Over the past few years media streaming services like Netflix, Paramount+, HBO, Hulu, and so many others have been fighting over market share and your attention. Nowadays, though, the market is highly saturated and these companies have opted into raising subscription prices a few bucks here and there. Is that fair? Probably not. Is it aggravating? You betcha! Especially if you're subscribed to multiple services. Here are a few strategies to controlling your media streaming service expenses that just might help you KeepMoreCash.

Consolidating Your Streaming Services

It's no surprise that most households pay for multiple streaming services, but it's very likely that you may not need more than 2 or 3 at most. The first suggestion we would make is to take a few minutes and create a list of the subscription services you're currently paying for along with the monthly charges you're paying. In fact, the actual total of those payments may shock you! This will give you a good baseline to compare against later on. Now, review each streaming service in that list and ask yourself a few questions.

  1. How often do you use that service?
  2. How many shows or movies do you actually enjoy on that service?
  3. Are the same viewing options on one of the other listed services?
  4. Does the cost of that service justify the entertainment provided?

These questions should give you a clear idea of whether or not you really need that service. It's important to take this seriously and be honest with yourself about the answers. If you're paying $30 a month for a service and you only watch one show occasionally, you may not need that service. Once you've identified all the services you don't need, cross it out and cancel that subscription. And just like that, you've already started saving money!

Downgrade Your Subscription Tier

Almost all streaming services have evolved into offering subscription tiers in order to streamline their revenue intake. These tiers generally start at a baseline level that includes a free or low priced monthly fee with ads sprinkled on top and cascade upwards into paying huge monthly fees with no ads. Using the list we created earlier you should be able to go through the services that remain and identify which of them are premium services and which are baseline. Then you simply need to ask yourself these important questions.

  1. Is the premium tier worth the cost?
  2. Is there a lesser tier that offers the same amount of entertainment?

If you find that it makes sense to downgrade your current subscription sign in to your account and make it happen as soon as possible. For the most part the changes you make will most likely take effect on your next billing cycle but it's best to get ahead of these things before you forget.

Free Streaming Services

Believe it or not there are a bunch of free streaming services available to the public. Some depend on what kind of TV or hardware you're using but if you're serious about saving money on streaming services you can't beat free! Here is a list of free services that may work for you.

  • Sling TV
  • Tubi
  • Pluto TV
  • The Roku Channel
  • Amazon Prime Video (if you have Amazon Prime)
  • Kanopy (ad-free for universities and library card holders!)
  • PBS & PBS Kids
  • NASA+
  • Pokémon TV
  • Samsung TV Plus (requires Samsung device)
  • Vizio WatchFree+ (requires Vizio device)
  • LG Channels (requires LG device)
  • Plex
  • Fandango at Home

We would say all of these are worth checking out if you don't subscribe to them already. In a lot of cases you may be able to completely trade all of your paid services for a group of these free streaming services.

The Savings Check

After following all the suggestions above it's time to see how much money you saved. Do you remember the list we made at the beginning? Let's take the total cost we calculated from that and recalculate the total based on what you saved. Isn't it satisfying to see how much money is going right back into your bank account?

If you feel comfortable sharing your results for others to see, feel free to comment your savings below. It may help inspire others to do the same!