Mom Blog Monday: How to Get the Most out of Your Amazon Prime Membership

In a move that is both a bit genius and gratingly irritating, Amazon will be raising the annual rate for their Prime membership from $79 to $99. 

My promotional student annual fee of $39 just run out, and I had just made the decision not to renew when I got the news. And quickly renewed before the rate was raised.

Essentially, Prime allows you free 2-day shipping on Prime items and offers features such as a free Kindle lending library and free access to hundreds of streaming videos. You have until April 17 to make the jump. I've compiled a few tips on how to get your moneys worth.

1. Use Amazon Instant Video for all of your television/movie viewing needs. Drop Hulu and Netflix. It won't give you everything you want, but the selection is decent.

2. Never go to Target ever again. Get all of your paper goods delivered with free shipping. I'm not saying this is the best environmental decision—it could turn into a lot of boxes. Oh well...recycle them?

3. Purchase a “subscription” to items you use frequently. You can save money by having these items delivered once a month or as infrequently as every six months. You can get the following items delivered: diapers, cat litter, dog food, coconut water, coffee, toothpaste and a whole bunch more.

4. Have a kindle? Be sure and take advantage of the free lending library.

6. Purchase your music on Amazon. Each month there's a selection of at least 100 mp3 downloads for $5.

5. Ditch your gym. Amazon Instant Video is full of diverse workout videos.

Anyone else getting the most out of their Amazon Prime membership? Any tips I missed?