How can Seniors Reduce Cable Bills?
Cable bills have become one of the biggest household expenses today, but seniors can still find ways to save on their cable expenses.
Cable TV bills for seniors can run high due to the fixed income that they earn and cannot afford the expenses of cable TV bills. Thanks in part to the growing popularity of streaming services, the average cable bill is now over $100 per month and rising yearly. But one must know that in today’s world, there are many intelligent strategies for seniors to disconnect the cable and save their money. This article will look at ways that will help a consumer to reduce their cable bill and still get to enjoy programs of their choice.
Unsubscribe from any channel that you no longer want to watch.
The simplest tactic to cut your cable cost is to eliminate unpopular channels or programs that you and your family members do not watch. Identify the 10-15 actual channels that you receive and switch to whenever you are watching television. Next, you need to dial the number of your cable company and ask them about the basic cable offers that are available for a few channels. When you can, it would be advisable to halve your bill by simply switching to a cheaper tariff.
Also ask to remove programs and services such as premium channels that are not of use any longer like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. Premium channels for instance may cost about $15 per month for each channel. Simplifying it, we can understand that the elimination of just a few of them results in astounding annual savings.
Try an antenna to get Network TV
This has to be one of the best cable TV solutions out there that you can embrace is using an over-the-air (OTA) antenna. Both interior and exterior antennae can capture signals from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, and other local broadcasting networks with better picture quality than cable transmission. And the best part? Antennas afford free vision television.
This means that depending on the stations you can access with an antenna, you can watch the national news, local stations, and even events such as the Super Bowl in high definition.
Stream Shows Online
Fortunately, with the advanced availability of on-demand streaming services today, you might not even require cable anymore. Currently, there are thousands of ad-free episodes available through subscriptions to services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV Plus, and many others for a monthly subscription.
For instance, the basic membership at Netflix costs about 9 dollars every month. For instance, Hulu with ads costs as low as $7 per month. In fact, with a subscription cost far lower than that of cable providers, you can watch popular series, films, docs, and others, whenever you want.
It is also common for many streaming platforms to allow you to allow family members to log in to your account so technically you are splitting the cost. Some devices like Roku streaming sticks get it all and present it as a single, easy-to-use icon on your television.
Opt for Free Trials on Streaming Services
What about streaming services? Watch their offers before subscribing to paid services. Many streaming services including HBO Max, Starz, and Showtime even provide 7-days or more free trials to their users. For each month, you can probably try out as many streaming services as you want without having to reach into your pocket.
Trial offers are great for trying new products but don’t forget to cancel them before the trial period ends to avoid being charged. You need to mark events in your calendar and mute subscription services when you wish to cancel the trial without complications.
Are you tired of paying high cable bills each month?
Cable corporations desire to have you as a consumer hence do not be closed for negotiations. Just pick up the phone and with courtesy request the manager or whoever attends to complaints to lower your rate or ask for a different package. Speak to your customers about the promotions your competitors are providing, offer bundled internet, or switch them to limited basic cable.
You can also request that reps go over all the equipment you are hiring every month. It is still hidden in devices like cable boxes, routers, and DVRs. As you go in, try and find out whether any of the equipment can be relocated or substituted with your retail equipment. Ideally, since you are a loyal customer, stress that it is beyond your ability to pay for expensive cable given the current cohort of your income. There is always a provision to apply senior citizen discounts or even issue a courtesy credit.
Partner With Neighbors
Ask if there are any other people nearby or related to you in any way who can give you their cable, streaming, or online TV access codes. Getting into a position where you can borrow someone’s else subscription can enable you to avoid subscribing. Propose to divide the monthly expense or pay back the favor either by sharing the cooking responsibilities, or doing other chores.
So, once again, always remember not to share the actual login information, as it may violate the terms of service of a specific platform. Use shared logins judiciously.
Be Tech Savvy
Although there’s much fear with cord-cutting, learning how to use streaming devices and services isn’t as hard as it may seem. Children and grandchildren can teach you the basics of using smart TVs, tablets, media players, and any other devices.
The truth is, once you get familiar with the top apps that are available such as Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube, you will not even notice that you are not subscribed to cable anymore. The time spent on getting to know technology will be beneficial when trying to reach out to other TV programs.
The Bottom Line
Older people are also in a position to cut down the thick cable costs by changing the way they watch and some technology being used. Turn to the antenna, scale back packages, watch shows online, share accounts wisely, haggle with cable operators, and open up to new media options for saving money on cable expenses that can add up to $300 or more per year. This is because they wanted to trim their expenses and yet still retain a certain degree of cable TV access.
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