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CAV Smart Home

CAV.com

The 1999 Disney Channel Original film, Smart House, was way ahead of its time. A widowed father and his two children winning a computerized home with a robotic 1950s-esque housewife? It’s something Elon Musk dreams about — except for the part when the robot turns evil.

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If anything is certain about Americans, it's that we love convenience.

These days, it seems like everything, from underwear to produce, comes in a subscription service. As long as you have a credit card and are willing to pay a little bit more, you can have anything you could ever want brought to your house on a monthly basis. But with all the options for subscription services out there, it can be hard to tell which are actually worth the up-charge. As a rule, subscription services should either save you money or provide a service that's worth the cost. Luckily, we've made it easy for you never to have to leave your couch again by compiling a list of the best and worst subscription services.

Best Subscription Services

Spotify Premium

Engadget

Cost: $9.99/month, $5 if you're a student.

What you get: Access to just about any song you can imagine, the ability to make your own playlists, see what your friends are listening to, and discover new artists and songs via custom recommendations. Also, with Spotify Premium, you don't have to worry about annoying ads interrupting your listening experience. Plus, by paying a small monthly fee, your days of battling viruses from illegally downloaded music are behind you!

Imperfect Produce


The Swirl

Cost: Anywhere from $11 to around $50 per order, depending on which package you choose.

What you get: You're not perfect, so why does your produce have to be? Approximately 20% of fruits and vegetables in the US never leave the farm just because they look a little different. Imperfect Produce buys that food and delivers it to your door for cheaper-than-grocery-store prices. You get to customize each box you receive so you never get anything you don't want, or pay for produce that will go bad before you have a chance to eat it. This subscription box is not only convenient and fiscally savvy, it also helps out farmers and limits wasted food!

Netflix

Mashable

Cost: $8-$15/month, depending on the number of screens.

What you get: Unlimited streaming of tons of movies and TV shows. Measured against other streaming services, we think Netflix has the most bang for your buck. With seemingly endless options, fast streaming speeds, and no pesky commercials; Netflix is a great deal.

Amazon Prime

Variety

Cost: $12.99/month

What you get: If you're a frequent online shopper, you know how annoying delivery fees can be. With Amazon prime, you can get thousands of items shipped to your house with no extra shipping cost. There are also tons of great deals on Amazon that you can take advantage of without leaving the couch! Plus, your subscription comes with lots of great content available to stream at no extra cost.

Birchbox

TechCrunch

Cost: $10/month

What you get: If you love trying new beauty products but don't want to risk investing in a full size bottle of that expensive moisturizer, then birchbox could be your dream come true. With Birchbox, you get a variety of sample size beauty products delivered each month so you can decide which products you like without the monetary risk.

Worst Subscription Services

HBO GO

Cost: Usually around $15 a month, but depends on your cable package.

Why Its Not Worth it: If you already have Amazon Prime, and don't need to keep up to date with all of HBO's new releases, there's no need to buy into this pricey subscription. Amazon has a deal with HBO that allows Amazon Prime members to watch HBO shows that are no longer on the air. So if you're mostly interested in watching shows like The Sopranos or The Wire, you can do so in your Amazon Video app without shelling out an extra $15 a month for a service that has way less variety and much slower streaming than Netflix.

Blue Apron

Cost: $9.99 a meal

Why It's Not Worth It: As far as meal kit delivery subscriptions go, this one is confusing, way pricier than grocery shopping, and actually pretty labor intensive. The absence of individual packaging or labeling for multiple recipes makes it difficult, especially when there are sometimes missing and duplicate ingredients.

Apollo Surprise Box

Cost: $30+ a month

Why It's Not Worth It: This box sends you a monthly haul of useless items, like light up balls, bedazzled wine glasses, and skull shaped planters. While getting a surprise in the mail is fun, save your money for a subscription service that sends things you'll actually like.

Quirky Crate

Cost: $34.99+ a month

Why It's Not Worth It: This subscription box sends you things like pencil cases, dinosaur socks, and rainbow sticky notes. We're all for embracing your quirky side, but how many sparkly unicorn pins does a person really need? Skip the steep monthly price tag and head to your local Paper Source for all the cute little trinkets your heart desires.

parhlo.com

If the regular 9-to-5's got ya feeling bored, there is always the opportunity to pursue something off-the-beaten-path. There is a slew of cool and weird jobs out there that you probably never knew existed. Your parents may have wanted you to become a teacher or a doctor, but not everyone is cut out for the straight and narrow. Here are five unique jobs worth hearing about. No cubicle required.

Netflix Reviewer

digitaltrends.com

You've binge-watched so many Netflix programs that you feel like a professional viewer, but did you know there is actually a job that turns TV watching into a paying job? Yes, as per Undercover Recruiter, a full-time Netflix viewer is a real thing. "Netflix has hired someone to watch all of their content before it is available to the public and their role is to review and assign each program its correct tag." According to The Washington Post, "Tagging involves entering words or phrases that describe the movie or television show into the company's database in an effort to make Netflix's search functions more precise. It helps the company categorize their ever-changing catalogue, and bring more accurate recommendations to viewers." While it's not clear how much one gets paid to watch TV all day, the perks are definitely worth it. Maybe the year-end bonus is a year's supply of popcorn!

Bingo Manager

uvmbored.com

Bingo! Yes, there is a job in this world called "bingo manager." Apparently, one must oversee the ins and outs of the popular gambling-based game, specifically in the casino setting. As per Salary, a bingo manager can take home more than $60K per year. That's likely more than one would win playing the game on the regular. According to Salary, "The person in the job (needs) at least five years of experience. The manager approves jackpots and payouts, handles escalated customer complaints and issues, and maintains total compliance with federal and state gaming regulations. Additionally, bingo managers oversee all aspects of their staff and maintain budgets." If you love the thrill of the game, why not head up the operations?

Live Mannequin

pinterest.com

You may recall the 1987 film Mannequin starring Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy, but the live mannequin gig is not just for the big screen. Why should stores use a plastic human replica to showcase their clothing when a real-life person can prance around in the latest designer duds? According to Lifehack, a live mannequin can fetch up to $50/hour modeling clothing for shoppers to enjoy as they raid the racks and scour the shelves. As long as they don't blow all their loot buying the clothes off their backs, this job is well-suited (pun intended) for the fiercest of fashionistas.

Body Advertiser

dailymail.co.uk

Television commercials and online and magazine ads are great modes of advertising, but as times change, so do marketing strategies. When tradition gets dull, it's time to bring out the fresh ideas, like body advertising. People are willing to promote products, goods, and services using their bodies as the billboards. Face and body paint and even permanent tattoos are part of the gig, and folks are paid from $100 to $5,000 as per Lifehack to be the walking advertisements for companies seeking a unique messaging campaign. The paint is one thing, but would you be cool with "Trojan" permanently scrawled across your forehead?

Professional Cuddler

parhlo.com

Need a hug? If you don't have a special someone or anyone close to you willing to hold you tight when you need a caring touch, you can hire a professional cuddler to wrap their arms around you in a warm (and arguably weird) embrace. According to NerdWallet, "Clients pay $80 an hour — and, no, there's no funny business." Getting paid to cuddle sounds pretty easy, but you never know who will be seeking a snuggle. Hey, it's only awkward if you let it be!

If these odd jobs aren't quite weird enough for you, check out the podcast Weird Work. Jobs like intimacy choreographer, professional bridesmaid, dinosaur erotica writer, and bug wrangler all sound pretty out there!