We save quite a bit of money every month by using Netflix in place of other more expensive entertainment options.
Netflix instead of going to the movies
Before we began our Debt Free Adventure back in January of 2009 we used to go out to eat 3-5 times each week and would go to the movie theater about 3 times per month. If you do the math the numbers add up quickly. Just the theater visits alone were costing us roughly $78/month!
What did we do? We quit eating out and going to the theater.
Whenever you remove one thing you need to replace it with an alternative. To replace eating out all the time we began cooking more. I love cooking so it’s a natural fit… and we eat much healthier now. Would you believe I haven’t eaten fast food in about 2 1/2 years? It’s true!
When we were frequenting movie theaters Netflix wasn’t worth it because we didn’t watch many movies at home. Now that we only visit the theater on special occasions Netflix delivers incredible value. We are on the $14.99 plan which allows us 2 DVDs out at a time, along with unlimited streaming using our Xbox 360. Because we stream most of our movies we may go down to the 1 DVD $9.99 plan. There is also an unlimited streaming (no DVD) option for $7.99 available.
Want to save money? Do what we did… stop going to the theater so much and sign up for a one month free-trial with Netflix and save! You can cancel at any time so you have nothing to lose.
Gamefly instead of buying video games
Gamefly offers pretty much the same scenario for people who play a lot of video games.
Rather than buying games that you play for a few weeks, proceed to solve, and never play again – use Gamefly to rent them. You can keep the games until you solve them, then return them after you lose interest. Even if you only rent 2 games per month you’re still only spending $22.95 rather than buying them for $80-$120.
If you rent the games from your local video rental store you can only keep them for a few days, maybe a week tops. And as we’re all painfully aware… late fees add up fast!
Want to save money? Sign up for a 10 day Gamefly free-trial. Their other pricing options are:
- 1 game out at at time for $15.95 ($7.95 for the first month)
- 2 games out at a time for $22.95 ($11.95 for the first month)
My wife and I do a similar thing, we use Redbox because they match cost with usage. Our movie watching comes and goes in batches, one weekend we may watch 2-3 movies then next none. It works great since we live in an urban setting and have multiple boxes within 5 minutes of our home.
We’re using Netflix AND Redbox in combination. For most movies we just use Netflix on our $9.99 1 DVD at a time plan, adding things to our queue, and watching a ton of streaming TV shows and movies via one of our two Xbox consoles. We also use a software called Playon to watch a variety of other online streaming video from Hulu, the networks and a few other sources. Redbox we use for that rare occasion that we just HAVE to have a movie that night. We’ll run to one of the 4 redboxes in our area after making sure the movie is in stock. We also tend to get our Redbox rentals either free or at a reduced rate via Groupons, or by finding coupons online.
I LOVE netflick and redbox! And I’m definitely going to tell my boyfriend about gamefly. Great idea Matt!
I really, really want to use Netflix but from what I hear in Canada they don’t have nearly the selection that they offer in the U.S. Does the free trial work for us Canucks?
Netflix is the only way to go! I love being able to stream movies anytime I feel like! So worth the $10/month, considering I probably watch like two movies a week 🙂