How to fix your high streaming bills

March 25, 2025

By Kim Komando

The other day on my national radio show, I mentioned that the average American drops $110 a month on streaming services. Add another $80+ for a solid internet connection, and suddenly old-school cable doesn’t look so bad. 

My inbox lit up with folks asking, “Kim, how can I lower my streaming bills?” I’m willing to bet you’re paying for stuff you’re not even watching. Let’s fix that.

🕵️ Start with an audit

So, how many streaming services are you paying for right now? Netflix? Hulu? Disney+? Max? Peacock? Oh, throw in Prime Video because you have Amazon Prime. Before you know it, you’re spending more than you ever did on cable.

Step 1: Pull up your bank or credit card statement. Not all the charges will be obvious. Look for:

• Google, Apple and Amazon auto renewals
• Obvious ones like Hulu or Paramount+

Pro tip: I use Rocket Money* to do this for me. It scans your accounts, flags subscriptions and cancels the ones you forgot about. So easy.

Step 2: Open your phone or smart TV to check which apps you actually use. If it’s been more than a month since you watched, unsubscribe. You can always rejoin later. Most don’t even erase your watch history.

Do what I do and rotate services. If you’re watching a Netflix series now, cancel the rest. Come back later when your binge list is long enough to justify the cost.

📺 Go cheap

Why pay when there are so many free, legit options with great content? There are ads, but free is free!

• Tubi: Tons of movies, including classics, thrillers and ’90s gems like Happy Gilmore
• Pluto TV: Popular option for news and sitcoms
• The Roku Channel: Slick interface, free movies and Roku Originals
• MUBI: Hidden gem for indie films and documentaries
• Freevee from Amazon: Solid shows, including Bosch: Legacy and The Good Wife

The freebies don’t have all the hot new streaming shows, but they’re excellent for background noise, old comfort shows or when you’ve “watched everything.”

🛠️ Stop jumping app to app

Open JustWatch or Reelgood and search for a movie or show to see where it’s streaming, free or paid. You’d be shocked how often what you want is already included in a service you forgot you had.

Ya know, they said an ’80s TV show about Dungeons & Dragons couldn’t work on a modern internet streaming platform. But Stranger Things has happened.

Whoa, all the money I just saved you is definitely worth the price of this newsletter. Wait! It’s free! Use the buttons below to share this with a pal, and call it your good deed for the day.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.