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TV, Movies & Video Games

Video entertainment is more popular than ever. Cable and satellite have multiplied the program options available on your TV. High-quality movie presentations are now available at home through on-demand services and DVD, as well as at your local movie theater. And video games have become a staple of many households. Even cell phones are getting into the act. Today, a considerable amount of our time and money spent on entertainment is watching something on a screen. Consider the following to reduce these expenditures.

1. Reduce those cable and satellite bills.

a. Find out what plans are available from your cable and satellite companies, including combination packages that include TV, phone and Internet. Choose the plan that best meets your needs, but do not over buy. Many standard and basic packages offer more than 50 channels. Do you really need more channels, and do you really watch those premium channels very much? Consider getting rid of the extra channels if possible.

b. Just because it may be easy to rent movies or buy special events from your cable or satellite provider, are they really worth the cost? With all the channels included without extra charge, isn’t there something you could watch and enjoy without paying extra? Or maybe just do something other than watching TV.

c. If you do like to watch a lot of TV, consider buying or renting a digital video recorder (DVR) from your cable or satellite company. It will cost about $5-$10 per month, but it will give you a tremendous amount of flexibility to record shows for later viewing. Instead of relying on premium channels, or on-demand or DVD movie rentals, you can record several hours of free programming (including great movies you have never seen) to provide you with video entertainment whenever you like.

d. Some TV shows and other video events are becoming available over the Internet for watching on your computer monitor. Many of these are reruns of broadcast shows you may have missed. In some cases, there are even first run shows from discontinued TV series that were never broadcast. And it’s all free.

e. And make sure when switching cable or Internet providers, or when moving to a new address, you tell the provider that you do not want to pay an installation fee or hookup charges. Most companies will waive this rather than lose your business.

2. Enjoy your movies at home and reduce the expense.

a. There are tons of movies on cable and satellite (many of them relatively recent releases), with most of them on non-premium channels. Try doing a little TV schedule research and watch it when its free, instead of paying extra for a movie.

b. If you do like to see a lot of movies that were recently released, make sure you take advantage of your cable and satellite providers’ on-demand movies, as well as movies available on DVD. At about $4 to rent a DVD or purchase an on-demand movie, they are much less expensive and convenient than going to the movie theater. Reduce your DVD rental cost even further by considering a subscription rental service like Netflix. Or find an even cheaper source of DVD rentals, which are available at kiosks (like RedBox) located at some grocery stores and other retail outlets, such as McDonald’s and Walgreens. Some of these kiosks will even let you reserve a rental online. Look out for coupons that can reduce your DVD rental cost even further.

c. Cut your cost of watching DVD’s even more by borrowing DVD’s from your friends or local library for a free night at the movies.

d. Before actually buying a DVD for several times the cost of renting, consider how often you will actually watch the DVD. Most non-child movies only get watched 1-2 times in a household. While it might be “neat” to say I have the movie in my DVD library, is it really worth the cost? However, children’s movies are a different story. Sometimes kids will watch the same movie twenty or more times. In this case, it clearly makes sense to buy the DVD. But to save some money on DVD purchases, consider buying used DVD’s from your DVD rental store. The price is considerably less than a new DVD and the quality is usually good.

e. If you have a large screen computer monitor, you might even consider renting movies to watch on your computer from companies like MovieLink.com.

f. Watching movies at home provides several cost advantages versus going to the movie theater. One DVD can entertain as many family members or friends as can comfortably sit around your TV. You are buying one inexpensive “ticket”, compared to perhaps several much more expensive tickets. Refreshments at home are far less expensive and much more varied than the theater. Eliminating that trip to the theater can also save a bit on transportation costs, given the cost of gas. Not to mention that you can stop the action when you want, set the volume where you are comfortable, and only listen to people you care to listen to. So save some money and enjoy a movie at home.