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Avoid The Winter Blues – Affordable Entertainment for Students

entertainmentMost college students don’t have much extra spending money on hand these days after paying for tuition, books, meals and room and board. Entities such as cable television and trips to concerts or the movies are luxuries. However, thanks to today’s technology, many higher education learners can have a great time with some affordable entertainment options that won’t break the bank. Here are a few ways they can save a few dollars each month.

Streaming Movies and TV Shows

Cable television costs continue to increase forcing many college students to forego traditional cable subscriptions in favor of Internet streaming. Providers such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime are making a killing on college campuses because they affordable and mobile. Students can watch free movies, trailers and current and old television shows from their home television via a streaming media player such as a Roku, Google Chromecast or Apple TV or through their tablets or smartphones. They can save up to several hundred dollars a year.

Renting movies is also a great option to spending hard-earned cash at the movie theatre. Online, you can rent movies from Redbox, Amazon, Netflix and iTunes. Redbox also has a kiosks at nearly every grocery store, so there’s another option for students to save a few bucks.

Downloading or Streaming Music

Living on a shoestring budget also means not spending a large amount of money on musical entertainment. For students who do not want to pay a lot for music can download some free songs from iTunes or GooglePlay. For streaming songs, there are many options including Pandora or Spotify. However, for Samsung Galaxy users who want to be in charge of the music they listen to can do so with Milk Music, an ad-free, Internet radio service that allows consumers to personalize listening experiences. Milk Music is available in two tiers with more than 200 stations programmed. The free version allows six song skips per hour. The premium service has off-line listening, unlimited song skips and a sleep timer.

Video Gaming

Playing video games is a great way for college students to not only reduce stress, but is also a cheap way to spend an evening. For students who own a PS4, PS3 or PS Vita, they can download some free games, add-ons and apps from Sony Entertainment. Users can also download free video games from CNET and Games.com.

Prepaid Cell Phones

Even though there are many on-contract smartphone plans that are affordable, college students can save even more by purchasing a prepaid cell phone. There are several providers that offer services and devices that can help save a few dollars each month including Consumer Cellular, Net10 and ChitChat Mobile. Another affordable phone option for students is purchasing used or refurbished smartphones and joining family phone plans.

On-Campus Events

College campuses are a haven of entertainment events such as plays, concerts, lectures, poetry readings, sporting events and more. Student unions typically have discounted tickets for these types of activities, as well as some off-campus events such as movies, museums and other entertaining ventures.

Deals of the Day

A great way to draw college students off campus is through some great entertainment deals. Local coffeehouses, retail stores and restaurants typically offer daily deals on sites such as Groupon, Woot and LivingSocial. Students can receive large discounts on a variety of items, often 50 percent or more!

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