If you’re able to split the tab with a relative, it might be your best bet at saving a few dollars. Netflix also offers a 30-day free trial if you just want to get your toes wet. Netflix also lets you pay your tab through iTunes gift cards, which some places sell at a discount. Smart shopping expert Trae Bodge suggests browsing Gift Card Granny for discounts on all types of gift cards being sold online. RELATED: Finally, Here’s How to Create a Budget You Can Really, Truly Stick To You can pay for HBO Max through your smart TV for $15 a month, or you can plan to package other HBO offerings (such as HBO originals) with other services, such as Hulu, which could knock a dollar or two off your monthly subscription. If you’re an AT&T customer, there’s also a data plan that offers HBO at no additional cost. “Think about which network you do the most streaming through and look for your deals there,” Madhok says. “And definitely keep an eye out for bundles.” Verizon customers on select Unlimited plans can get a free Disney+ trial subscription for six months. You can also package Disney+ with ESPN and Hulu for just $13.99 a month. Keep in mind that Disney+ also includes National Geographic, Pixar, Marvel, and the Star Wars franchises. To save on Disney+ only, you can opt to pay for the year all at once for $79.99 instead of the monthly fee, saving about $16 by the end of the year. “Spotify for students includes Hulu and Showtime for about $4.99 a month,” Wilson says. By comparison, Spotify Premium for regular users is $9.99 a month, without Hulu or Showtime. Just be sure you have an active college student set up the account: Spotify verifies all student emails and IDs. The reason so many streaming services are targeting young adults is because they’re looking to grab lifetime customers who will subscribe for decades to come, Wilson says. Your Uber driver will pick up a handful of people headed in the same direction, dropping each person off along the route. You can’t guarantee your arrival time, but you can save by helping the driver to save gas. Uber also lets you split your fare with friends in the same car. Instead of exchanging money later or forgetting to split the tab on your own, you can split the fare through the app and only pay your share. “There have been a lot of offers for ride sharing apps to integrate with credit cards,” Wilson says. “American Express is the biggest example of that.” To qualify, you’ll first need an American Express card. “AMEX card holders get discounts on a certain number of rides,” Wilson says. “It’s a little more leg work, so it’s not for everybody, but we see that deal a lot, too.” When Venmo partnered with Uber, it offered a few initial discounts to users paying through the app for the first time. Wilson says there’s also a tactic where rideshare companies will try to get you to come back to their service if you’ve been absent for some time. “If I don’t use one for a while, I’ll get a reengagement offer where they say, ‘We see you haven’t used this in a while, here’s $5 off your next three rides or something,’” Wilson says. Madhok says there are ways to pay lower fares if you can time your ride well. “If I do a Lyft share to the airport and it’s an off time, maybe like 11 a.m., I’ve found I can go by myself if there’s not enough riders and it can be like 40 percent off,” she says.
