It’s been a long, hard day. You just got your shopping done. You’ve been hard at work all day. You got up early to take the kids to school…IN THE RAIN. So now it’s time to sit on the couch and watch a little bit of television right? You sit down, turn on the TV and guess what? Nothing’s on. All those channels and there’s not one thing to watch. Well, if you can’t find something then maybe its time to lower your cable bill. Cable is a big expense and cutting it will save you some money AND you will still have ways to keep yourself entertained. We have nine ways you can go about doing this:
1. Do your homework
If you think you are paying too much for your cable, you probably are. Take a look around and see how much competing companies are charging for the same services you are getting. If the prices are about the same, you can probably get a short-term discount for switching. Look at satellite services such as DirecTV and Dish Network, too. They offer price breaks for the first year of service. However, you usually have to sign up for a two-year contract to get them.
2. Call your cable company
Cable companies want to keep your service, bottom line. That means that they are willing to cut you a break from time to time. Try calling them up and talking to them if you feel like you want to cancel. They might give you a discount to try and keep you with the service
3. Bundle your services together
If you have a separate company for your cable and Internet services, you might want to consider bundling them together. Many companies offer discounts when you have more than one service with them. It will also save you some time and hassle by only paying a bill to one company.
4. Figure out what channels you watch
Make a log of the channels that you watch on a daily basis. Then take a look at your cable bill and see what the different payment levels are for the channels you watch. You might be able to select a lower amount of channels and make your bill a little cheaper.
5. Skip Pay-Per-View
I know it’s tempting to order a movie from the couch via the cable service but that will cost you $5 apiece. If you have a RedBox nearby, make the walk and get a movie from them instead.A one-day Redbox rental will only cost you $1.
6. Avoid Premium Channels if Possible
HBO, Showtime and Starz have a lot of great programming but they also cost a lot of money. Each service adds an extra $15 monthly to your regular cable bill. Unless if there is something you simply can’t miss, you might want to consider cuttingthese out and finding something else to watch.
If you can live without all of the above, then it might be time to consider cancelling your service all together. There are many ways to get similar entertainment without spending $100-200 a month on cable. Here are three of the main ones:
7. Install an HD Antenna
Some cable or satellite companies charge for the “privilege” of getting all of your local channels. There are much cheaper ways that you can get them. A basic HD antenna can cost as little as $20 and save you a bunch of money every month. If you do cancel, this will also be how you get your channels.
8. Sign up for online streaming services
The Internet is your friend for entertainment. Services like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon offer many online movies and television shows for a low, flat monthly rate. You don’t even need to be on a computer to use them. Devices such as Apple TV, Roku and the Playstation 3 allow you to use these services automatically with an Internet connection.
9. Wait for the DVD box set
If waiting to watch your favorite shows doesn’t bother you, just wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray version to come out. Then you can watch an entire season all at once and you will be able to keep it for as long as you want.
These are just some suggestions we have to lower your cable bill. Do you have any for us? How have you lowered your bill? Let us know in the comments below.
