Whoever thought that most of us would be paying for TV? When television was the hot new item, programming was FREE and the advertisers were who sponsored the shows. Nowadays over 50% of households in the United States PAY for television in the form of cable or satellite television.
A basic cable TV/ satellite package costs around $50, movie channels are an additional $20, and if you want the luxury of DVR you end up paying another $20, PLUS you may have to pay for other receivers in other rooms of your house which is usually around $10. That adds up to $100 a month JUST for television services--the equivalent of $1200 a year--money that should be going into your savings account.
The BEST way to save money with pay TV is to STOP paying for it, but most of us have become accustomed to the shows on cable TV and cannot do without. For those who cannot stop the cable TV obsession BUT would like to cut down on the pay television bills, here are a few tips that can save you up to 40% ($400+) a year:
- Call your pay television provider and tell them that you want a lower monthly bill. All pay TV services compete with one another (cable vs. satellite), so calling your provider and asking if there is any room to lower your monthly bill may work. I've done this several times and usually gotten a temporary bill reduction of $10-$20 a month plus they will usually throw in a couple of free months of movie channels (just remember to cancel before they end OR ask the provider if they can auto-cancel after the trial so that you don't have to remember). If you call and they tell you that absolutely NOTHING can be done, tell them that you are considering switching to their competitor and let them know what the competitor is willing to offer them. This will sometimes result in a rate reduction as well. Another thing that you can do is look for advertised offers that the company is currently offering and make sure that what you are paying is less or at the same rate. If not, tell them that you want the current advertised offer.
- Cancel movie channels. Movie channels are one of the BEST parts of pay TV packages but they cost a LOT of money. Adding just 3 movie channels to your package can cost an additional $30 - $45 a month. You CAN cancel movie channels and still reap the benefits of movie channels by signing up with alternative methods. Amazon Instant Video is FREE for 30 days and then afterward you pay $79 a year (roughly $6.58/month for THOUSANDS of movies/TV shows).
- Cancel pay TV all together. This may sound crazy to some of you but a LOT of people are turning on to this trend. There is an awesome little device called the Roku player streams over 750 television channels and movies to your TV for just a one time charge of $49.99 (price for the lowest price device with NO shipping). This device makes it to where you can get rid of your cable/satellite bills for good and STILL be able to enjoy your favorite TV shows. The only downside of this player is that you will always be a season behind on your favorite TV shows, BUT if saving $1000+ a year is important to you, then the Roku player is the way to go.
I hope that these tips help you to save money when it comes to pay TV!
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