Continuing No Buy Month, here are some tips on how to save money on your cable bill. If you have internet access, then it’s pretty redundant of you to be paying for cable. With a little setup, you can save a ton of money on those cable packages and still watch your favorite shows!
- Antenna (Free) – Good for local news and programming, those rabbit ears are still good for something. Today’s versions are a bit more high tech, but they’re worth it if you’re into local sports.
- Watch Shows on Network Sites (Various) – Most networks now post their latest episodes on their own websites. the trick is, they don’t stay posted there forever. So if you missed your favorite sitcom episode, you have about 2- 3 weeks to watch it. If you want to know what shows are online, check out this site.
- iTunes ($2.00 rentals) – In the iTunes store you can rent first run movies and some TV shows for a small fee.
- Amazon Instant Video - (Free with $79 sub) – If you join Amazon Prime and pay $80 for an annual subscription, you can watch hundreds of movies instantly for free, on your tablet, PC, Kindle or phone. Prime also gets you free 2-day shipping and hundreds of free books to read through Kindle (Even if you don’t have a Kindle you can read them on your phone, tablet or PC)
- Hulu (Free or $7.99/mnth) – Internet access is required, and yes, they have a paid version, BUT the free version airs many shows the day after they air on broadcast TV. Free trial available.
- Netflix ($7.99/mnth) – great for movies, cartoons, kids shows and aired TV series. If you never got to watch the first two seasons of Walking Dead, or all of Breaking Bad, then this is for you. Free trial available.
- Google Chromecast ($35 one -time fee) – Internet access is also required. The chromcast is a device that plugs into the HDMI port on your TV and streams shows into it directly. It can’t stream everything, but it can let you watch Netflix, Hulu, and many other web-streamed shows. For an extra fee you can watch sports for with a subscription. The best part is once you’ve paid $35 for the device it’s free.
- Gaming Consoles - do you already own an XBox, Wii or Playstation? If it’s hooked up to the internet, then you already have access to the same shows Chromecast does.
- Purchase and Return (FREE) – Really want to watch “Game of Thrones”? But don’t want to pay for HBO? Buy the last season when it’s over on DVD, watch it and then return it.
- Library (FREE) – Did you know you can get movies, tv shows, and kids shows from the library?
• How do you save money on your cable bill?
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