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Believe it or not, there are ways for you to stay connected with the media, family and friends and still have enough money to spend on groceries. Often, we spend money every month on telecommunications services we don't even use. Here are some things you might not have considered about your monthly communications bills:

Pay for what you need When you purchase a smartphone plan for your family, you are not only buying devices to talk and text with, you are essentially purchasing mini-computers. These little modern marvels are very useful to have whenever you need information at a moment's notice, need directions or want to seamlessly integrate your household's media storage together. But what if you don't need to do any of that stuff? Wireless companies charge an obscene amount of money for data plans that most people don't take full advantage of. If you don't use your phone too often, prepaid cell phones are an excellent way to boost your monthly budget.

Bundle... or not? Cable and telecommunications companies like to bundle several services together in order to save their customers cash... or that is what they want you to think. According to a report in the LA Times, bundling is an opportunity for one single company to have access to all of your lines of communication. If there are two separate service providers in your area, you should choose one for Internet and another for digital cable. This way if they both stop working at the same time, you are not relying on a single company to come fix it and you will get the most service out of the money you spend.

Use social media as a TV guide It is more than possible to catch up with all of your favorite television programs without even subscribing to a cable service. According to Rebtel, women dominate men in the use of social media. Use this to your advantage and pick out the best shows to watch beforehand by checking out critic's reviews and your friend's status. Services like Hulu offer your current favorite shows and the network websites post the most recent episodes quickly for marketing purposes.

The library: venture in! You might not have thought about it recently, but your local public library is still open for your use. Here you can not only check out books, movies and music; you can use the Internet for important business or homework.