By Indira Purushothaman

In the era of subscription boxes, there’s a little something for everyone. There are more than 11 million “box” subscribers in the United States alone, and that market is growing on a global scale. Receiving a new box delivered to your door each month can be exciting in contrast to recurrent rent payments and utility bills.

From a business standpoint, the box model has deemed to be one of the most effective business models of all time, capitalizing on personal interests, simplicity, and the convenience factor of having goods shipped right to the consumer’s door. Despite this success, there are numerous challenges that businesses often face as result of this business model. Because subscriptions depend on consumers renewing their subscriptions, the risk involved for entrepreneurs is the chance that consumers will quit their monthly subscriptions. As a result, businesses have started to offer annual subscription plans to hold their customers for at least a year with no chance of cancellations. Here is a list of the most common subscriptions:

If you’ve never heard of any of the listed boxes before and are interested, these boxes were also noted as the most affordable, ranging between $15-30 each month. For a busy grad student, subscription boxes like Blue apron and Hello Fresh help with grocery shopping and eating right at an affordable cost. There is literally a box for everything! For example, the Skulls Unlimited crate consists of skulls, baculum’s, teeth, and claws for the archeologist in you. There’s also the “Lefty” Loot box, with items specifically designed for left-handed individuals.

Nonetheless, despite that grad students feel broke all the time, subscription boxes can be used to experience the nostalgia of receiving exciting things in the mail, without the financial and time management burdens we face. Whether you decide to treat yourself or use the boxes to help save money and eat at home, there’s something for everyone!