We hope you enjoy the following guest post, about lowering your cord cutting costs, from Luke Bouma, one of the cord cutting experts behind CordCuttersNews.com.
Being a cord cutter is a great way to save money, but with a little effort, you can save even more. Here are five ways for lowering your cord cutting costs.
#1 Review Your Subscriptions
Often cord cutters get in the habit of subscribing to a service and forgetting about it.
I am as guilty of this as anyone. Before you know it, you’re paying for a service you’re no longer using.
Every few months take a minute and review what you’re paying for and cancel any service you ‘re not currently using.
#2 Rotate Streaming Services
There are always a few services you get use of every month, whether that’s an on-demand service such as Netflix or a live TV service such as Sling TV.
Yet there are others that you likely only want a few months a year.
Consider rotating your subscriptions from month-to-month. Maybe this month pay for HBO NOW and next month sign up for Showtime Anytime. Binge watch all the shows you want and save money by not oversubscribing.
#3 Buy Refurbished
Cord cutting does have some initial startup costs. The main cost is buying a streaming player for all the TVs in your house, but at least this is a one-time expenditure and not a recurring rental fee like with cable. Plus, there’s a way to cut your hardware costs as a cord cutter too.
Amazon has a nice selection of Amazon-backed refurbished streaming players and cord cutting devices and some manufacturers also sell refurbished models directly on their own websites.
Saving a little bit here and there via refurbished models can really add up.
#4 Your Local Library
Skip Redbox or other digital movie rentals and check out your local library.
Not only do most libraries offer DVD rentals, they often will also offer free movie streaming if you are a member. You can learn more about library-based movie streaming options here.
#5 Resell Your DVDs
We all love binge watching shows and sometimes the only way to do that cost-effectively is to buy the series. Instead of buying a digital copy on a service such as Amazon Video, buy the DVD instead.
For example, season 6 of Game of Thrones costs $29.90 on Amazon new but sells for about $15 used on eBay. At that price, why not buy it used, binge watch it and resell it?
This trick could allow you to enjoy your favorite shows for just a few dollars.
Bonus Tip: Saving Money on Your Internet Bill
My best tip to lower your internet bill is to change your service provider every time your contract ends. Our other tips can help a little, but the biggest impact you can make is with the new customer pricing ISPs offer. You can argue and beg for discounts with your current provider, but I personally find the best deals come from switching providers every year.
Also, I know many people try to write off DSL service, but I use DSL at my house and to run Cord Cutters News.
Back when I lived in Missouri, DSL was actually faster than what the local cable company had to offer. In a growing list of areas, DSL offers 100 Mbps down or faster and even has fiber options for crazy fast speeds in some markets.
Also, remember there are more DSL providers than just the big names. If you live in an area with AT&T, take a look at Toast.net. It resells AT&T internet with no data caps and its customer service is based right here in the United States. So, make sure to check around!
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Luke Bouma graduated from Grand Valley State University and has spent the last 3 years as a dedicated Cord Cutter. He has been featured as a cord cutting expert for many publications like Wall Street Journal, Maxim, Refinery29 and many more. He has also been a guest on Clear Channel Radio to talk about Cord Cutting. Luke Bouma founded Cord Cutters News, LLC back in 2014 and also writes for Mohu, Ting and has guest blogged for Roku.