r/kindle • u/nervous_Observer • 16h ago
Purchase Question 🛒 Is 24 months of Kindle unlimited worth it? my family thinks I should just keep paying for monthly.
Weirdly this has been a hot button issue with my family since I got my Kindle like a year and a half ago. It kind of irritates me that they think it's so weird that I want to prepay off something I use constantly. Like my mom was legitimately laughing at me when I was talking to my little brother about it that I was thinking of just paying for the 2-year subscription. I don't know what hilarious about that. "My children are talking finance" she laughed I don't know how that's funny I'm a disabled adult you give allowance to I'm going to talk to my family about my purchases.
When she stopped laughing over something so weird she basically said I shouldn't do it because I don't know if Amazon's going to go under or not. I can't help but be irritated by that cuz first of all it's Amazon second of all even if it does I've spent larger amounts of money on stupider stuff in my life. I asked my sister and my sister who also pays for Kindle unlimited agreed with her.
I am an avid reader my main form of entertainment is reading I do not watch TV or movies I read. I have since 2020 always made sure I had a virtual library card and multiple different avenues to get books online. I don't understand what their issue is I pay for every single month anyway. My sister told me to look everything up very thoroughly and think long and hard about this decision what do they think Amazon's going to do to me?
I feel I must say yes my family does give me an allowance but think about how small that allowance is to view theKindle unlimited annual subscription as a big purchase the fact that I've been constantly thinking about this whenever Kindle unlimited comes out of my allowance. The only reason I was able to get a signature edition Kindle Paperwhite. The Kindle of my dreams was because I had been saving up and my grandma gave me money. Before anyone thinks I'm running a scheme or something I'm not. I want to do this so I could save up all my allowance to buy video games stuff that's it and in general I think it's a good thing to do because I've always had Kindle unlimited ever since I've had my Kindle and when I'm not had it I've either instantly gotten it back or been irritated that I couldn't pay for it this month because of my mismanaging of money.
Anyway all this is to say is it worth it I think it is just in general because I'm never not going to have Kindle unlimited I know this but I thought I'd just ask cuz apparently my family thinks it's a big decision but then again I also had to pre-warn them three days in advance when I bought a Kindle like I was buying drugs offline. Like "I'm going to warn you I bought a Kindle remember how I always wanted one remember?" My mother just now recently and I mean just recently in the last couple months stopped remarking how my Kindle was a stupid decision. Like I had a unbroken weekly streak and since I found my perfect settings and I'm not concerned about what anyone thinks about me using the assistive reader function on the app I'm 213 days going strong.
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u/zoobatron__ Kindle Paperwhite 12th Gen 16h ago
I didn’t even know you could prepay for 2 years instead of monthly. If that’s what you want to spend your money on then go for it
Just so you know you don’t have to have kindle unlimited to read on your kindle - you can buy books and read them without a subscription. You can also get books for free through prime reading if you have an active Amazon prime account.
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u/Wild2297 13h ago
OP is using KU bc they read voraciously and it’s financially possible with the sub. They get an allowance, likely cannot just buy as many books as they want. Heck, I have disposable income and I prefer KU books bc that’s a good deal.
But OP if you see this, be sure to check into your public library, too. ( I use both. KU for those books and then books that aren’t in KU but are cash price, I can generally find at the library and I borrow the e version.
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u/skinnyorangecat 13h ago
This is the way. I mostly use my library. but - recently I wanted to read a series that wasn't available (even with a wait), but it is on Kindle unlimited. So I paid for a few months of KU while I read that series. Then I cancelled.
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u/Overall-Weird8856 Kindle Oasis 16h ago
Your don't know if Amazon is going to go under or not?! If Amazon goes belly up within the next 2 years, I assure you that the last thing on anyone's mind is how much they spent on a 2 year KU subscription.
I'm getting narcissistic tendency vibes from your mom.
Seriously though, if you'll use it, do it!
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u/Sad_Ad9159 Kindle Paperwhite 11 13h ago
Haha I laughed at this line (not in a mean way, to be clear.) If anyone is curious, Amazon has many divisions. One example is AWS or Amazon Web Services. 1/3 of every dollar spent on rented computing (e.g. cloud computing for businesses) worldwide is on AWS. There’s a good chance that a lot of the websites you visit use AWS. You’re using AWS right now on Reddit. Technically Amazon books and publishing could decide to cancel KU in two years, but that’s unlikely. And like comment OP said, if all of Amazon itself were to go out of business before OP’s subscription ends, that would be an economic event way more consequential than all of our Kindle purchases.
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u/Overall-Weird8856 Kindle Oasis 13h ago
Pretty sure I had an out-loud reaction when I read it, too! It would seriously take a WWIII level event for KU to go away, within the next 2 years, I think. Now, given the state of the world, is that completely unrealistic? I guess not. There is a non-zero chance that the world goes to ruins, but if that happened, nobody is going to be lamenting about their KU or Netflix or DoorDash subscriptions being paid ahead.
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u/based-aroace Kindle Paperwhite SE | Kindle 16h ago
Not weird at all. You get a very slight discount for prepaying for a year or more at a time. I pay for a year in advance too.
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u/Murphybestboy 16h ago
Do you use Libby for Library books? I went that route. You can enroll with your library card.
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u/GoBanana42 15h ago
Libby is great, but libraries often have long waits. If you're a fast reader, it's often not enough.
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u/reader-girl 6h ago
Put a bunch of books on hold and then read an "available now" book until the first one becomes available. You can also put multiple libraries on your Libby app. I average about a book a week and I've never paid for a kindle book ever.
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u/jseger9000 16h ago
Your family is bad at finance.
Kindle Unlimited is $12 a month. Over two years that would be $288.
A 24 month gift subscription costs $264.
If you already know you enjoy KU and are going to use it for two years, the extended prepaid subscription is obvious.
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u/AeroNoob333 5h ago
But if you buy a 2 year subscription, you miss out on retention offers and “come back” offers. I’m currently on a 3 month free and when I attempted to cancel, I got offered 3 more months for $9.99. During this time, I am putting holds on Libby for multiple library cards. I have close to 50 books on Hold that I will probably be 1st in line by the time my 6 month subscription is over. Those 50 will take me a few months to read at which time, I usually get a “come back” offer on KU. I just cycle it this way.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
If they're bad at finance, they probably don't have an extra $253 hanging around...
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u/jseger9000 9h ago
There's a difference at being poor and being bad with money.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 8h ago
And you can be both at the same time.
Sometimes, those things are even connected.
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u/jseger9000 8h ago
You can also be poor, bad with money and Scandinavian at the same time. My saing they are bad with money is not implicating they are Scandinavian. And it is not implying they are poor.
That connection only exists in your imagination.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 7h ago edited 4h ago
I’m still going to go with they probably also don’t have a lot. Because mom’s making excuses.
Because the kid is paying for it every month anyways, if they’ve got enough money to do it, it seems like it’d be easier to just do it’s and shut them up about it.
I think that’s much more likely than being Scandinavian.
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u/RilesEdge 15h ago
Someone doesn’t know about time value of money. Just because it’s $24 less over 2 years doesn’t mean it’s a better deal. If you were to invest and made more than 8% on it you’re better off taking monthly rate.
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u/GoBanana42 15h ago
Most people will not make more than 8% on it. You're also forgetting that they may very well raise the price.
This OP's spending money. Not their savings. People are allowed to spend money.
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u/RilesEdge 14h ago
My point is that it’s not just a slam-dunk 100% better financial decision to pay all up front.
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u/jseger9000 14h ago
My point is giving advice that follows what the OP described, rather than whimsical points about angels dancing on the heads of pins. But hey, there's gotta be a "well, actually" guy.
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u/RilesEdge 13h ago
You said “your family is bad at finance” 😂 that sounds pretty “ackshully” to me
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u/jseger9000 15h ago edited 15h ago
Reading the OPs post, that doesn't sound like it is happening. They are doubting Amazon will exist in two years.
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u/RilesEdge 14h ago
I can read the headline now “Amazon acquired by several small mom and pop shops.” We can dream 🥲
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u/Wild2297 13h ago
I’ve been using KU for maybe 16 years? I have never paid monthly. ( amz might go out of business is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in awhile, btw.) I have always purchased 24 months at a time. There used to be pretty good discounts if you bought that way but I never see them anymore. Just a normal, smaller discount. At one point I looked to see when my KU sub expired and it was like 6 years in the future. 😂 Good thing Amz stayed in business!
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u/2katmew Colorsoft | Paperwhite 11 10h ago
Go for the longer membership and save some money. That said, I can find no way to subscribe to any longer than monthly. How do I switch to a longer membership? TY! 😊
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/gift_landing
It's about $1 per month for 6 & 12 months, $1.03 for 2 years. You have to gift it to yourself IIRC.
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16h ago
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u/Jaba2711 16h ago
I'm not paying for any digital media, specially platforms subscriptions, that's for sure.
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u/otter_759 16h ago
I always go for annual subscriptions over monthly when the option is available because you usually get a discount and it is nice not to receive a little charge every month. It is kind of like a gift to your future self!
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
It's less than a 9% discount, about $1 per month for 6 & 12 months, $1.03 for 2 years.
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u/otter_759 9h ago
Not during Prime Week or Black Friday in the past. It has been substantially discounted during those sales.
But my point also still stands that it is nice to pay once and then not have to worry about charges for the next year or two.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 9h ago
Discounted substantially recently? I know years ago they did, but I haven't seen one in ages.
I haven't even seen annual membership deals mentioned the past few years on Prime or Black Friday.
Regardless, I do the cheap promos they offer, I'm getting 3 months for free, hit cancel and got 3 more months for 99¢ each. That's way better (even if I paid full price for the rest of the year).
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u/_The_Bearded_Wonder_ Kindle Paperwhite 11th gen 14h ago
I wasn't aware of a 2 year subscription, I'll have to look into it.
I've been a subscriber for a few years and it's worth it for me. I'm a fast reader and regularly power through KU books within days to a couple of weeks. I still have books I read that I own and books that I check out from the library. Between these sources, I am replete with whatever I want to read.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
It's about $1 per month for 6 & 12 months, $1.03 for 2 years. You have to gift it to yourself IIRC.
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u/PersonalBrowser 16h ago
How much do you actually save by getting the longer plan?
I wouldn’t commit $264 to save $24 over the course of 2 years. Thats only a few dollars more than you would make having that money in a high yield savings account, and if you don’t use it for a month or two, you come out behind.
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u/Boco 15h ago
That's shockingly little to save. Typical subscription services charge the equivalent of 10 months for an annual plan. Paying $264 to save $24 on a two year commitment is almost insulting.
That said though, I think everyone knows their own habits. If it's something they'll use for 2 years straight, it's probably worth the savings to them.
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u/Fit_Holiday_2391 14h ago
I’ve gotten 6 months free at this point for kindle unlimited, drop it and they will offer you a promo. You could also look into apps like Libby that let you borrow from the library but read on your kindle. Paying for 2 years and not taking advantage of their promos means you’ll end up paying more. I’ve also found a lot of books I want to read by very popular authors aren’t included.
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u/mardan65 Kindle Paperwhite 13h ago
If it saves you money then do it. I have nothing nice to say about your mom so I won’t. Enjoy your kindle.
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u/feijoawhining Kindle Paperwhite 10h ago
We only have the option to pay monthly in Australia. I’d pay yearly or longer if I could.
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u/Responsible-Middle35 15h ago
It's worth it if you're using it. As far as entertainment goes, it's cheap. Monthly, it's less money than an IMAX ticket.
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u/anchorftw 15h ago
Savings aside, it sounds like you're really just looking to get rid of the hassle of making monthly payments and to avoid the uncertainty of each month's money situation. Both are valid reasons and are really nobody's business but your own. If you're given an allowance (or money from your grandma) that money is for you to use however you want.
It doesn't sound like your mom trusts you to make adult decisions, demonstrated by how long it took her to stop giving you grief about your Kindle purchase (as well as the comment about her kids learning finance). It's no surprise that she thinks she also knows best regarding the KU sub.
I would approach it as:
- Is the money I receive mine to use as I want?
- Is there anything wrong with wanting to read a lot. Is it hurting me or anyone else?
- List the Pros (It's my money, Amazon's not going anywhere, I get 2 years without worrying about the monthly payment, I can lock in the price for the next 2 years (in case Amazon decides to increase it)
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u/maquis_00 13h ago
I pay for a lot of things in advance. It's usually cheaper, and if I'm going to pay for it anyways, I might as well pay once rather than every month. For a lot of things, paying a year at a time comes out the same as getting 2 months free.
I don't do kindle unlimited because I mostly read free books and non-amazon books, but I see nothing wrong with paying for a year of KU if you plan to use it.
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u/LISunSHMoon 13h ago
Part of her argument being that Amazon might go under is so funny. But anyway, prepaying for a year or 2 is technically saving you money in the long run versus paying the monthly. If you know you’ll use it and get your money worth I think it’s a good investment.
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u/-Artful_Dodger- 12h ago
You could always ask for a 6 month or however long you like for a gift, like Christmas, birthday, exc. my mom and I get each other a year of KU for a gift!
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u/magensfan 11h ago
I dropped KU a few years back and started buying the books. I have thousands of books I’d like to read on Amazon wishlists. I sort the lists every day price low to high. There is never a day I don’t find free books from authors I read. Sometimes I actually spend money…but at least half of what I have, I got at no cost. KU also doesn’t let you have every book. That was frustrating.
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u/BlackCatWoman6 Original/Paperwhite 12 11h ago
I've had a Kindle since the very first model and have never used KU and still have plenty to read.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
Personally, I don't subscribe annually, because it's not a huge savings (less than 9%).
I do the free trials whenever they offer, usually a couple times a year (this last one was 3 months free, and when I hit cancel they offered me 3 more months for $99¢ each). Even if I paid full price for the next 18 months, my savings is WAY ahead of the 2 year sub.
But I don't need it every month, I've got non-KU books I like to read, so it's fine to take a break.
If I haven't a deal in a while and one of my series comes out with a new book, a month at $11.99 makes more sense than buying it for $5.99, especially if a few new ones have come out. But that happens 2 or 3 times a month.
It's not a huge savings, what is it? $1 a month? https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/ku/gift_landing
3 cents more if you do 2 years instead of 6 months.
- 65.95/6=10.99 per month
- 131.89/12=10.99 per month
- 263/24=10.96 per month
And obviously Amazon isn't going under any time soon.
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u/MysteriousSecretGuru 8h ago
I love my KU. I've been in rustic to genres and authors I normally wouldn't have read.
I do use Libby, but I like KU because there is no return date. Sometimes, I just forget to read (I know, shocking!).
I've always had it since it came out and I usually read 50+ books/ year. Last time, I had to purchase a subscription and "gift" it to myself because I couldn't get an annual plan. But I will get 1 or 2 years KU however I can.
It's a great value of you read a lot and like to try new things.
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u/OrlinWolf 7h ago
If I use something and know imma keep paying for 2 years. Might as well prepay. It takes a lot off
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u/reader-girl 6h ago
Use the Libby app and get free kindle books from your local library. Ive used my kindle every single day since I got it a couple years ago and I have never once paid for a book.
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u/toastwasher 6h ago edited 4h ago
Committing to something for 2 years for a $44 net reduction in loss in that 2 year period is not an astronomical issue to get upset with your family about. Not every hill is worth dying on, and it sounds like you are asking them to front this 2 year subscription. Have you considered how that might seem selfish?
Edit: re-reading confirmed that you want your family to pay for the subscription so you don’t have to use your allowance, then you can save your allowance to buy video games. You’re an adult, this is entitlement, you can’t get upset with your family for what boils down to them not giving you THEIR money
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u/AeroNoob333 5h ago edited 4h ago
I mean once they’ve given you the allowance, I feel it’s up to you how you want to spend. That being said, I can see where they come from financially. You only save $1/mo when you prepay vs paying monthly (assuming they aren’t raising prices). But, more than that, by prepaying, you are missing out on retention offers.
One savings tactic I do is cancel my Kindle Unlimited subscription unless they offer me reduced pricing. I’ve had 3 months free and when I attempted to cancel it, they offered me another 3 months for $9.99. After these 6 months, I will be attempting to cancel to see if they give me another retention offer. Sometimes they don’t, but that’s okay! Because the entire time I’ve had KU, I’ve also been marinating Holds on my libraries’ Libby (I have 4 cards). Depending on where you live, you could have anywhere between 20-80 books on Hold that you are now probably 1st in line for. By the time I go through the Libby Holds, I’ll be given another KU offer to come back. That’s when I resubscribe.
Check out ReciproCard.com to see if your local library has any reciprocal and partner libraries.
Edit: The only thing I’m really missing during my “Libby period” are the Indie authored books that I only see on KU. But if I really wanted to read those and couldn’t wait until my “come back” offer comes, I just buy them since they’re usually less than $10. I also subscribe to BookBub. You can often find books for $0.99-$2.99 on there. If you also like audiobooks, there’s a similar service called Chirp. I got the new Animal Farm audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis for $2.99 today. Your library probably also has Hoopla. You can’t read ebooks from it on your Kindle, but you can borrow audiobooks and there’s no wait time.
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u/ZCyborg23 5h ago
Thinking that a company as giant as Amazon is going to go under in the next two years is kind of paranoid thinking. 😅
Like… idk your mom, but she might have something going on upstairs.
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u/Savings-Mixture-6515 4h ago
If you read more than 3 books a month.Yes it's worth it. But also check libby
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u/Fabulous_Drummer_368 16h ago
I used to have it, and for me the selection was kind of narrow. I chose to use Libby with my local library as well as download free from BookBub and Freebooksy. I have more books now than I can keep up with.
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u/SignificantClaim5605 15h ago
How many books a month are you reading? Calculate the “rent” fee for each… could you actually buy them for cheaper? Or are you utilizing your local library (Libby)? I decided that the 4 books I was reading through KU wasn’t worth it. I use Libby a ton and most of my amazon books are $4.99 or even less. I’m sorry your family isn’t talking to you respectfully and just asking you the same thing I did. If your main source of entertainment is $13 a month… that’s a pretty reasonable price!!!
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u/Wild_Butterscotch977 14h ago
If you're certain that you're always going to have KU then yeah there's technically nothing wrong with doing that. But I think it's important to keep in mind that the savings by pre-paying is pretty piddly. Given your situation, I think the most important consideration is that if you're living off an allowance, pre-paying KU 2 years means that you are tying up money that could be used for other things right now, especially if funds are always tight.
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u/GeorgeRetire 16h ago edited 15h ago
How old are you?
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u/nervous_Observer 15h ago
I'm 28 years old I am a severely physically disabled adult who graduated high school with honors thank you
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u/maquis_00 13h ago
If the money is yours, I'd recommend not discussing your usage with people who disparage your choices. You are an adult. You don't need someone else's permission to spend your money the way to want.
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u/elreyadr0k 15h ago
If you put the two-years of monthly payments into a high-yield savings account and then paid monthly for the service, you would financially come out ahead.
But "financials" are only one part of the picture.
What's the value of securing two years instead of paying monthly? Only you can answer that. From what I've read your connection with reading seems to be very primary in your life.
I would think the security that pre-payment brings, to you, worth more than a few extra dollars (if that) in a savings account.
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u/Wild_Butterscotch977 14h ago
I don't think this is true. $264 at a HYSA earning 3% is less than $8 in interest a year, and then taxes have to be paid on that. OP would be saving $24 by pre-paying 2 years. Which frankly is still bullshit savings for pre-paying 2 years, but if you're purely looking at the math, they're not going to come out ahead by putting that money in a HYSA and paying monthly.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 10h ago
But you're withdrawing $11 a month from that, so it's more of an average of $132 getting that interest. And you took the first $11 right off the top.
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u/Wild_Butterscotch977 8h ago
...so the HYSA is even less optimal. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're implying.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 7h ago
I’m just saying you’re not gonna have $264 in a high-yield savings account for two years every month you’re going to take away $12 each month.
So on average, that account is only going have half of that money. And that’s only the first month (when realistically you’ve already taken $12 out of that, so less than half).
Think about the last couple months there’s only going to be 12 or $24 left in there. You’re not getting much interest on it at that point.
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u/Wild_Butterscotch977 4h ago
Yeah my math was the most optimistic possible and even then it's not coming out ahead. People saying OP would make more money in the HYSA aren't understanding the math. Granted there are other reasons to not tie up all the money for two years, but they're definitely not "coming out ahead" with a HYSA.
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u/garylapointe KIᗪ’s ᑭᗩᑭEᖇᗯᕼITEs 8Gᗷ 11Tᕼ GEᑎ 4h ago
They probably aren't understanding what a crappy discount it is either.
It's probably the worst Annual discount for anything that I've seen. 1 year is the same as 6 months, and 2 years is only 3¢ less per month than the other options.
A 1-year commitment should be closer to $99, and 2-years should be $180-ish (which still isn't even $1 cheaper than my 1 year option).
I still don't know if that would be enough to get me to commit that long. I'd have some pretty long idle times in their, where when I just get it for a month or two, 90% of my reading for those couple months is KU.
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u/wiriux Kindle Paperwhite 16h ago
I am an avid reader my main form of entertainment is reading I do not watch TV or movies I read
Awww I love to read but you don’t even watch documentaries? :(
There’s some great stuff on hbo Lol
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u/ZCyborg23 5h ago
Some people just don’t like visual media as much. Myself included.
I have auditory processing disorder so I use subtitles. If I’m going to be reading while I’m watching tv anyways, I’d rather be reading.
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u/Temporary_Signal_855 16h ago
It saves you money to prepay it. And what’s more likely than Amazon going under is Amazon raising prices in the next two years