If your entertainment dollars are limited (and whose aren’t these days?) you may find yourself starting to think about cutting back on your spending for things like movies. We certainly can’t afford to go to the movie theatre every week. But there are other options for you and your family to get your movie fix.
Netflix is one frugal way to see the movies you want to see. Although you have to wait for the movies to be released to DVD, the savings you’ll experience certainly makes the wait worthwhile. For a set program fee you get to select any movie you want to see, and keep it for as long as you want. When you’re ready for a new movie, simply send the first one back. Before long, a new one from your wish list will make its way to your mailbox. While you wait, you can download movies directly to your computer for instant gratification.
In addition, there is another perk with the Netflix program. Netflix has the foresight to realize that some people might want to have more than one movie at a time. For that reason, there are multiple program levels to the Netflix membership. Members can choose to be allowed one, two, or three movies at a time. There are separate prices for each level, so families get to select the one that fits into their lifestyle and budget.
Families who don’t watch a lot of movies, however, may balk at the idea of spending $8.99 a month, the cost of the lowest level of membership at Netflix. What do you do if you only watch the occasional movie? Do you tell yourself that the membership cost is still cheaper than the cost of taking the whole family to the movie theatre?
Of course you don’t just accept the extra expense. For the sporadic movie watchers, there are Redbox movie rental stations. At a Redbox, you can rent all kinds of movies for $1 per night. As long as you return the movie the next day, there are no additional costs. If you do keep it for an extra day, however, you’ll only be billed another dollar. It doesn’t come much cheaper than that.
My favorite thing about Redbox is the convenience. If I’m at the grocery store and chose to rent a movie from the Redbox at the exit doors, I don’t have to return the movie at the same Redbox location. Instead I can drop it off at another station closer to the places my errands take me the next day. Blockbuster was never this easy!
All in all, I’d have to say that both programs have their merits. The determining factor is really the frequency of use. If you rent a Redbox movie every day, you’ll rack up charges of $30 each month. In this case you should probably just join Netflix. On the other hand if your family rents a movie once or twice a month, Redbox is perfect for you. Take a look at the way your family rents movies to decide which one is right for you.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
We prefer Blockbuster’s online program. We receive movies through the mail and return them to the store for additional movies. It’s cheaper for us since we used to pay to rent movies. Plus it’s convenient since Blockbuster is a few blocks away from us.
We love both Netflix and Redbox. Our schedule makes it difficult to find time for a full-length movie, but My husband and I like to watch TV series on DVD from Netflix so that we can watch an episode a night for several nights. We usually have all of our 3 available Netflix discs dedicated to one TV series or another.
We like to rent an occasional movie for us or our granddaughter from Redbox, so that we don’t tie up our Netfix discs with movies.
Watch http://www.insideredbox.com every Monday (and Wednesdays in March) for a code for a FREE rental. DVDs checked out on Mondays (and Wednesdays in March) are due back by 9PM the next day. This code can be used with multiple credit/debit cards so if you have 2 debit cards and 3 credit cards, that’s 5 free rentals, baby! Of course, one should be reasonable about how many movies one might watch in a 24-hour period. In addition, if you click the redbox codes tab at the top of the insideredbox home page, you will find more codes that are one-time use codes redbox releases for new users – these may or may not always work, but are worth a try. Again, multiple cards – multiple rentals.
I almost always get my Redbox rentals for free using the codes Trish mentioned. I probably got about 50 free movies from them last year. This works out really well for me because there is a Redbox location less than a five minute walk from my house.
I used to use Redbox until I forgot to return 2 movies for about 2 weeks. Fifty bucks later, I now own movies I didn’t really like. I use Netflix, no late fees.
We just discovered netflix and love it. Redbox is not feasible for us, we live too far away. Hubby has rigged up the computer to the tv and we can watch instantly. We love movies and hubby loves documentaries and such. We rarely rented or went to movies before due to costs/inconvenience. Sure is nice when it is tooooo cold to get out and do anything.
Easy decision for me, I love Netflix. They have every movie possible and also a lot in Blu-Ray which is good for me. Now you can stream as well, doesn’t get better than that.
Redbox is cheap.. but I can’t rent movies like “King of Kong” or Be Kind Rewind as I want to because they are either not available becuase they are indie films or just too old… Netflix has huge selection, but I don’t want to dole out $15.99 a month.. so it really depends where you find value.
I don’t like Blockbuster at all, because they have MUCH less selection then Netflix, and I tried them for a while and couldn’t get some of the movies I wanted to see.
So.. if I were joining a program it would have to be netflix until blockbuster gets with the program. I like the whole idea of being able to return the films to their stores, but they limit that freedom dramatically.
Hollywood video was great when we had a physical location. All the movies I wanted for $15 per month. (three at a time)..but I had to go to the location, but since it was right down the street I wasn’t waiting 3 days for movies to arrive in the mail…
…Its a pickle I tells ya….
Netflix has a 1 movie at a time option for $4.99 a month. It limits you to 2 DVDs a month.
Netlfix always finds a way to squeeze more money from you and makes it difficult for you to cancel. Don’t let Netflix take advantage of you. Hulu, Redbox and all the stremain programs are cheaper, better options…
we use Netflix, because the selection can’t be beat for foreign, classic, and indie films. but if you want the cheapest, check out the DVD selection at your local library. ours is $1/week, and $1 every day it’s late. that part is kind of steep, but i tell myself it’s a way of supporting my library.
Netflix won’t allow you to reach a $1 per rental price point easily. They will throttle your account. Blockbuster, same thing. While YMMV, month to month, but these by-mail services target something between $1 and $2 per DVD price point.
At least Redbox is being straight up honest about what you will get for your money, and it is al-la cart. Don’t rent that night, don’t pay.
Any “All-you-can-eat” buffet pays to feed some of their customers, the ones that don’t eat so much make up for it. Sadly, perhap, Netflix/Blockbuster want their cake and to eat it too. If you eat too fast for their tastes, then it’s just a simple matter of their computers declaring “no more soup for you”. But, they will surely keep taking the money from those that don’t eat as much.
From everything I’ve seen, NF/BB will not allow a customer to pay less than $1.25/Title viewed.