Money Saving Tip: Entertainment Evaluation

One way we have made seen some major saving recently in our budget was by evaluating what we spend on entertainment and how much we were using that entertainments. 

While we were going through Baby Step #2 in Dave's Total Money Makeover plan we did not have cable.  Once we were debt free (besides the house) we decided we would get on the cable bandwagon.  At the time I was also working full time so cable wasn't a big deal as far as our budget was concerned.  Now that I've cut back at work to be at home, we really have been evaluating every cent we have been spending even closer.  We were paying $62 for our Dish Network package, and since Addy was born noticed we've been watching way less tv, since we basically only watch it after she goes to bed now. 

We did some research and found that most of our "shows" are available online, and some since our tv has internet capabilities we tried out hulu plus which will stream a bunch of shows straight through our tv a day after they air. 

Hulu Plus is 7.99/month. 

Because Hulu doesn't have all our shows we bought an HDMI cord that so we can watch any of our other shows that are on the internet on our tv with that cord.  Got a great deal on that cord for $3 I think. 

We also decided to subscribe to Netflix instant streaming for $7.99/month.  We will watch some movies (although their selection is not that exciting right now) and mostly tv show series on there.  Right now we are watching the Cosby show - that is some QUALITY Tv right there by the way! 

We went from paying $62 to $16 a month.  That's $46/month SAVINGS!!  or over $500/year savings.  

I'm not going to lie - I miss DVR.  I also have had to cut out a few shows, but to be honest it's probably a good thing.  We have a lot less "mindless" tv and NO channel surfing tv.  We only watch the shows we are "committed" to now.  haha. 

How much are you spending on entertainment and could you make some savings there??