I will begin the new year with no subscription to either "fold3" or ancestry.com. I don't have a subscription to company that archives and makes available the historical newspapers.
This next year, I will still have plenty to do, plenty of resources to check out. For example, I've hardly begun to skim the surface of www.findagrave.com or www.familysearch.org. I have access to Heritage Quest through the local library. There is Rootsweb, the "free arm" of Ancestry, and also www.usgenweb, where many volunteers have posted information.
When I'm not looking at the Internet at free resources, I can always tidy my "papers". I can scan photos and original documents, as well as notes and maps. I will aim to collaborate with family, get closer kin to take part of the load, and make memories with grandchildren.
All of the subscription services will still be available down the road, should I decide I can't live without them. I marvel at the giant companies that have managed to gather and make accessible, wonderful historic records and genealogy databases. I just choose do something else for now, for my own private reasons. And there is a ton I can do, for free! Maybe I'll even re-learn how to write a letter or a query.
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