I was a bit slow posting this, and think it expires before the New year, so hurry.
Easynews is the best Usenet providers for newcomers since it has tradition Nntp Usenet (via Easywinds) and a searchable Http frontend. The VPN is alright for some uses but probably won't be good enough for Netflix or purchasing items/services cheaply from out of the way third world locations.
Generally Black friday is the best time to lock in cheap Usenet deals.
If you subscribe and let it lapse they usually hit you up with a better offer, I got 15 months for $47USD