibility that they’re willing to jump right in and get started on it:

“I teach writing at the university level and I have a PhD in cognitive science. I would absolutely give up the high salary I make right now in exchange for a crappy living wage if some network brought me on as a writer for the show. So, you know, if you’re ever in a position to pitch this to them, you can say you’ve got people interested in watching it AND making it.”

– Jake

And, on a related note, this respondent chimed in with some suggestions on the writing:

“Rebels is a brilliantly written show and if the writers took the same care writing the Old Republic and added some of the main Sith and Jedi it would be outstanding.”

– Jamie Peake

EDITOR’S OPINION

Just to throw my own opinion into the mix, I’d personally like to see a series for Star Wars: The Old Republic make mention of Revan, and perhaps even have him show up every once in a while, but I’d rather the series spread out rather than focus specifically on one character, or even a single group of characters.  I feel the series would do better to take on characters like Nico Okarr, Carth Onasi, Darth Nihilus, Gnost-Dural, Darth Malgus, Shae Vizla and so many others.

I’d love to see an “origin” story of sorts that delves into the Tho Yor Arrival, events on Tython with Ashla and Bogan, the Dai Bendu monks and the creation of the Je’Daii Order, and the schism that resulted in what would become the Sith and Jedi Orders – The Force Wars.  We’re talking approximately 36,450-25,750 BBY here, but I think much of that could be done in one or two seasons at most.  One season would probably be enough for most fans, but I wouldn’t mind if they spread it out across two seasons.

Eventually, though, regardless of how many seasons it takes to get there, I think it would be great for the series to end up in the same basic time frame as the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG.  While there very well may be a season or two that occur during the same time as the events in Knights of the Old Republic, I still stand by my previous statement that I believe it would be better to keep Revan as more of a “cameo” character than the main focus.

While Revan is by far one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe, and so many of the stories from the Old Republic era seem to intertwine with his, I feel like his story would be better told in a full-length movie, or (dare I say) a series of movies devoted fully to his journey.  Starting with his rise through the Jedi Order, all the way through his fall from and redemption to the Light, then his search for his memories of exactly what happened to him, Revan’s tale is so rich and full that I think trying to do it in a weekly series would dilute it too much.  Tell the story of Malachor V, as well as his first visit to Nathema along with many of his other journeys.  Show Revan’s relationships and conflicts with Meetra, Bastila, Canderous, Vitiate, Scourge and so many others.

CONCLUSION

Firstly, I’d like to say a huge “Thank You!” to everyone that has already participated in the survey.  I’m glad we got this information together, if for no other reason than to possibly get everyone on the same page to some extent.  I believe the data collected here provides a good “jumping off�� point for anyone that has the influence to make the Star Wars: The Old Republic television series a reality.  Perhaps I’ll do another survey down the road, but I must say that I’m pretty encouraged by the turnout we’ve already seen.

– Astinus Starbreeze of the Jedi Order

[boxyladies]

Instead of a weekly/monthly/whatever date favorites… I’m just going to bring y’all a “Current Favorites” whenever I feel like it. That way, there’s no pressure to come up with favorites during the week/month and I can just take note of the things I’m using and loving the most. Tho I do like alliteration and I had planned on posting this on a Friday for a Friday Favorites but Jill bumped me for the Book of the Month blog so… good job, Jill.

The Newsette Daily Newsletter: I know in the past, I’ve told y’all about The Skimm – a daily newsletter about current events. I still love it. But I’m also now in love with The Newsette, which is a daily newsletter about fashion/beauty/lifestyle/career/tech things. They also have regular interviews from awesome, successful women which are really interesting and fun to read. I’m trying to become a Newsette ambassador, so if you are going to subscribe, definitely sign up with my link!

Urban Decay x Kristen Leanne Kaleidoscope Palette (No longer available): I feel so extremely lucky that I was able to get this palette when it went on sale for $20! The full-price of the palette was over $40, but it wasn’t even full-price for very long so I am glad I held out for the sale. Though after using the palette for awhile, I would have gladly paid over $40 for it! I used it a lot on the cruise recently, as I had the opportunity to do more adventurous looks on a regular basis versus my normal every day life. But I created the below look recently and I love it so, so much. I’s for sure the best makeup look I’ve ever done, hands down.

I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Urban Decay shadows but these are just so gorgeous so I’m hopeful that they’ve maybe changed their formula a bit to make them more creamy, pigmented and buttery. I’m really impressed!

Dose of Colors Blushing Berries Eyeshadow Palette ($32): Can you believe I paid $20 for 11 shades and then $32 for five shades? I feel like it balances out somehow. You know I love red eyeshadow, and this group of shadows has surprising versatility – you can do a super smoky berry eye look or you can keep it to the coral-y side and keep it more neutral. These shadows are extremely delicate and pigmented but we aren’t at a Subculture situation – they are still really easy to use and blendable. Just use a light hand. Mine actually came with one of the shades slightly broken but I decided to keep it anyway since most of the shadow was intact.

Colourpop All I See Is Magic Holiday 2017 Palette (No longer available): I’m sorry that I am obsessed with two limited edition palettes right now that are no longer available but these are the ones I am using the most! I received the Colourpop All I See Is Magic palette for Christmas and it’s one of the most versatile palettes I own! I keep it in my gym makeup bag because I can really do an infinite amount of looks with it. The Colourpop shadow formula is unreal, and the new Shayla x Colourpop Perception palette ($23) is incredible as well, and still available!

Morphe E1 Deluxe Powder Brush ($23): I got this brush awhile back when I still had my MorpheMe Brush Club subscription and never really picked it up until recently. I thought it was too big and I wasn’t really sure what to use it for. I recently was going through my brush collection so I could make a backup/gym brush bag so I wouldn’t have to pack up my everyday brushes, well, every day, when I came across it again. I decided to start using it with my Hourglass Lighting Palette, and I LOVE it. I basically just mix all three colors together and pat it all over my face. I wish I had started using this sooner!

Maybelline Super Stay Matte Lip Ink Colors in Lover (pink), Huntress (grey) and Protector (oxblood) ($7.09/each): The liquid lipstick trend is on its way out but there are times that call for a long-wearing lipstick, and for those times, I am pretty much going to turn to this formula. It’s incredibly comfortable – not dry AT ALL. It’s slightly tacky but that doesn’t bother me at all if my lips aren’t going to crack and break off. And the formula just does not budge all day – you can eat all sorts of things and aside from a slight wearing off on the inside of your lips, it stays PUT. This is especially important when you are wearing a dark lip color because you don’t want it transferring all over the place. I also really love the applicator, as it’s really pointy at the tip, which lets you get a really precise line without the need for a lip liner, which is really nice. And the best part? These babies are $7 each!

You can really collect them all, which is why I ended up with Huntress – I had always wanted to try a grey lipstick but I didn’t want to pay Kat Von D prices for something I wasn’t going to wear very often. But I really, really love it and want to experiment by wearing it more often!

UnReal on Lifetime: I really only started watching The Bachelor a few years ago, unlike some of my friends who started watching in college. But I’ve come to really enjoy it, which is why I fell in love with Unreal, which is about a fictional version of The Bachelor called Everlasting. It’s about the behind-the-scenes production of the show, and while it’s obviously extremely dramatized, it makes me understand a bit more about how The Bachelor. I tend to love strong, imperfect female characters, and this show focuses on two of them. Can this show be a little ridiculous and cheesy at times? Of course. It’s on Lifetime. But for the most part, I really enjoy this show and def recommend it to Bachelor fans and beyond!

Girls’ Night In Weekly Newsletter: Girls’ Night In is yet ANOTHER newsletter I’m into, except this one is only sent once a week on Fridays. It’s definitely more of a compilation of lifestyles stories, book recommendations and interesting interviews. Girls’ Night In has great recommendations and I definitely look forward to reading it every Friday! (Click here to subscribe with my referral link!)

Purchased; All opinions are my own Post contains referral and affiliate links

Lauren’s Current Favorites – May 2018 Instead of a weekly/monthly/whatever date favorites... I'm just going to bring y'all a "Current Favorites" whenever I feel like it.

[ds4design]

How to Get the Perks of Subscription Services for Free or Cheap

Photo Illustration by Elena Scotti

Some subscription services are worth it (you can pry Netflix from my cold, dead hands) but for this month’s money challenge, we challenged you to save money by ditching the subscriptions you don’t use or need. To help you, here are a few ways to get the perks of some popular subscription services, like gym memberships and cable, for free.

Create Your Own Meal Kit

Services like Blue Apron and HelloFresh are great if you suck at meal planning. They mail you a box of fresh ingredients and recipes and all you have to do is cook the meal. These kits are convenient but they’re also quite expensive, starting at about $60 a week. There are creative ways to get a couple of the same perks these kits offer without emptying your wallet.

Meal kits save you from having to plan your meals but there are some free or cheap apps that can do this for you, too.

Simple apps like Pepperplate (free on iOS and Android) organize your recipes for you, then automatically create grocery lists based on those recipes. Just search for the recipe online, upload it, then go to the grocery store and get what you need. If you want even more convenience, you can skip the recipe search with apps like Cook Smarts and Plan to Eat (our two reader favorites). Just like Blue Apron, they plan out your meals and come with step-by-step instructions. Both Cook Smarts and Plan to Eat cost money, though. You’ll pay $6-$8 a month with the former at $5 a month with the latter. They’re not free, but they’re more cost effective than a meal kit.

Of course, meal kits save you a grocery trip, too, which is another reason they’re so expensive: your ingredients are delivered to your door. You can get around this with grocery delivery services like Instacart or AmazonFresh. Instacart recently integrated with AllRecipes.com so you can add recipes to your cart and the app will automatically compile a grocery list that you can schedule for delivery. Of course, you’ll pay a delivery fee (usually between $4 and $6, plus tip), but you’ll get the same convenience you do with a meal kit. You can also save recipes so you can revisit them.

Work out at Free Facilities (or Your Own Home)

A gym membership is expensive but, provided you actually use it (or it motivates you to work out), they can be worth it. That said, there are free or cheap places to get a workout, too. For example:

Public gyms: Search your city’s Department of Parks and Recreation for public gyms, fitness centers, or community centers. Some community colleges have cheap or free fitness classes, too.

City parks: As our own Stephanie Lee points out, you’ll usually at least find a pull-up bar at a city park, and many of them include other rigs for ab exercises, lunges, dips, or other exercises.

Playgrounds: If all else fails, playgrounds are also a great place to workout. You have to get a little creative, but this video shows you how to get a monkey bar workout and this post from Nerd Fitness shows you how to turn a playground into your own personal gym.

You could build your own home gym, too, and this post breaks down how to do it for cheap with just a few pieces of equipment. Small space? Here’s a list of cheap essentials that don’t take up a lot of room: suspension trainers, dumbbells, a jump rope, and a swiss ball, for starters.

All of these options are about compromise, so obviously, you’re not going to get all of the same benefits you find at a traditional gym. They’re solid options if you want to save money on a membership, though.

Ditch Cable and Stream for Free

Ditching cable is easier than ever, and while you can buy an HD antenna to get local channels, subscription streaming services cost money. This calculator will help you figure out how much you’ll save, depending on the services you sign up for to replace it.

Far be it from me to suggest anyone should cut these paid services (or even cable), but if you want to save cash, there are ways to watch stuff for free, too. You won’t get the latest season of House of Cards, but you can watch old movies and cartoons online. For example:

Cartoon Network: You can watch full episodes of shows like Adventure Time, Powerpuff Girls, Pokemon, and more without having to pay or even create an account.

Internet Archive Movies: Watch over 4,000 movies listed on Internet Archive, a nonprofit that archives all kinds of content, from photos to books to classic movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space.

PopcornFlix: If you’re looking for more current options, PopcornFlix has a pretty wide selection of shows and movies.

Top Documentary Films: Watch popular documentaries for free and check out their top 100 documentary list to see what other people are watching.

Crackle: They’re hit or miss, but they include episodes of shows like Seinfeld and Married With Children and movies like Being John Malkovich and Desperado. They also have their own original content, like Comedians In Cars, for free.

If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can get a lot of current movies, shows, and original series for free with Prime Video, too. Every free service has its limitations and they’re certainly not for everyone. That said, if your priority is saving money, it’s possible to still watch shows and movies without even paying for any kind of streaming service.

If You Have Amazon Prime, Don’t Pay for Music or Photo Storage

Speaking of your Prime subscription, it comes with a handful of other perks you may have forgotten about. And a couple of them could potentially replace services you pay for monthly.

Amazon Prime Music might replace your Spotify subscription, for example. Spotify is generally free, but if you want the ability to download music and play it offline, the Premium service is $10 a month. You can download and save music offline on Amazon, too, though. Their free collection is limited so you might not find every single artist you’re looking for, but it’s still pretty vast. You can also create playlists and stream stations, artists and songs.

Amazon Prime also comes with Prime Photos, which offers unlimited, cloud-based photo storage. (Google Photos comes with unlimited storage for free, too, but it compresses your photos). Amazon’s interface is kind of clunky, but if you’re paying for Dropbox or any other service to store your photos, you can save money and store them for free if you’re an Amazon Prime customer.

Read Your Favorite Magazines at Your Local Library

And then there’s the original subscription service: magazines. If you’re on a budget and looking to cut back on your subscription, try public libraries. Many of them use apps like Zinio, which lets library patrons read magazines for free.

You’ll need to create an account and link your library card to that account, but once you do, you have access to digital versions of The New Yorker, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and more. Of course, you can always just visit your local library and see the selection in person.

In many cases, your subscription service is worth it. I love Netflix, for example, and gladly pay $7.99 a month for it. When you audit your subscriptions during this month’s challenge, though, consider these options to get some of the same perks for less.