How Can I Reduce My Cable Bill?

Are you overpaying for something you don’t even need? It’s not rare that this happens with cable TV. One thinks that you need to have the most complete television for better entertainment.

And why have a single TV when you can have five?

Also, don’t forget about Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube TV.

Yeah, $200+ a month are conservative numbers these days.

Hey, at least you get the value for your money, right? Five different TVs, eight movie services, high-speed Internet connection, 300+ different channels, and more.

The value is there. But there’s no way you’re going to use all that. And if you did, you’d have a productivity problem.

How much is enough to entertain yourself? You will find it doesn’t cost as much as you thought. This article will show you:

How to Negotiate Your Subscriptions?

These tricks are really useful because when you do them right, you can keep the same services for a lower price.

You heard right. Cable-TV providers will sometimes do anything so that you don’t cancel their plan. And as they give you a discount, they’re also admitting they overcharged you all this time.

Go, try it. You have nothing to lose and a lot to save.

Bundle your services

What did you think? Just because you want to pay less, that doesn’t mean the provider HAS to lose profit margins. Bundles are a win-win example.

Most TV buyers typically buy other services aside from cable TV: Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video.

Companies can “sell” you these 3rd-party platforms because most of them have affiliate programs. Maybe your provider gets $6 every month for a $30 subscription they don’t own. So they can make you a discount for the whole package.

If the cable provider also sells Internet services, that’s a better selling point. They know a customer is unlikely to leave them if you sign up for more services, so they earn more long term.

More discounts for you!

Contracts

Most of us hate the implications **of the word Contract. But if you love watching TV and spent years with the same provider, you just lost so many bucks for this reason.

Got it? Sellers are willing to pay for your loyalty. If you’re going to pay later anyway, why not pay it all now? Sign up for two years. That’s a 20% discount.

That doesn’t mean you must commit to paying every month the same amount. If these payments become too steep for you, ask the provider to downgrade your plan. The contract and discount still remain.

Find a cheaper cable provider

Answer a simple question: Why should your provider lower your bill for the same service?

Maybe there isn’t a valid answer, so you have to shop for other providers. And when you find a cheaper one, you can switch companies.

Ironically, that’s when your first provider is open to negotiation. They will only lower their profit margins if you find someone cheaper than them. There’s not much differentiation other than price.

Never assume you’re getting the best price. You have much more power than you think. There’s always someone cheaper. And if you prove that to your provider, you can negotiate the price and features.

And if they don’t, you just switch to the other one.

Just leave

Seriously. It’s the best yet simplest way to get the best offer. Leave for simple reasons: canceling a service, downgrading, or switching companies.

Because long-term customers matter, there’s a chance that the sales rep gives you their best offer (this depends on the person and how you talk to them). And these are what I call the secret TV plans.

These providers can, in fact, charge you far less than what you currently pay. But they don’t advertise these plans. They keep them private for three purposes:

Take advantage of it.

How to Reduce Your Cable Bill

Ok, you’ve tried bargaining your provided and arrived at the best price possible. But your cable bill still isn’t any lower than $200 per month.

The seller will try everything they can to make you stay, but they can’t give you the unreasonable. You can’t have a high-end, premium TV service and expect to pay fifty bucks per month. Instead, consider downgrading your service.

Only pay for what you watch

Unless you bundled it with Internet services, you’re NOT buying cable TV. You’re buying the channels.

You know how these things go. You talk to your new TV provider and say “I want a plan that has X, Y, and Z.” But then, the sales rep upsells you. “500 extra channels, 20% faster Internet, all for an extra $40. But this is a special offer, so we discounted it down to $20.”

Sure, you got yourself an amazing deal. But you still wasted money on stuff you didn’t need.

A few extra bucks a month may not be a great deal. But after a decade, that’s a $200+ steal. Except that it’s not as intrusive as a thief stealing your wallet.

Do you really need hundreds of channels? You can have six to twenty if you want variety. More than that will only confuse your brain.

Don’t pay for the DVR

The digital video recorder looks like an innovative product. Have you missed the show? Don’t worry, you can go back and see what they streamed one hour ago.

The only problem is, DVRs can cost up to $20. They’re not essential, and it’s a great place to start reducing your cable TV bill. That’s almost $200 per year.

The most you can playback with most DVRs is 10 hours. And you don’t need more. Because by that time, it’s probably on the Internet.

If that’s not the case, the same episodes/games run again the next day. You don’t miss anything without a DVR.

Get the lowest tier plan possible

Do you want to keep your TV watch time to a minimum? Lower your features and pay less. You will also spend less time watching it.

You can find the cheapest plans as low as $25. That’s almost four times cheaper than the average full-fledged service, and you can still keep your favorite channels.

If you think you can’t get any lower, try negotiating with your provider. Say: “The most I can spend every month is $20. What’s the best you can offer me?”

All-in-one communication

The Internet plus cable TV already makes a good combo. But if your provider also offers phone plans, you get even better discounts.

Consider yourself very lucky if that’s the case. You usually don’t find a company that has the best offer for each service. But if you’re trying to save money, I don’t think you’re interested in high-end plans anyway.

Don’t buy more than a single cable box

Every extra cable box you buy adds up $5-$20. That’s more money you have to spend on additional TVs, and we haven’t even got into your electricity bill.

Is it really a good idea to get multiple televisions? If you live with your family, you might want to spend time watching shows together and not each one in another room (and television).

If you live alone, why would you need more than one? Multi-tasking? If you really want to enjoy your cable TV, you don’t need more than your favorite channels in a single place. Let each room have a purpose.

One purpose.