Netflix!!

Another way that I have learned to save significant amounts of money is through television. For those of you that live in your own house and are unable to access Taylor’s cable channels, you are very aware that the luxury of TV is quite expensive for the college wallet. Most internet/TV packages are at a minimum $80 a month. We were able to get a really good deal on internet by itself, so we did not need a combo package. Cable alone was so expensive that we were not able to afford it. In addition, there were so many start up fees and deposits and buying the actual box that also added up to an outrageous cost. My roommate had no desire for cable anyways, so I would have had to pay for it all by myself. We also would have had to sign up for a 2 year agreement, which is unnecessary for college seniors.

So how do I watch TV? I use Netflix. Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV episodes for $8 a month. Entire seasons of hundreds of shows are instantly available, anytime. The movie selection is so large that I’ve never been bored with the selection. Netflix is also constantly adding new shows and movies to their selection, so you will never grow tired of your options. My friends and I go through entire shows, starting with Season 1 Episode 1, ending with the finale.

I have my Wii hooked up to my TV, which streams from Netflix. I can also access it on my iPhone or from my computer. Anytime, anywhere.

Also, Netflix works on a login basis in order to access one’s account, so several of my friends and I share login information. Which means, accessing Netflix for less than $8 a month, depending on how many ways you split it.

There are no start-up fees. You can move houses or travel around and still have access to it without having to deal with an annoying cable company.

Granted, you won’t get to see the newest episodes of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” or watch Fox 5 News each morning. But if you are mainly interested in movies and already released TV Box Sets, Netflix might be for you.

You can sign up for a one month free trial at Netflix.com

How to save money: Marion movie theater vs. Muncie movie theater

One of the first things I noticed when I came to Taylor was that in order to go to a “town”, students had two main options: Marion and Muncie. The more time I have spent at Taylor, the more I have been able to distinguish differences between the two places.

My friends and I love to go see movies. Whenever we decide to go to a movie theater, we choose between Marion and Muncie. We usually look up movie times and see which theater is playing the selected movie at the more convenient time, and that is the basis for our decision.

Last time I went to the Marion theater, though, I learned something that will affect the rest of my movie theater decisions.

The AMC Theater in Marion has ticket pricing deals that are wayyy cheaper than in Muncie. Their matinees are $4 on Monday-Thursday before 6 pm. After 6pm, tickets are $6.  On weekends, movies are $8.

In Muncie, tickets are $10, and then more on the weekends, and even more if it is a 3-D movie.

So, if you go see movies on weekdays in Marion, you can save over $4 a ticket.

There are also several more pricing deals that the AMC Marion theater offers, which can be seen at http://www.amctheatres.com/Marion/.