3 Signs You Should Dump Your Amazon Prime Membership

Amazon Prime isn't right for everyone.

When Amazon Prime recently raised its annual membership fee to $139, I had a very brief moment when I contemplated canceling it. Then logic kicked in, and I realized there was no way getting rid of Prime could make sense for me in any shape or form.

Not only do I rely heavily on Amazon Prime for its two-day shipping, but I also manage to save myself a fair amount of money by shopping on Prime. But just because a membership makes sense for me doesn't mean it's right for all consumers. And if these factors apply to you, it could pay to dump that membership and spend your money on something else -- or save it.

1. You don't use it that often

I can say with certainty that I order something on Amazon Prime every week, and often, multiple times a week. These aren't just useless purchases or impulse buys, though. Rather, a lot of the things I purchase on Amazon Prime are items I really need, or are reasonable purchases to make. Last week, for instance, I bought a birthday gift for my daughter's classmate, new socks for my son, and hard candy for my husband that was significantly cheaper than what the supermarket had it for.

But if you're not using your Prime membership all that often, then it probably doesn't make sense to pay for it. Remember, the upside of Prime is getting free two-day shipping on your orders. But you can get free shipping on Amazon even if you don't have a Prime membership. All you need to do is bundle orders to meet the free shipping minimum.

2. You can't swing the cost

These days, a lot of people are spending more money than ever just to gas up their cars, put food on the table, and heat and cool their homes. If your bills have gone up to the point where your credit card bills keep rising, you may want to consider canceling your Amazon Prime membership. As mentioned, you can still snag free shipping on Amazon without Prime, and saving that $139 might go a long way at a time like this.

3. It's leading you to overspend

When it comes to shopping on Prime, I have a firm "no browsing" policy. In other words, I'll go on to search for a specific item, but I won't randomly browse through different categories to see what's available or on sale. Doing so would likely lead me to purchase items I don't need.

But if you've struggled to implement similar rules, and you find that your Amazon Prime membership has been leading you to overspend, then it may be time to cancel it. The dangerous thing about Prime is that it makes it easy to order a $9 item here or a $12 item there. Since there's no shipping threshold with Prime, you can buy small things on a whim. But those smaller purchases can add up over time, so if that's been happening to you, it may be time to cancel.

There are plenty of good reasons to hang onto Amazon Prime, even at its higher price point. But if these signs apply to you, you may want to save your money, or otherwise cancel your membership and consider signing up again when your circumstances change.