Frugal Living: Entertainment

I have been wanting to start a series of posts on a frugal lifestyle (for those interested) so here it is! I made a list of all different categories and each post will cover one. Today I will start with: 

Entertainment

1. TV/Cable--At one point, we had expanded cable as well as digital cable. This easily adds up to around $75 per month with our local provider. As time went on, we realized that we were only watching a few channels most of the time, and there were SO many commercials! Plus the price went up every few months. We eventually dropped digital cable and stuck with expanded cable for a bit longer, but we decided once and for all to cut the cable! There were still shows and such that we wanted to be able to see, so to replace our lost cable channels we did research and decided on a Roku. We bought the basic box for about $50 and quickly learned how to use it and navigate the channels. Basically a Roku is a streaming media box for your TV that uses wifi to allow you to receive hundreds of free "channels", as well as access to several paid channels. The free channels cover your news, celebrity gossip, weather, music, B movies, old movies, and less popular/older TV shows. The paid channels cover pretty much everything else depending on how much you want to spend. Some charge an annual fee, some charge a monthly fee, and most have a free week or month trial period. The paid channels we subscribe to are Netflix ($7.99/mo) and HuluPlus ($7.99/mo). We are very happy with this setup and have had it for over 2 years now! We use an antenna for our local news channels in HD, and the Roku for everything else. Total savings = $75+ per month down to $16/mo
2. Movies--Honestly, we rarely go out to the theater. But when we do, we know the theaters that have cheaper ticket prices. Just the location can change the price a few dollars. Also a matinee is going to be cheaper than an evening showing, plus there will be less people! You get the same experience for less money. If you are an old married couple like us, you don't need the thrill of a late night movie date. Renting movies is also a cheaper option, including Netflix, Redbox, or PPV. Total movie ticket savings = $10+ per ticket down to $7-8/ticket
3. Magazines--Once you subscribe to a magazine you start getting advertisements in the mail for similar titles at a discounted rate. That discounted rate is what I wait for! My magic number is $5/yr for a magazine. I typically have 2-3 subscriptions at a time depending on whose discount is better. For example, I subscribed to Woman's Day which led to getting an ad for Better Homes and Gardens at only $5/yr. The standard yearly rate for BHG is over $40! When I get my annual renewal I will cancel it unless the rate is low enough. Just give it a month or two--they will give you a better price to get you back! Total savings = $40+ per year down to $5/yr

If you can think of other things to be included in the "Entertainment" category, feel free to comment! Check back for more posts!