Cable and telephone companies, both large and small have been offering discounted bundled services for years. Bundled local and long distance, or cable TV and Internet have saved consumers thousands on elective utilities.

With the outbreak of new broadband Internet technologies, emerges a new market for bundled services. You may have noticed your local cable company offering telephone service, and your telephone company offering satellite TV services in their bundled packages.

These bundled services do in fact provide consumers a reduction in monthly service cost, and the big pitch is you get it all on one bill, and all from the same company. To the average consumer this looks to be the "beat all to end all" deal in bundled services.

The frugal know better. Satellite TV and VoIP are both Independent services one can find and use outside the restrictions of your local cable or telephone companies bundled prices. When you start to figure in your own choice of broadband Internet it takes on a different light.

There are many satellite TV, VoIP, and broadband Internet companies to choose from and you do not have to be bound by the rates of your local providers anymore. Do the research and you"ll find you could be saving a pretty good chunk each month by bundling your own services.

Sure, you won"t get it all on one bill, but if that"s what you want, you are likely over paying for those services. You"re really paying for the convenience of having everything on one bill. Shave ten or fifteen dollars off each service, and it really starts to add up.

Saving twenty five or thirty dollars a month might not sound like much, but try multiplying that figure by twelve months. What you"ll save in a year paints a whole new picture and is probably worth taking 5 extra minutes each month to pay a couple bills separately. That"s an hour a year for those with their calculators out.

Why let the local cable or telephone companies decide what features you get with your bundle ? You"re paying for it. You should choose exactly what you want, and what works best for you. When you self bundle your elective utilities you"ll not only save a few dollars, but get what you want too.