These days there's a charge for everything. The cable and cellphone companies are monopolizing the industry! Do we even know what services we are paying for on a monthly basis and is it worth it?

Earlier this month Directv disabled a handful of popular channels. This "channel blackout" was due to the company not signing an increase agreement with Viacom. It left customers missing out on some of their favorite channels for little over a week. Now that an agreement has been made and the channels are back on, will the savings be passed on to the consumers??

I urge everyone to analyze all your bills at least twice a year. Gather all your bills and call the companies to see what you are actually paying for. To your surprise you may have many features that you don't need or use. Removing some of the features can ultimately save you hundreds of dollars a year!