We’ve talked for some time about how dropping cable TV in favor of alternative methods by which to indulge your programming interests can be a terrific move for your wallet. While so-called “expanded basic” cable TV averages a little over $60 per month in households throughout America, it is nothing for premium cable TV services to drive that monthly cost to a level of well over $100 – that’s a lot of money for the “privilege” of enjoying television.

In order to help you in your quest to become a better…and slightly wealthier…consumer of TV, we’re going to do something this weekend we’ve not done before: we’re going to give away, as a bonus to those who purchase a membership to our Christian Money Plus premium service, a Google Chromecast. Chromecast is a very small device that plugs into a spare HDMI port in your television, and, using your smartphone or computer as the remote control (basically), you can access streaming content on your television set from the most popular providers, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video (nominal subscription fees apply to each service), as well as YouTube. Think of Chromecast as the transmitter that takes the streaming content you would otherwise watch on your computer or other device, and splashes it on to your living room TV set.

A few things: In order to use Chromecast, you must have a HDMI port on your TV. You will find that most TV sets manufactured in recent years come equipped with at least one, but if you’re interested in this and you’re not sure, you’ll need to check your own set first. Even if you can already get streaming Internet content to your television (through another device), there is something very different about streaming to your TV using Chromecast. Take for example, YouTube. There is simply no easier way to bring YouTube to your big screen than with Chromecast. Whether it is having a fun family night of watching videos of laughing babies, or setting up a playlist of your favorite music for your next party, bringing YouTube to your large screen is a blast. Also compared to other 'Internet TV' devices, most people find Chromecast easier to use by controlling it through a smartphone or computer (no clunky non-keyboard remotes to deal with). It also gives you access to the entire Internet, rather than just those offerings made available through a somewhat closed off ecosystem (Apple TV, Roku, etc...).

Chromecast also allows you to quickly and easily tap into a growing amount of free Internet TV programming from network websites. One series Jim Paris watches is NBC's The Blacklist. He uses his Chromecast to play it from the NBC website directly to his big screen TV. There are a growing number of regular network TV shows that you will find for free online. Even the Superbowl was made available free online this year!

I dropped Cable TV two years ago and I don't miss it. There is more and more content becoming available for us 'cord cutters'. Although I am not a subscriber, it was notable to see that HBO just began offering Internet subscriptions to its channel. Also, even though I joined Amazon Prime for the free shipping benefit, I am amazed at the thousands of free movies I have access to with my membership (and its easy to connect to Amazon with my Chromecast). If I had to recommend one device to people that want to drop cable, it would have to be a Chromecast. I love it so much that I bought a second one for my bedroom TV. All you need is a home WiFi network and it takes about two minutes to set up. There are a lot of misconceptions about Internet TV. I watch live news, live sports, I watch Fox News, and more! Oh, one more thing - your kids will absolutely love it!  Jim Paris

As we’ve said many times before, anything you can do to immediately save a chunk of money on a regular basis helps you in precisely the same way as if you were able to earn the extra cash…but without having to spend more time at work. Even if your savings amounted to “just” $60 per month, that translates to over $700 per year, and for the bunches who spend much more than $60 per month to enjoy cable TV, a device like the Chromecast can represent a savings of $1000 or more each year in cable costs. What’s more, you need not part with access to your favorite shows by reaping this significant savings; talk about a win-win!

If you’ve considered a Christian Money Plus membership for some time now, and you’ve also been meaning to finally do something about unchaining yourself from the cable company, this is your weekend - grab that annual subscription to Christian Money Plus between now and midnight on Sunday, March 15, and receive, as a bonus, a Google Chromecast, so that you can participate in the growing revolution against cable TV! Christian Money Plus comes with a laundry list of features, including The James L. Paris Report monthly newsletter (including all past issues), podcasts, personal finance webinar workshops, unlimited email-based Q&A with Jim and his staff, and lots more!

FREE GOOGLE CHROMECAST THROUGH MIDNIGHT MAY 18

FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING!