I maintain a delicate balance of disgusting decadence and pristine health. But, my perfection would not be possible without a few strategic vitamins. However, even with a mind that is sharper than the most deadly sushi knife, I forget to buy more vitamins when they run out. Fortunately, I’ve discovered the eighth natural wonder of the world: Amazon’s Subscribe & Save.

How Does Subscribe & Save Work?

Subscribe & Save is incredibly simple. For select products (mostly grocery, household, personal care, office, and industrial products), you can get up to 15% off when you set up regular delivery.

You can choose to have different items delivered monthly, bimonthly (the once every two months definition), quarterly, triennially, every five months, or biannually. Currently, you can save 5% on each delivery by setting up a product subscription. If you have five items delivered in a given month, you get 15% off each of the items.

Another benefit of this feature is you get free shipping on all of the items whether you are a Prime member or not. Even add-ons are delivered for free without requiring the usual $25 minimum. You can adjust the delivery date each month, and if you are always teetering on the line of overdrawing your account, you should know that you are charged for your purchases on the day they ship.

So, Is Subscribe & Save Worth It?

When I first buy an item from Amazon, I NEVER choose Subscribe & Save. I wait to see if I’m going to actually want to have it arrive regularly. But, if you are really on the ball, then I recommend that you ALWAYS choose Subscribe & Save. Why? You can cancel the Subscribe & Save after one order and still enjoy the savings. That’s a little pro-tip that Amazon doesn’t want you to know about. The only downside to choosing Subscribe & Save instead of making a normal order is that your order will take longer to arrive (up to four weeks depending on what time of the month it is.)

As with anything you buy on Amazon, you need to shop around. With the 5% discount, will you get a better deal than your local store? If not, is the extra price worth the convenience of not having to worry about picking up your fish oil from Rite Aid? If you are banking on the 15% savings, are there five items you genuinely need to have delivered to your door each month? These are the hard questions that you will really need to do some soul-searching to figure out. I recommend spending some time in nature to really get to know yourself and your needs.

It’s Not as Automatic as We’d Like

If you don’t want to end up with more dishwasher pods than you will ever use in your lifetime (speaking from personal experience), you need to monitor your Subscribe & Save items closely.

Each month, Amazon sends you an email warning you that your delivery will be coming soon. When this happens, I go to the “Your Subscribe & Save Items” page. I closely evaluate each item. The prices can go up on you without warning so you must be constantly vigilant. Also, if you have dog food piling up, you may want to skip delivery on this order.

Overall, I have had a pleasant experience using Subscribe & Save and would recommend it to anyone who prefers the security of an automated, clockwork life.

You can go here to shop for Subscribe & Save items. And, you can tell me what you really think in the comments below.