TRANSMISSION_ID: POST-SAAS-ERA

POST SAAS ERA

DATE: 2025-10-XX//AUTHOR: ARCHITECT

Stop Paying Rent.

ECONOMICSSaaS_FATIGUE: 100%OWNERSHIP: 0%

DIGITAL_EVICTION_NOTICE

The "Death by $10" Model

It used to be simple. You bought Photoshop for $600. You owned it for 10 years. Now? You pay $20/month. Forever.

If you stop paying, you lose access to your own work.

We have moved from an Ownership Economy to a Serfdom Economy. We are sharecroppers on Adobe's land.

The Math of "Forever"

I audited my credit card statement. It was a bloodbath. $10 here. $5 there. $50 for a tool I opened once in March.

[EXPLOIT] :: WARNING: PRICE HIKES

Netflix

+30% Since 2020

Spotify

+20% Since 2021

Canva

+300% (Teams)

SYS_READYID: AJYQHH

[SIMULATION] :: THE_SUBSCRIPTION_BLEED

YOUR_MONTHLY_RENT

Netflix$22

Spotify$12

Adobe Creative Cloud$60

Dropbox$15

ChatGPT Plus$20

Midjourney$30

TOTAL$159/mo

*Click items to cancel them.

COST OVER 5 YEARS

$9,540

IF INVESTED (S&P 500)

$13,356

LOCAL_ALTERNATIVE_COSTNAS ($400) + Plex ($0) + Obsidian ($0) + Stable Diffusion ($0)
$400 one-time

SYS_READYID: O0YBIO

The "Forever Stack"

The solution isn't to stop using software. It's to Self-Host.

2024 was the year Self-Hosting became easy.

Coolify: It's Vercel, but on your own $5 server.
Obsidian: Notes that live on your hard drive as text files.
Immich: Google Photos, but you own the hard drive.

Yes, it requires a tiny bit of technical skill. But the ROI is infinite.

[EXPLOIT] :: HOME_NETWORK_VULNERABILITY_SCAN

SYS_READYID: BL8UN2

[GAME] :: CONTEXT_WINDOW_SIMULATOR

TOKENS: 0

HI-SCORE: 0

USE ARROW KEYS

EAT TOKENS TO EXPAND CONTEXT WINDOW. AVOID WALLS.

SYS_READYID: VXAG66

Conclusion

SaaS isn't evil. But it is lazy. If you want to build something that lasts—something no CEO can turn off—you have to own the infrastructure.

Be the landlord, not the tenant.