January 15, 2009

Cut your Cable Bill in Five Steps

Since we all are looking for ways to save money, take a closer look at cutting costs on that window to the world sitting in your living room: your cable service. It’s time to open up to the thought of making some small changes to your cable service. With these five easy steps you can cut down your cable bill. [This is for you that have cable/satellite, etc. I have no cable/satellite/online subscription services to deal with, making this very easy.]

Step One: Review Your Service
This tip comes from many customers' experiences of just not paying attention to the bill details. You can be charged for fees that do not apply to you or your service or promotions that you can easily opt out of. Go ahead and look at your bill. That one simple step could save you some money.

Step Two: Reduce Your Package
Do you really need Cinemax 1 through 19? Be honest– how many of those bad movies do you actually watch on cable? Is it enough to justify the extra cost? Perhaps you could be getting a better deal through a DVD service like Blockbuster On Demand or Netflix. Plus, you’ll get to pick which movies you want to watch. Better yet, hit up your local library. They’ve got tons of DVDs you can rent and they’re completely free.

Step Three: Threaten To Leave
It’s time to drum up some drama and call up your cable provider. Tell them you’re not satisfied (even if you are) and threaten to dump their sorry butt (even you’re not going to). Drop the names of some of their top competitors and emphasize how great their deals sound. Your cable provider will be wooing you back with better rates in no time.

Step Four: Compare Costs
You wouldn’t buy a car without shopping around, would you? Cable service is the same way. Shop around and compare the cost of cable with the cost of satellite TV. When you know all of your options you may discover a cheaper alternative.

Step Five: Use Free Services
If you really want to make some drastic changes, try cutting out cable all together. Hook up your computer to your TV and for about $50 worth of cables you can buy at an electronics retailer, you’ll be watching television shows and movies for free from the Internet. Check out Hulu[Great quality and streaming], Joost, SurftheChannel, or QuickSilverScreen. It’s ad-supported streaming television shows and movies that are completely legal– and free!

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