This is a sad truth in most cases and the subscription economy makes it more difficult to explore alternatives beside many other cons.... 😢

But unfortunately, I think the subscription model is the best option for most SAAS offerings. If you are careful enough to manage what you're subscribing to instead of accidentally going past trial period or stuff like that, you also gain more as an user.... Since you gave an example of you saving up to buy a software in your early ages, wouldn't it be more practical to subscribe to the software till you need it for the project and then either continue or pause or cancel...? 🤔