Saving Money on TV & Movie Entertainment

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I remember when we first got married almost 9 years ago now that people thought we were just crazy because we didn’t pay for cable. We were poor newlyweds – together we made less than even my husband becoming a teacher – and there was just NO way that we could even consider swinging the cost of cable. So we did without, and we were OK with it. In fact to this day we’ve never paid for cable. EVER. But we were fortunate enough to have a $2 cheap seats movie theatre not far away so we took many dates to see newer movies and considered that our entertainment. In fact we didn’t even have internet for the first almost 3 years we were married simply because we couldn’t afford it (or cell phones either!). But technology has changed a LOT since then. We still don’t pay for cable, but we definitely don’t go without – now we have Netflix and we absolutely LOVE it! We’ve had Netflix streaming for at least 5 years I think and it is definitely more than enough for our family. We streamed ALL sorts of shows for us and the kids for $8 a month which was about what we were spending renting Redbox movies for $1 (and then forgetting to return it for a night or too…). Our family is just thrilled with the recent additions of all sorts of Disney movies. PLUS NO commercials is a HUGE plus for us with our young kids. You can also go on your online account and see exactly what has been watched and for how long which is a great way to monitor kids that might get sneaky about watching shows! Our kids make the MOST use of our Netflix account but there are tons of documentaries and TV series that my husband and I also take advantage of when the kids go to bed. (try a free month of Netflix here) On here we’re currently watching Gold Rush, Treasure Quest, and have gone through MANY educational and real-life series here.

Now Redbox Instant has come up with a pretty awesome plan where you can have unlimited streaming on your TV or computer from anywhere AND it includes 4 free kiosk movie rentals per month for $8.  (try a FREE 1 month subscription to Redbox here!) When we lived in FL we would have joined the Redbox Instant in a heartbeat just for the free movie rentals since we tend to keep them 2 nights anyways but now that we live in the country in Iowa it is not convenient at all to get to a Redbox.

Another program that we’ve tried before is Hulu Plus which is also about $8 per month. (they also have a free 1 month trial membership here) They have newer shows and many of the popular TV series pop up on Hulu Plus the day after they air. I find that we tend to watch Hulu Plus for TV series and shows that my husband and I want to see and leave the kids to watch Netflix where there is a crazy amount of kids shows. We’re currently watching Once Upon a Time, Scandal, and Switched at Birth. The downside (after exclusively using Netflix) is that Hulu Plus DOES have commericals however they are considerably shorter (about 30 seconds) and aren’t too frequent in a show. (Just a side note that hulu.com is free but I find it very difficult to use and find full episodes.)

Another entertainment that we use is Amazon Prime. This is slightly different than Netflix, Redbox, and Hulu Plus. Amazon Prime is a membership that cost $79 per year and gives you FREE shipping on almost everything on Amazon (needs to say Prime on it) as well as all sorts of free movies and TV series to watch via streaming. It breaks down to $6.58 per month and also includes many popular TV series in addition to the HUGE perk of getting FREE shipping on all Prime items on Amazon.

Lastly is movie theatres. Unless there is a really special movie coming out which we might pay for a regular theatre cost once every 2 years-ish, we search out the cheap seat theatres. Regular movie theatres are starting to charge $10-$12! Ouch! There is a theatre near us for just $3 a person, although it only shows 1 movie at a time so we just try to keep an eye on what is playing. The movies are usually within a month or so of coming out so they are still pretty new. Another option is to see if you have a drive-in movie theatre near you. Many of them are considerably cheaper (not all so call first to find out prices!) than a movie theatre and the plus side is that you can bring your own snacks and beverages in your car! Downside is that movies of course start later at night which might not be ideal for young kids.

So for $8-$24 a month you can have access to ALL sorts of movies, TV series, kiosk movie rentals and more TV than you should ever watch. So unless you have the extra cash to spend on cable and absolutely cannot bring yourself to live without it I highly recommend checking Netflix, Redbox Instant, Amazon Prime, and Hulu Plus and determine for yourself which one (or several of them!) are for you. We have joined accounts on most of them and we never feel like we’re missing out on anything. I keep up with current events and the news online too. So here’s my breakdown of each:

movie

So tell me, what works for your family? Do you just spring for cable or do you use these other options to save money each month? Which is most beneficial for your family and which of these programs have you tried?

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