Most Americans are used to having a cable or satellite television service in their home. These entertainment services can cost a lot of extra money. This is a great place to start when you are trying to save money or have less money in the budget to use for entertainment. Most people feel like they would not be able to give it up altogether, but there are a lot of options now that can make giving up television services less painful. There are even ways to lower what you spend on the service without giving it up totally. Here are a few ideas.
Combine Bills
Many services will allow you to bundle your services. These include cable, satellite, local and long distance, and high speed internet. This allows you to have all the services on one bill and they will give you a discount for bundling the services together. Currently, my family uses the bundling package for satellite television, high speed internet and local and long distance. This savings allowed us to use the extra money we are saving on other needs we have in the budget. Ask your local phone company if they have any of the bundling packages available. It could save your family a lot of money.
Free Television
If you have an HDTV antenna and a good reception, you can get channels like CBS, ABC, NBC, and PBD for free. This is not available in my area because we are too far from a transmitter. In the near future, television channels are going to be required to upgrade to the HDTV. You may also need a special digital box for your television if it is older. This is a great way to get your local channels for free.
Watch Television on the Internet
I really enjoy watching television shows on my computer. The great thing about watching on the computer is that I get to watch when I want. Some networks wait a week after the show to put it online, but others just wait until after it has shown on television. Here are some of the networks that may interest you: ABC, CBS, NBC, and TLC. You can also watch movies on Lifetime. Lifetime online shows several different movies free each month and even shows the new movie of the month after its preview on television. I have watched a lot of great movies this way too. There are also places on line that you can watch your favorite shows for free. Here are some you might want to explore: Hulu.com, Fancast.com, and veoh.com. This is a great way to enjoy television and movies if you want to completely cut off your television service.
Ask for a Lower Rate
Many television services offer great rates for people to sign up on their plan. This is how they get new customers. Loyal customers who have been paying for years don’t usually get these special rates. Call and ask your provider if you can get these rates or lower your bill. Threaten to switch if they do not give you the better rate. A lot of times, this will work because companies do not want to lose loyal customers. The worst thing they could do is say no, so just ask and see if you can get a better rate.
Check Out Other Resources
If you have to give up your television service altogether, there are several options for free entertainment. Many towns have free movies in the park during the summertime. Check these out to watch some free movies. Another place to look for free movies is your local library. One summer, I checked out a season of 24. We had lots of view for several nights. Just be careful to make sure you return your movies on the due date or you could be paying late fees. If you have a lot of friends who love movies, you could try a movie swap. You can watch lots of great movies this way for free. Finally, don’t forget to check out Redbox. For $1 a night, you can rent DVD’s for $1 a night. I also usually have a code that I use to get these for free. There is a code for first time users to get a free rental, just go sign up on Redbox.com.
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