I'm tired of paying for stuff
And no, I don't mean items or services. I'll happily buy books at a local bookshop, as I have done multiple times in the past few weeks. Recently, I even bought a used New Nintendo 3DS XL—and let me tell you, it wasn't cheap, but I was still very happy about it. I am very happy about it. These are not the purchases that I regret.
I am, however, tired of paying for subscription services. I recently unsubscribed from YouTube Premium, not because I didn't enjoy the perks, but because the cons outweighed the pros. I think I've quickly gotten used to seeing ads every now and then; they annoy me less than I used to think. I am rewarded by the fact that I'm not putting even more money into billionaires' pockets.
A few months ago, I traded a Spotify subscription for a Qobuz one. All in all, I like Qobuz way more. They have a great editorial department and I end up discovering truly stunning new music with it. However... I'm tired of paying for it. I recently bought an mp3 player and I decided to use it only to listen to music I've legally obtained. This may seem counterintuitive, because I just said I'm tired of paying for stuff, but there's a slight difference. If I pay for a single or an album, I'm supporting the artist in a more efficient way; moreover, having paid for specific music makes me primed for actually listening to it. Steaming platforms are great for the vastness of their catalogues, but I always get struck by a weird paralysis because every single choice is at my fingertips all the time. With an mp3 player and select music I've curated, I only have a few albums to listen to at any given time. The constraint makes me want to listen to them more often, so I'm getting to know them better and more easily. In short, I'm thinking of ditching Qobuz as well.