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?

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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?

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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.

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Speaking of board game fun, why not make your own board game?

You can take an old Monopoly (or whatever!) board, and turn it into something of your own. Make your own rules, tape down new landing spaces…whatever you want.

If you don’t want to completely invent a new game, you can make your own Mancala set for really cheap.

I learned how to play this game in middle school, and it’s a fun two-player game.

Here’s a picture of a purchased game, complete with glass tokens.

You can make your own version using an old, clean egg carton and your own markers, such as pebbles, pennies, or other small bits.

Click here for Mancala rules.

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Board games and card games can be great sources of fun, frugal entertainment for the whole family.

You can find used board games (hopefully with all of the pieces intact) at garage sales or thrift stores for a great price.

Even if you decide to go out and buy a board game new, sometimes you can get a great deal–especially now during the Christmas gift-buying time.

Hasbro has a deal going on right now (it was in recent Sunday coupon inserts) where you can get rebates on select games.

Right now, we’re limited to two-player board games. Some of our favorites include: Scattegories, Scrabble, Sequence, Monopoly, checkers, and Guess Who? (haven’t played that one in ages), Connect 4, and Clue.

Some of my favorite multi-player board games include the above, and Apples to Apples, Twister (sort of a board game…not really), Boggle, and Mouse Trap.

If you have a deck of cards, you can play a ton of games. I recently learned how to play Euchre, a four-player game (can you believe I’m a Hoosier that just now learned?!), and other games include Go Fish, Hearts, and War, to name a few. If you’re all by yourself, you can play Solitaire.

What are some of your favorite board or card games? How often do you and your family play them?

For other posts on Frugal Friday, visit Biblical Womanhood. 

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Sometimes, I really love television. It can feel so good to lounge around and watch its mind-numbing goodness. But, as you know, you can have access to hundreds of channels and there could still be nothing on TV.

We don’t have cable. I bought a set of rabbit ears to put atop our TV set, and we get what comes over the airwaves. This includes: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, some local channel, and home shopping (!?).

The shows are decent, and reception is reasonable. Not as good as it would be if we broke down and bought cable, but hey, for free, it’s fantastic.

PLUS–the networks now have select shows online for free (and in some cases, limited-commercial) viewing. Gotta love that!

I tried to find out how much basic cable would cost, but I don’t want to call a salesperson. Between installation charges and who knows what else, plus the monthly charge, I know it’s a lot.

Finally, with fewer channels to watch, if nothing on one of my seven channels interests me, I can turn it off, save electricity and find something else to do. Hurrah!

As I hinted at in my first post, the public library is a wonderful place. Where else can you borrow so many books (and more) for free?

But, there are times when the library simply won’t do.

For instance, I’m a magazine freak. For real. When I checked the mail today, I was sad that there wasn’t a magazine in there for me to read, since I usually get at least one a day it seems. I subscribe to more than a dozen, including ones not available at my library, in case one day I can submit some freelance material for one. Plus, I love reading them and cutting out articles if I want.

My little hobby could be very expensive if I’m not careful. So, a few tips:

Do not ever buy a magazine at a newsstand. And, do not ever buy a subscription from one of those little cardboard cards that are stuck within its pages. It’s not always the lowest price.

There’s many magazine sites out there that can give you a pretty good discount. Prices seem to change often, so you need to shop around. Google is your friend on this.

Here’s some deals I’ll use as an example from a site I ordered from recently, Magazinesquick.com:

Family Fun 1 year for $2.98
Guideposts 1 year for $3.47
Ladies’ Home Journal 1 year for $3.90
Working Mother 1 years for $2.70

Another time, I filled out a survey after ordering from Ticketmaster, and then I was able to get a year’s subscription for both Time and Newsweek for $2 each. WHAT?! Those are weekly magazines. What a deal!

When I’m done reading, I either recycle them or take them to the library for an ultra-cheapskate to enjoy.

What cheap magazines have you found?