Being regularly on the live chat, I too often see similar questions to this one
- Cancel my membership
- Can I jump a payment and continue next month?
- 50$/month is too expensive for my budget
- I can't afford to pay that much
- Why is it so expensive?

And I could continue on and on for long. :-(

Just a short and PARTIAL calculation :

You get 25 free site hostings when you go premium. Then you get 25 more web sites hosted in link to a domain name. Forget about the free siterubix sites, JUST with the sites hosted with your domain names, considering that a NORMAL quality hosting costs average 10$/month, AND MORE, right there you have for 250$/month worth of hosting in the little 50$/month value of the premium plan.

Then, as @OnMyOwnTerms mentions in his great blog Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish?, there's the SSL which depending on where you buy can vary from +/- 60$/year up to even more than the 125$/year cost he mentioned. I personally have seen some close to 200$!!!!

But last but NOT LEAST, the SECURITY of being hosted by WA. I know! I have myself been hacked more than one time in my WP sites until I decided to give up and shut down everything that was in WP if I couldn't put it back into something more secure.

THAT SECURITY IS PRICELESS!!!!

I could go on and on with MANY more values you get INCLUDED in the premium plan that you quite probably don't get included elsewhere! :-(

My conclusion?
- Give up if you wish
- Let go of your dreams if you wish
- Let others influence you if you wish
- Shop around if you wish
- Do whatever you want if you wish

MY WISH is that you realize that there is MUCH MORE VALUE to the premium plan than what you can think of at the very moment.

YOU decide where you cut, please do so WISELY ;-)