How to Save Money on Your TV and Internet Bills

image

This may sound obvious, but saving money is always a great feeling! The good news is that there are more ways than ever to do so, and you might be surprised to find out in what aspects of your life you can make some quick, barely noticed changes and end up saving a significant amount of money. Two of the most expensive services in which modern families invest are internet and cable television. At least one of these services is pretty much a given in many households across the United States, and as they are usually bundled together, it’s a pretty safe bet that most people will be making use of both an internet connection as well as a television package. There are some great ways in which you can save money on these services without sacrificing quality. Keep reading for tips on how to lower your cable and internet bills.

Bundles
Before I extoll their virtues, I should admit that bundles can be a double-edged sword. A bundle is a service package that offers internet, cable, and telephone services (or any combination of these) for one price from the same company. Cable and internet bundles are particularly popular, for example, and are currently dominating the market. These bundles can sometimes be used by providers to offer you services that you wouldn’t normally use – and that’s not particularly useful to consumers. What IS useful to consumers, however, is the fact that you’re likely saving more money using a bundle than you would be if you were to utilize separate providers for each service. This is especially true with bundles that are offered at a low, introductory rate for the first twelve months or so of use – these bundles typically offer a combination of internet and television services for a great price as long as you commit to using them throughout the entire introductory phase. Taking the time to research what options are available to you can help you save a ton of money on these particular services for at least 12 months (and after 12 months, you should be free to end the contract seek out the next great deal).

Cut Your Services Down to Size
Despite taking advantage of bundles, it’s possible that your bill will still be higher than you’d like. If this is the case, look at your cable bill and consider the different options for which you are paying. This might include things like high definition television, for example, which is often an additional charge. If your main goal is to save money, why not consider canceling some of the extras and scaling everything down as much as possible? This is especially true if you find yourself using mostly the internet or mostly cable – if you mainly use one or the other, then consider whether or not you really need to pay for the best of each service. You can watch quite a bit of internet TV at this point, for example, and there are a lot of cable TV alternatives. Switching to internet based streaming services to provide your television entertainment needs could be a great way to cut down on your monthly bill without sacrificing the convenience you’re used to.

Cut Cable
Another way to help yourself save some money is by using the internet as your main source of entertainment. This is easier than it may sound: while it might seem scary to completely cut your cable cord, the reality is that there are a vast number of alternatives to cable TV – and some of them even allow you to watch TV online for free. If you’re considering this route, take a moment to list your favorite television shows. Do you have to watch them immediately, or do you prefer to binge on the latest season once it’s complete? Do some research and see what kinds of services are being offered online. Many of them will allow you to stream shows as they are being broadcast live, and you can even watch them on your mobile phone or computer. There are many services out there with low monthly fees that allow you to see what you want without overspending. You probably won’t need more than one or two of these services to help make up for cutting your cable bill – even if you do end up paying for two services, the monthly bill will be far smaller than your current cable service bill.

There are all sorts of great options at your disposal when it comes to saving money on your internet and cable bills. Sometimes this might just mean scaling back your services a bit to cut out the extras – especially when they’re extras that you aren’t using in the first place. To save even more money, you might consider canceling your cable service altogether in favor of internet and streaming-bases services.

Do you use the internet for TV? If so, share this article with your friends so they too can see the benefits.

Zara Jones
Zara Jones is an active independent contributor who loves to share useful insights or updates on various topics and brings great information to her readers.