Let’s talk New Year Audit.
With the start of a new year, now is the perfect time to sit down and do an audit of the services, memberships I pay for. While I am not an author, the general principles still apply. We all have things we pay for each year,
some are necessary, e.g, electricity, phone, insurance. There are also many we have that, while nice, are not essential.
Taking Stock
Every year I make sure I am getting the best deal for insurances, services and memberships. An example is about 10 years ago my content insurance went up quite a lot. By doing my own homework I was able to find a better deal online saving around 40% for a better policy. Then when I moved to my current home the cost went up and again, but an online search found a better deal which again saved me money. I am still paying less than the original contract from 10 years ago.
I do the same with services like electricity, phone, internet. Joining a group like One Big Switch who send weekly emails with deals and information can be helpful. Thanks to One Big Switch I did find a better deal on my electricity through them.
Membership and Subscriptions
Memberships and subscriptions are something else I will look at. I will ask myself, “do I still use this service? Am I getting value for being a member? Or is being a member just for the title?”
For example, I was a member of Adelaide Oval. I enjoyed being a member and I did get value for what I paid. That is until my health issues started and going to the cricket became too difficult. Going to a shield game was free, so the membership was costing me for no returns. I kept it for a couple years then realised I was spending money just for the status of being a member in hopes I would go again. This was costing me money that I really couldn’t really afford. I haven’t regretted stopping my membership.
With other memberships I will see if I am getting value for money, for example the Woolworths Rewards Extra. I pay a yearly fee and with the monthly discounts I earn that fee back and am ahead. If I wasn’t getting value, I wouldn’t renew.
Other Memberships may be for a club or organisation where some of the money is used to help the club or organisation. You often will receive a member’s kit and discounts. These memberships are more to support a club. Think Football club like being a Richmond Football Club Member. I like being a member and supporting the club and I know exactly what I will receive when I join.
There are also hobby or craft group and organisations that will help with a vocation. For the yearly subscription you will receive benefits like classes, training, discounts, etc. Again these are only of value if you are getting value for money.
Author Memberships
I know there are helpful memberships for authors, and it is nice not to be an island. There are organisations that have amazing benefits including, free master classes for members and discounts on other events. While writing organisations are good to belong to, if you are not getting value for money then you may find a better option. Some groups have annual conferences – often online – open to both members and non-members at good prices. They also release the recordings for those attending to watch and often have them available for a 3-month period. This is really helpful when you can’t attend all sessions or would like to rewatch those you did attend.
ACW often will posts links to author events. Coming up first weekend in May is the CASQ Showcase in Queensland with keynote speaker Rochelle Stephens. https://www.casq.online/event This is an in-person event at a reasonable cost.
What can I do?
Being we are in the first week of a new year, consider your writing budget. Make a budget based on what you are comfortable spending. Ask yourself, are the memberships delivering what they promised? When it comes to marketing are you getting a good return for your investment? Are there better Promotions to be involved in that may cost less? Are marketing strategies you were involved in last year still working or have they been saturated? See exactly what you spent, then see what was helpful and what didn’t deliver. If some of the money feels like it’s gone into a black hole, you don’t have to renew. You can try something else.
God wants us to be good stewards of our money and gifts, and one way to be a good steward is to do a yearly audit. If something isn’t working and is costing money, don’t be like me who waited for a few years thinking it might get better. It is better to stop now, and you can always rejoin at a later date when it’s more worthwhile.
Thanks, Jenny! There is a membership I plan to drop this year, another I wanted to drop but can’t find an alternative which works so that was disappointing.
But it’s always good to review things!
You’re welcome. You never know you may find an alternative before you need to renew. I actually joined a site got a month free then half price. I decided while I was enjoying it I couldn’t justify the cost and cancelled when I finally found where to cancel and got offered 75% off so did pay for the year which worked out way better. But it can be annoying not being able to find an alternative.
Thank you for sharing, Jenny! This is so encouraging and refreshing. Yes, I agree. God wants us to be good stewards of our money and gifts, and one way to be a good steward is to do a yearly audit.
Thanks for commenting, Rume, Yes God does want us to be good stewards. Often we think it’s to hard and often have money being used to pay for things that we either don’t use or are not doing what we need them to or we even forget accounts. For some this isn’t an issue but others every dollar is valuable.
Hi Jenny, Thanks for the reminder to be good stewards and thoughtful in how we spend our money. I didn’t renew a writing membership last year, primarily because I have issues with the organisation and their new policies. But, from a financial perspective, in recent years they have offered little or no value for me as a member for the money spent on renewing. I may have dropped out purely for financial reasons because there are other more fruitful ways to spend that money.
I can understand not renewing to something cos policies and stuff changes. Also when you get little to no return on you investment its not only throwing away money.