Sense to Save

Yet another wonderful thing about Comcast’s OnDemand (2 things)

OK, it’s official: I really love Comcast OnDemand.

I am so, so glad that my cable bill is really low (I somehow managed a $23.91 w/tax monthly bill by asking for a low rate and a cheapo package). But even if it was a little higher, it would be worth it.

You see, in addition to the free movies and TV shows in the OnDemand section, we also have free OnDemand movies that come with our (also, amazingly free) HBO and Encore.

We can choose from a pretty broad selection of always-changing films. Some movies have a "preview" option that shows the movie trailer.

And, if we’re watching a movie that isn’t that good after the first, oh, 20 minutes or so, we stop watching it without feeling like we wasted money.

When we had Netflix or rented a movie from a store, it would be a real bummer to rent a movie that turned out being a dud. It would feel like we wasted a trip to the store, a movie from our queue, and money.

With OnDemand, though, we have no problem stopping a bad movie. Why waste an extra hour watching something that stinks?

Second, an OnDemand feature I didn’t realize we had is "Excercise TV." (Go to OnDemand > Sports & Fitness > Excercise TV).

You’ll see an impressive menu of TV excercise programs, as you might guess.

You’ll have workout hosts such as Carmen Electra,  Billy Blanks, and working programs such as The Firm, the Biggest Loser, yoga & pilates, abs, walking, and many more categories.

There are just a few workouts in each category, but they’re regularly updated every few weeks or so (as are most things in OnDemand). For example, in the Billy Blanks folder, there are four workouts right now: 2 CelebrityFit Cardio (21 mins.), Tae Bo Amped Jump (19 mins.), Tae Bo Fat Blaster (15 mins.), and Tae Bo favorites (18 mins.).

You’ll find programs that are 4 minutes, and some that are 25+ minutes.

If you aren’t extremely picky about your TV workout, this could be a great way to try a variety of excercises without acquiring a bunch of tapes or DVDs.

Do you have OnDemand? What are your favorite features?

How $15 could save me money and get me out of the house

Amy had a post today explaining why she bought an Entertainment Book for her area.

I had seen them around town for about $25. I wasn’t interested at that price.

But when I saw on the web site that it was available for $15 with free shipping, and I could get additional online printable savings, I wanted to learn more.

I wasn’t going to buy one if it didn’t look like I could easily get my money back by using those coupons to save money on something I would normally buy.

I found coupons for restaurants we wanted to visit and museums we wanted to tour. Sold.

So, I paid $15 to save (hopefully) a lot more money.

But you know what else?

Having that coupon book might encourage us to get out and see more of the city.

We tend to be homebodies and even though we’ve lived here for six months now, we still haven’t been to a museum (they have some really cool ones here, too). We’ve been out to eat maybe five times, and just generally haven’t been tourists in this city.

With this coupon book, I might be more inspired to say, “Hey, we could do this (fun thing) for about $5. Wanna go?”

Have you purchased a coupon book for your city? What do you think about it?

Free magazine subscription

Click on over to iMommies to find out where to sign up for a free 1-year, 4-issue subscription to The National Geographic Society’s new magazine, The Green Guide.

You’ll have the option for them to mail you your subscription, but you can also have an e-subscription–so you can just download it and view it (saves paper!).

I just subscribed, and I expect the first issue will be ready for viewing in March.