With so many different options it's easier than ever to save some real money.

There was a time not so long ago when saving money on cable basically didn't exist.
Most people had two cable choices at most, and many just one.
And it definitely showed.
Especially in those areas where there was just one provider.

And then streaming came along and everything changed.

This article isn't meant to completely explain everything there is to know about streaming. It's not even meant to be exclusively about streaming.

What we are going to do is take an in-depth look at what your options are and how they compare to your current to the cable package you have now.
Specifically we'll examine the cost of traditional cable and whats offered by the various packages.

Before we even begin let's address an elephant in the room you've managed to overlook.
Maybe all you need is the internet. Perhaps you don't need cable or streaming at all.
In fact perhaps just going with the internet is the best decision you've made in years.
I'll explain.
You deserve an explanation.

Nielsen Corp is widely considered the premiere experts on Americans and their viewing habits.
According to them, Americans watch more than 4 hours of TV each day.
That's 28 hours a week.
That's 2 solid months a year exclusively watching TV!
Assuming a 65-year life span thats nine years of your life in front of a TV.
O.K. I'm off my soapbox.
But your not off the hook.

Chances are your local cable provider is charging you about Seventy-Five dollars a month for a reliable high-speed internet connection.
If your struggling financially it's all you need.
Your TV gets most likely gets YouTube anyway which has everything you need anyway. At least for the most part.
The difference is that a high-speed internet connection bundled with a good cable TV package with just a couple of premium channels is upwards of $225 per month.
If you're struggling you almost have to stick to internet only.
$150 a month for no good reason is just not justifiable.

Now were going to explore streaming in some detail.
So what exactly is streaming?
In a nutshell streaming is the use of the internet to deliver, usually to your TV, different media content at a fraction of the price of cable.
Theres some techie stuff involved.
Usually a wireless modem and streaming account are necessary.
If you're not up for the tech part it's generally easy enough to hire someone or find a friend to help.

Most people think you need a smart TV in order to access the various streaming services. You don't.
But if you don't have a smart TV you will need a streaming device.
The most popular streaming devices right now include Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV.
Also gaming consoles, smart Blu-ray players, and external streaming devices.
It's not hard but some tech help might be needed for some of us less tech-savvy types.

It's not just the lower price that draws more people to streaming every year.
Often times, it's the content itself capturing an ever-increasing market share over cable.
Theres a good reason for all this.
More and More streaming has become the ONLY place to find much of what we want to see.
British comedies, hard to find documentaries, classic hard to find TV shows and movies you loved as a kid are all there.
Most conveniently all these shows and much more are there when you want to see them.
Anytime nearly anything.

When people think of streaming there's one name that comes immediately to mind.
Netflix.
For a little over fifteen dollars a month you can watch thousands of different shows, movies, and events ad-free.
A little less if you don't mind sitting through ads.
Their sports selections leave a little more to be desired.
But again they're adding content all the time.

Netflix is just the beginning though.
A small sampling of other options includes Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Amazon Prime Video, MGM+ Paramount and numerous others.
All these services individually cost much less than its cable counterpart but none of these are free.
And collectively they do add up.

Confused?
Don't be.
It's not as complicated as it's made to sound.
After all if it was there wouldn't be many of us streaming in the first place.
There's no shortage of free help out there on YouTube and other different social media sites.

So how exactly will streaming save me money?
Bottom line.
Any premium cable package will cost you upwards of $150 and up and thats NOT including around $75 for high speed internet access.
Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and any of the numerous other services will generally cost you between $8 to as high as perhaps $$20 (very high end) per month.
The key takeaway here is to understand your viewing habits to understand what sort of programming you can, and can't live with or without.

Once you've decided what you want it's time to examine more closely what services offer what and then chose.
You can always add more streaming services and if you don't like one just cancel it.

It's not an accident that streaming has become more popular every year since its existence.
Streaming offers almost any show you want when you want as often as you like.
Saving $100 per month at the least isn't bad either.