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this YouTube channel just hit 150,000
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subscribers and I've made more than 400
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videos about cutting the cord i've seen
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what works and I've seen what doesn't
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today I'm sharing seven things I've
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learned to help you save money and avoid
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mistakes let's get started number one
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smart streamers never pay full price for
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these apps take a look here these are
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eight of the biggest paid standalone
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streaming apps available right now and
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of them I would never pay full price for
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Hulu Peacock or Paramount Plus if you've
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seen my Black Friday coverage you know
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these services offer deep discounts and
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at other times of the year as well
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particularly for the ad supported plans
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so why pay $9.99 a month for a plan that
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goes on sale for 99 let me know which
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services you'd add to this list in the
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comments below number two today loyalty
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is almost never rewarded which is why I
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say it's best to rotate services and
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become a new customer the best deals go
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to new and returning customers not
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existing and many streamers are able to
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get around this by signing up with a
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spouse's or secondary email address and
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when services raise prices longtime
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users they are rarely spared one
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exception is the live TV streaming
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service Pho whose CEO appeared on this
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channel back in 2022 historically that
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service has let customers keep their
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existing plan when changes are made
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right now Pho is $28 a month for new
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customers a number of other services do
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offer better deals to existing customers
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but there's a catch it's only when they
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go to cancel i've seen this with both
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live TV and other streaming apps one
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recent example has been YouTube TV we're
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up to number three today and media
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companies have been slow to address the
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biggest challenges that cord cutters
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face and even when they do consumers
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often pay more take ESPN for years
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people have been asking me "When can I
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get it without the bundle?" And now it's
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finally happening after years of
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speculation ESPN's standalone streaming
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service is finally on the way but it's
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been a long time coming this was first
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announced in early 2024 and even with
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that long wait what we're getting looks
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to be a refreshed app featuring content
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that is already available in the pay TV
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bundle now sold separately for $30 a
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month it's unbundling but at a really
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steep price for decades media companies
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and distributors made billions by
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bundling charging you for channels that
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you never even watched streaming has
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changed that but it's also made things
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harder for the companies put Netflix
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aside most legacy media giants are still
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figuring out how to make money in
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streaming no contracts no guaranteed
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monthly revenue you can see the issue
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these companies are adapting just not
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always in your favor the good news
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streaming gives you more power without
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contracts these companies have to earn
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your business every single month i've
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been saying this on the channel for
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years and more and more people are using
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that power by cancelling rotating or
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walking away only pay for what you need
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number four today local stations they're
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still a problem for streamers and
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nobody's really fixed it if you want
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full access to your local ABC CBS Fox
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and NBC stations you've got two main
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options: an antenna or a big bundle back
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in 2021 the major broadcast TV networks
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sued to have the donation supported
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lowcast service shut down some people
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donated five bucks a month to that
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service and got all four locals and more
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outside of a big bundle you can piece
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things together but the costs are going
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to add up quickly that's what makes an
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antenna worth a try these rabbit ears
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cost less than 15 bucks but I hear all
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the time from people who say an antenna
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just doesn't work for them and
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increasingly people in that situation
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are just tuning out their locals and
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free services like Tuby the Roku channel
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and Pluto TV are filling the void i
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think the major broadcast TV networks
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did this to themselves and I don't blame
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anyone for tuning them out i just hate
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to see what it's done to the local
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affiliates and their news operations i
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was a news producer for most of my 20s
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so if you don't watch the local news
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anymore I understand i watch less of it
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myself but it is still important to stay
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informed especially when it comes to
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dangerous weather and fortunately most
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local stations have free apps and they
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don't require a pay TV login number five
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smart TVs they're everywhere now but
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that doesn't mean they're the best way
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to stream i learned this one the hard
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way back in 2021 I uploaded a video
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about major apps missing from my Samsung
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Smart TV and apparently I wasn't alone
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that video now has more than a million
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views that's why I always recommend
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using an external streaming media player
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instead roku Fire TV Stick Apple TV they
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all offer a better experience than most
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built-in smart TV systems and you don't
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have to spend a lot for one either
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entry-level devices often go on sale for
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$30 or less number six a lot of people
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say they hate ads that's not the full
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story though over the past decade I've
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covered a lot of streaming deals
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especially around Black Friday and the
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best ones they are always for ADUP
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supported plans and those are the ones
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that people actually sign up for you
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know I rarely hear complaints from
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viewers who pick up a Hulu plan for 99
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cents a month even with the ads and
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streaming companies are seeing this too
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here's one example netflix says its adup
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supported plan is growing fast and in
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some cases these cheaper plans are
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actually more profitable than the adree
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plans the truth not everyone hates ads
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they hate bad ads or just having to pay
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extra to skip them number seven prices
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are rising bundles are shifting and
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sports rights are fracturing this is not
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the time to set it and forget it in the
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past my number one recommendation for
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firsttime cord cutters was YouTube TV
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and a Roku simple reliable it just
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worked unfortunately it's not that
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simple anymore streaming used to be
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cheaper and easier without a whole lot
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of work but now prices change apps
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change and your needs change so if you
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want to stay ahead you got to stay in
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control over the years I've shared how I
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rotate services test out money-saving
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bundles and stack deals with cashback
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apps and credit card offers it does work
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but only if you stay engaged a lot of
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people tell me they just want streaming
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on easy mode they stick with an
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expensive service like YouTube TV
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because well it's simple one app one
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bill one routine yeah they're paying a
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lot for streaming but still saving
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compared to cable for some people that
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savings is enough and if it's your
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favorite app you may be able to easily
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justify the cost my only ask that you
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check in every now and then i'll keep
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you updated on any changes there is no
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perfect setup for everyone it's about
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finding what works best for you and I
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use my monthly news update videos and
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streaming audits to highlight new
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options as they become available keep
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watching and keep saving on michaels.com
