Companies use subscriptions to make you rent things you used to buy

(OtherWord) – As a cost-of-living crisis looms over Americans, one rapidly growing business model explains where some of our disposable income is disappearing: subscriptions.These days, everything from movies to food to dating apps are offering – or in some cases, demanding – a monthly subscription. There are even subscription services to manage and cancel other subscription services, like Rocket Money Premium. According to Forbes, the subscription economy is set to reach $1.5 trillion in 2025.Related Stories In the digital era, companies use subscription models to lock consumers into perpetually renting content they previously could own – and now they’re raising the rent.Many people underestimate how much of their paycheck gets eaten by subscriptions. According to one 2022 study, consumers assumed they paid around $86 a month. The actual average was $219. Perhaps that’s because companies count on people forgetting to cancel their subscriptions once they’re finished with the service, unaware it continues to chip away at their paychecks.The problem is only getting worse.Many streaming services, such as Spotify, Paramount+, and Disney+, are hiking prices after cornering the market, leaving users with little recourse but to pay the higher price. As with groceries, housing and other artificially inflated prices, this sort...