It seems like there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t hear an ad on TV or the radio for ways to “save money” on your TV service by switching either to cable or satellite. Offers to switch to this bundle or that package abound. Ignoring the fact that it’s impossible for both options to be less expensive at the same time (they are, after all competitors making the same claim), I have found ways to pay even less than what these companies are willing to offer.
hulu.com
If you haven’t tried watching your favorite TV shows (or, often, movies) on hulu.com, you’re really missing out. It seems like every television network is now offering viewers the chance to stay caught up on the newest episodes of their favorite shows online the day after they air. And while it’s possible to go to the website of the TV station directly to watch the show, it’s a lot easier to view them all on one site: hulu.
The shows on hulu.com are brought to you free thanks to hulu’s advertising partners. That’s right, instead of watching 3-4 commercials every few minutes on TV, you get to watch one quick ad. The net result: you can watch your shows anytime with fewer commercials, thereby requiring less overall time to watch the latest episode of The Office.
Watch out, though, because hulu isn’t able to make every episode of every show available indefinitely; they’ll usually only have the last 5 episodes online. That just means you need to make sure not to fall too far behind if you want to use this service.
Netflix
Yes, it’s true, you do have to pay for Netflix service, but you really get a lot more than you might imagine for the money. While the movie rental service is nice, my favorite feature of Netflix is its Watch Instantly feature. With this option, you have the ability to watch thousands of movies and TV shows via stream to your computer or, with the use of a special converter or XBOX 360, straight to your television. What’s really great is that many of the newer films and shows are even offered in an HD format. So, for $8.99 per month, it’s definitely a lot cheaper than cable!
Over the air
Many people are really surprised when they come over to my house and see my 42 inch LCD TV with an old set of rabbit ear antennas wedged between it and the wall. Yep, I have a very new, fancy television using an antenna that is probably the same age as I am! But, the beauty of the new digital television standard is that I get about 25 channels, over the air, absolutely free. I don’t pay a dime to get HD programming on my TV. The picture is great, the sound perfect, and the price even better.
In summary…
For a total of $8.99 per month, I’ve got more TV programming than I could ever watch. If you haven’t looked into trimming your budget in this way, I’d recommend giving it a shot!
Do you pay for TV service? What free sources do you utilize for watching your favorite shows?
Photo by Bonnaf.
My name is Branden. I am a high school teacher, a track coach, and a fitness and finance junkie who happens to think that life is pretty rough without viewing it through a spiritual lens. On this site, I hope to help you explore how to get into peak physical and financial shape while serving others, growing spiritually, and giving both time and money.
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