If you watch a lot of movies and TV shows, with many existing streaming services and exclusive catalogues, budget can be important. Here are some tips.
House of the Dragon, Andor, Rings of Power, there’s a lot to watch right now, but you may not want or can’t afford to subscribe to all the streaming services you need. There is so much to watch and so many platforms, but four or five subscriptions will easily set you back €50 a month. There are several ways to save money.
Think about it: you subscribe to one or more services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, or HBO Max to watch one season or another of a series, and switch to another series. Is it worth keeping multiple subscriptions active if you’re not necessarily looking at something?
Spin streaming services
According to multiple reports, the main reasons people cancel their streaming subscriptions are price and lack of new content. It is rather a method that we will call rotation.
Advantages? You can save money and avoid running out of content. Let’s say the show you absolutely want to see starts on the platform. Write down the total number of episodes and wait for everything to be available. You cancel HBO Max, Disney+, or whatever, and when the episodes become available, you re-subscribe to watch them. You can also start watching a series in the middle of the season to save money.
Inconvenience? You won’t have immediate access to all the content you might want to watch and will have to wait until the entire season is available. And since many services release new episodes every week instead of all at once, you may be watching a season one season later than your favorites. And if you’d rather watch episodes as soon as they’re released, it might be better to have multiple subscriptions at the same time. However, if you have patience, you can save some money.
Tip #1: Cancel Your Subscription Before You Get Charged
Place a reminder of upcoming billing dates and release dates for your series or movies to watch. Give yourself the opportunity to start or end your subscription on time. Apps like JustWatch, V Time, and Hobi will help you find out when and where a show or movie will air. JustWatch has recently made it possible for sports as well.
Tip #2: Look for great deals
Streaming services, like any commercial service, offer financially advantageous offers from time to time. There are also packages with multiple services grouped together. Feel free to keep yourself informed so you don’t miss out on good plans.
Tip 3. Choose one or two main services
Sign up for one or two absolutely essential services throughout the year and supplement them with one or two others on a case-by-case basis. Change these options depending on what you want to watch so you don’t miss out on your favorite content without losing your budget.
Tip #4: Stick to monthly payments
Avoid annual subscriptions and pay attention to auto-renewal dates. Your billing cycle can help determine when is the best time to cancel a service, even if you only signed up for a trial period.
Tip #5: Don’t Unsubscribe, Pause It
Hulu allows you to pause your subscription for up to 12 weeks. Sling offers a similar option. See if your provider offers this feature.