Wwhow, look at these savings!

How much do you pay for cable or satellite service? If you spent $45 a month for channels and tv service you are paying $540 a year. Money spend on service such as tv channels is money you will never see again. Cable or satellite isn’t an investment and holds no money, once you spend the money for service, the money is gone and after 30 days you are left empty handed (or channel-less) unless you fork over another $45 for next month. It’s a vicious endless cycle of throwing money away on channels you probably don’t even watch. Those households that spend $100 a month or more are basically throwing away a nice vacation each year for instant channel gratification.

My family can’t live without the cartoon channels. I use it as a babysitter to get dinner done and to keep my kids form killing each other. Most people aren’t aware that satellite companies have small family packages ranging from $9.99-$19.99. All you have to do is call your satellite company and ask for a small cheap family package. The $20 package with our satellite company includes 20 family appropriate channels with several cartoon stations, a home network, educational programming, and even a country music channel.

Surprisingly many families are misinformed and believe that without paying for channels they can’t watch TV on their non-HD television. With a $10-30 digital converter box you will never have to pay for channels again. You will be able to pick up your local channels as well as a few extra you never knew existed. One surprising channel is our area plays 24 hour educational cartoons that we all enjoy.

What if your family just watches the movie channels and not the regular satellite channels you are paying for? Skip paid television altogether and switch the a movie rental service. Blockbuster and Netflix both have services starting at $5 a month along with free trails. Redbox is also a good option as you can rent new releases for just $1 a night at kiosks located around town.

Ask yourself if you watch your paid channels enough to cover the costs of paid TV services. If not, downgrade your account or cancel altogether. Think if the savings. By living a little more frugally and spending a little less each month, you may be able to pay down your debt a little faster or save up an emergency cash fund. Don’t focus on what you’re giving up, instead focus on the savings you gain.