5 Ridiculously Easy Ways to Save on Streaming Services

[@FrugalRules]

How often do you analyze your TV streaming budget?

[@scottbarton1881]

We have a spreadsheet list of all the streaming services and mark daily usage and number of users that day and break that down versus cost...getting a usage score and cost per use. Each month we survey that data. If we have 3 months of regular usage then we look for an annual plan for the service if available. Dropping other services with little or no usage. The tricky part with that is if you lock in to an annual plan and then don't use it regularly you eat the cost. Works for us, but others might find it easier to watch and cancel and comeback when they have things to watch on each service.

[@FrugalRules]

@@scottbarton1881 That's a great way to do it! It's easy to get lost in things and not cancel when you're not using a given service a lot. Quantifying things makes it easier to manage. The annual plan part is a big one. We tend to stick largely only to Black Friday deals...like Hulu or Peacock. We were but a couple of years ago on Disney+, so it really has to be a service we use a lot to go annual.

[@FroggyTWrite]

using just watch is a great tool to find where stuff is streaming. there are plenty of shows that stream on multiple services

[@ryuhayabusa6776]

Since I mainly want dramas, and I'm not enjoying them on my pay service at present, I'm actually going to try dropping it for Tubi, at least for the time being.

[@scottbarton1881]

@@FroggyTWrite Just Watch is great! I especially like the "new" list so you can see everything that was on streaming that day.

[@derekvallem]

Great tips! Thank you! I think budgeting, analyzing what you’re actually watching and rotating your services are the keys!

[@FrugalRules]

Of course! Yep, staying on top of what you're actually watching is so vital to keeping costs in check.

[@johncoy5912]

Annual plans can save money also . you take a hit at first but once it is done you are good for the year with the service .

[@FrugalRules]

That they can, but it's important to make sure that you actually watch the service enough to justify getting it for a year. We're big fans of the Peacock/Hulu Black Friday deals since they're so low in price.

[@jensotube]

You are right, streaming is still cheaper than cable/satellite especially when you consider the extra costs cable has, such as having to rent a box for each TV. One of my favorite things about streaming is being able to own your own, reasonably-priced device for each TV in the house. I would probably still have only two TVs hooked up if I still had satellite TV.

[@FrugalRules]

Yep, exactly. I (Nicole) got to see this yet again when visiting family a couple of months ago. They're with cable and it's sad how they need to add boxes when they want to add a new TV...and that comes with another fee. Premium streaming services are certainly going up, but those fees can be nasty with cable.

[@MrModamanReviews]

TV and internet combined pricing for us is under $119/month. That includes 46.44 for 200/10 speed internet and $25/month for Philo.

[@scottbarton1881]

Great ideas! The free stuff is great if you are okay with the ads. Annual plans for services our house uses regularly are a way we save as well.

[@FrugalRules]

Yep, both are good choices....IF you use the service enough on the latter. 🙂

[@nancyschaefer9748]

Thanks for these suggestions 😊

[@tonyutter]

I would also check to see what discounts your mobile phone carrier offers. I save big this way.

[@FrugalRules]

Yes, excellent point!

[@jeremyf9124]

Keep in mind that you could save more by switching to a cell service that doesn’t have these and paying for the streaming service. Phone companies don’t offer these services to help humankind.

[@FrugalRules]

@@jeremyf9124 Yes, that's also very true. 🙂 I think the point was to see if your current cell carrier offers any deals. For us, we can't see an instance where we'd go to a cell carrier just to get streaming savings. As you pointed out, it's highly likely you wouldn't be saving as a whole.

[@MaxwellErwin]

A few times a year, I just cancel everything I'm subscribed too, and give myself permission to sign up again when necessary.

[@DjFico238]

I pay $15 for my TV streaming service l have more than 100 English channels,live sports,live news,etc...the only bad thing is it doesn't have DVR to record your shows but who needs DVR

[@TOSStarTrek]

Netflix and Amazon Subsciption.

[@BartAdams-ti6wz]

Streaming cheaper good