Hey, it's Michael, welcome to the channel, and this is a video that I've been wanting to record for a really long time
A few months back, CNN interviewed me about the best ways to save money on streaming TV services
Several of my tips made that article, but some of them did not
So in today's video, I'm going to share everything with you, my best tips to help you stream shows, movies, and live TV for less than the price of cable
I've got quick links below so you can skip ahead to the points of the video. that interest you the most, and let's get started
And we'll start with number one, plan your binge watching. If you subscribe to a streaming service for one particular show
find out when new episodes drop and sign up for a limited time only
We're going to use Hulu as an example. Back in February, the streaming service announced premiere dates
for a few hit shows, including The Handmaid's Tale. As you can see, three episodes premiere on April 28, 2021
So if you want to watch those episodes and the rest of the season, you could sign up for Hulu at the end of April and keep it for a few months
Then, let's say by the end of July, you can cancel and switch to something else
And while you're catching up on everything that Hulu has to offer, why not cancel your Netflix subscription to save a little bit of money
If you already rotate your subscriptions like this, give this video a like and leave your strategy in the comments below
And now to number two, consider, an annual subscription. All right, forget everything I just said for this next tip. If your family
is really all in on a particular service, see if there's a discount for paying for a year in advance
By doing so, you could save about 20%. Disney Plus is a good example, especially if you have kids
As of the end of March 2021, the price is $7.99 a month or $799 a year. By paying for a year all at once
you save almost $16. But the key with this tip is to make sure you're paying in advance only for services that are essential for your household
And to determine if that's the case, why not grab my free streaming TV spending tracker
This tool will help you budget for streaming TV and evaluate whether you're getting the most out of your subscriptions
I've got a link to the free tracker and a step-by-step tutorial in the description below
Right now to number three, drop your live TV. subscription. Now this is a bit different from the first tip
because live TV streaming services are a lot more expensive than on-demand services
And depending on your viewing habits, you may be able to drop live TV altogether at least for part of the year Let take YouTube TV as an example It is a month or a year as of this recording
And if you subscribe mostly to watch football, you'll want the service for about half of the year
Let's say six months, and that is $390. But maybe you switch to Sling TV for the other six months out of the year
Its cheapest plan is $35 a month as of this recording, and that is $30 a month back in your pocket right there
And to save even more, pick up an indoor antenna like this one for your local stations
and think about dropping live TV altogether. I've been able to do it in the summertime and I typically watch a lot less live TV
And if an indoor antenna won't work where you live, consider lowcast
It is a free live TV streaming service that offers local channels in select cities
And this is important. the less that you rely on live sports and cable news
the easier it's going to be to drop a live TV subscription
So to help you decide if that is something you can do or should do, I've got a separate video and I'll link to that in the description below
Right now, number four, go easy on the upgrades. And this is a trend
Streaming services are increasing the number of add-ons to pad their profits
but if you stick with a base plan, you will save money. We'll use Fubo TV for this example
Its base plan is $65 a month as of this recording. But for more channels, DVR space, and additional streams, the monthly price jumps all the way to $80
That is a $15 increase. Now, I'm not saying that all add-ons are bad
It is really a matter of preference, but you want to be aware of all the upselling going on
especially if you're on a budget. And moving on to number five, pay with a discounted gift card
Maybe you've seen gift cards for streaming services at those store kiosks
One way to save is to grab them when they're on sale. Also, consider buying them at grocery stores if you can earn fuel points
But there are other ways to get discounted gift cards. My favorite deal is from Costco
As of this recording, it offers a $100 Hulu gift card for $90
And I also like to redeem Hulu gift cards using the Fetch Rewards app
This is a free app where you scan your green card. grocery receipts and get points that can be redeemed for gift cards
I have been using fetch since 2018 and I've earned hundreds of dollars in gift cards for
Hulu and other places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and more. I've got a link to an article about Fetch rewards in the description below
And if you download the app and use referral code Michael, you will earn a welcome bonus
after scanning your first receipt Now to number six start with a cheap streaming device You do not have to pay a lot of money for a streaming device like this to access your favorite apps A few of the
streaming media players that I use are Roku Premiere, Chromecast with Google TV and Amazon Fire TV
stick, and all of them start at $50 or less. And these devices go on sale regularly. If you can
wait until around Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, that is when you'll usually
find the best deal sometimes half off and they make great gifts
And here's a streaming service and device combo deal that's been going on for a while
For 8999, you can get a Chromecast with Google TV and six months of Netflix
Normally, the Chromecast alone is $499. But if you have a newer smart TV, you may not need to buy one of those devices right away
because the major streaming apps will be either pre-installed or available for download on
your TV set. However, if you plan to go all in on streaming, I say buy one of those devices
anyway, because the user experience is usually a whole lot better. Now to number seven
take advantage of free trials. Some of the more established streaming services are doing away
with free trials, while others are still offering them, and this is a great way to try before
you buy. Free trial offers change often, but some of the more generous ones I have spotted
recently are one month of free hulu on demand and two weeks free for youtube tv just set a reminder to cancel before
the trial expires if you do not want to be billed and don't miss out on extended free trials here is one of the
newer ones select verizon unlimited plan subscribers get either six months or a year of discovery plus at no
additional charge when i see free trial offers that i think you may like i post them on my
YouTube channel in the community tab. So subscribe to my channel if you want those deal alerts
Now to number eight, check out free streaming services. That's right, some streaming services
cost no money at all, but there's a trade-off and that is commercials. You may have to sit through
about half the number of ads as regular broadcast TV. Pluto TV is my favorite free option
There's something for everyone here, live TV plus on-demand shows and movies too. When I'm looking for
background noise this is what I stream true crime reality TV home food and more it
almost sounds like Discovery Plus huh but it's not it's Pluto TV and it is free a few
other free services to check out the Roku channel to be and peacock which does have a free
tier let me know in the comments your favorite free streaming service now to number nine negotiate a lower internet bill to stream TV you need a high internet connection and many people are stuck getting their internet service from the same cable company
they've been trying to get away from. When I pulled my YouTube community, most people said they pay $50 to $75 a month for internet service
But plans vary depending on where you live, and the key to staying on the lower end of that price range is to renegotiate your bill
every year. Now this is going to require a phone call to your internet service providers retention
department. And when you call them up, ask them to work with you on the price of your internet service
It is best to present an offer from a competitor. So if you get service from a cable company
check the price from the phone company. A newer home internet option is from T-Mobile. It is not
available quite everywhere, but the service is $60 a month. And you could mention this on the phone call
with your existing provider. Be ready for your internet service provider to offer a better deal but
with a big catch. A 12 or 24 month contract may be required. So just
ask them about early termination fees before you proceed. And one more tip. While you're on the phone
tell them you want to stop paying the monthly equipment rental fee
You can ask for a list of approved gateways and buy a modem and router combo
on your own. I did this a few years back. Here's my Motorola gateway
cut my internet bill by about $15 a month. And finally, to number 10, pay with a rewards credit card
If you pay off your credit card bills in full every month, why not charge your streaming TV subscriptions to a card that'll give you some cash back
I've got two favorites. First, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred. This card offers 6% back on select US streaming services
But that is not why it's my favorite. It also offers 6% back at USCres
grocery stores and 3% back at gas stations. So this is a card that I use for several major
categories. Blue Cash Preferred has an annual fee, but this one doesn't. It is the Wells Fargo
Propel, and it offers three times the points on select U.S. streaming services. I also like this
card because it offers free cell phone protection. I've got an article on Michaelsafes.com
with more information on these cards because you want to do your research before you apply. I'll
link to that article in the description below. And let me know if you have a savings tip to add to
this list, you can put it in the comments for everyone to see there. And if you got anything out of
today's video, please like it. It really helps my channel. And thank you for watching today's video
Keep it right here for more ways to save. Take care