The Problem with Subscriptions | The IT Guy Show Ep. 19

I wanted to start 2026 with a reality check: subscriptions are eating our wallets. Streaming services, password managers, cloud storage, to-do apps, the monthly drip is everywhere. In this solo episode I break down why recurring subscription models became the default and what it looks like to take some of that control back.

A few things worth carrying away from this one:

• The subscription model is a default, not a law. I dig into why nearly everything shifted to recurring billing and how that lands on both consumers and creators.
• Self-hosting is the counter-move. I walk through my own setup and the self-hosting stack I am leaning on to replace services I used to rent by the month.
• This is the start of an arc. This episode kicks off a longer thread on building a personal homelab, cutting reliance on the cloud, and reclaiming your tech stack one app at a time.

Consider this the planning session before the build. There is a lot more coming on this one.