WhiteFence Reveals the 10 Most Expensive Cities to Watch the Big Game this Sunday

The big game this weekend isn't the only battle brewing in America. There's also the battle between Americans and high cable and satellite bills. With this in mind, we thought we'd run the numbers and see how much Americans are paying on average for TV service and see which cities are paying the most.

Below, check out the top ten most expensive cities to watch the big game based on our exclusive information.

Here are the details:

• 1. Dallas $60.76
• 2. New York City $57.67
• 3. Indianapolis $56.61
• 4. Washington D.C. $55.95
• 5. San Diego $55.25
• 6. Los Angeles $55.10
• 7. Charlotte, N.C. $54.85
• 8. Boston $54.58
• 9. Philadelphia $54.39
• 10. Las Vegas $53.40

Looking to save on your television bill? Head over to the WhiteFence television center to start saving today!

Get the Most Out of Your New HDTV with Cable

Recently buy a new HDTV? You need to make sure that you have the proper equipment to fully enjoy your new high definition picture. That means making sure you have the proper HDMI cables as well as the proper HD receiver from your local cable company. If you are using regular, coaxial cables and a regular box, you are not experiencing HD picture. In fact, you might be getting a worse picture than you did with your old analog television!

When I bought my HDTV (finally, being the last of everyone I know to own one), I suffered from subpar picture quality for weeks. I was worried that something was wrong with the television itself. Eventually, I wised up, did my research and shopped around for new cable service.

Getting the proper equipment was easy, and my cable company offered me a great deal on both leasing an HD receiver and HD access. Trust me, once you switch to a true HD quality picture, you won’t ever want to go back.

WhiteFence is a great resource to browse the pricing and specials on HD access from your local cable company. Simply enter your address and you’ll be connected in no time. Get the most you can out of that new, beautiful TV!

6 Reasons On-Demand Programming from your Cable Company is Awesome

I recently ordered new digital television service from my cable company that features on-demand programming, something I’ve been looking forward to trying for years. I have to say, it was definitely worth the wait. Here are the top six reasons you need to get TV service with on-demand.

• You never have to go to a movie rental store again, as all the latest hits are right there whenever you’re ready to order
• It’s easy to discover new series you may have missed, and catch up with old ones you’ve forgotten about
• You can watch TV and movies on your own schedule, without having to fill up your DVR
• If you subscribe to movie channels, they probably have a large library of movies you can access any time, for free!
• Typically, on-demand shows have limited commercials—and even then, you can skip right past them if you are as impatient as me
• If there’s a show from a premium channel you’ve been wanting to see, even if there is not a free sample episode, you can usually rent an episode to try it out

Remember: your cable company will often offer the widest selection of On-Demand media.  Call them today to ensure you are getting the most out of your On-Demand programming. Why do you love on-demand programming? Let us know in the comments!

Reducing Each of Your Monthly Bills

Around my house, we're trying our best to make 2011 the year of savings. We are doing something of a bill audit as of late, trying to see how we can shave at least a little bit off of each service we pay for every month. So far, this has gone well. We've changed our electricity plan, figured out how to cut back on our water usage, and even lowered our TV package. There are a few other changes we have in mind for the future, but we're excited that so far for 2011, we've already lowered expenses and started saving.

While browsing one of my favorite money blogs, The Simple Dollar, I came across a post of some simple tips that could help us out even more. In a recent post titled Seven Monthly Bills Most People Have, and Seven Ways to Reduce Each Bill, author Trent Hamm proposes a variety of creative ways to keep even more of the money that you make. Here are some of the tips I thought were particularly useful:

Energy

• Install timers and a programmable thermostat.
• Air seal your home.
• Utilize energy-efficient lighting.
• Lower the temperature of your water heater.

Mortgage/Rent

• Split the payments with a roommate.
• Refinance.
• Make biweekly payments.

Water

• Install faucet aerators.
• Do only full dish/laundry loads.

Internet

• Use it to find other low-cost resources and savings.
• Bundle it with other services.

Phone

• Shop around when your contract is up.
• For cell phones, try out a pay-as-you-go-phone.

Those are just a handful of the useful tips that Trent writes about. There are other areas of savings that he discusses as well, including car payments and insurance payments. Hopefully the list can help you out on your quest to lower your monthly bills as much as it helped me.

So, which of these ideas to you already utilize to save money? Got any others that haven't been discussed here yet? Share with us!

Finding Ways to Save Money in 2011

Happy 2011, everyone! The year is well underway, and with it, a series of resolutions have been made that will eventually be thrown into oblivion, or wherever else it is that resolutions disappear to after they have been retired. For many people, these self-made promises come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It could be taking care of that one thing that you've been putting off for years, losing a few pounds or changing your sleeping habits.

Regardless of the kind of resolution you've made, there's one thing that we can always do more of, no matter what time it is: finding new ways to save money. Consumer Reports recently updated a list of 15 top money-saving tips that should hopefully prove useful in 2011. The list covers a wide range of tips, including using your phone to get coupons, grabbing more freebies and changing your font to save on printing costs. On top of that, they also talk about finding local sales, which are really easy around this time of years. For instance, many retailers give huge discounts to make room for new inventory.

Both of those lists should provide some good money-saving instructions for those of you who are trying to find new ways to save this calendar year. What are some other great ways that you know of to save money in 2011?

WhiteFence High-Speed Internet Information

One of the busiest categories on WhiteFence.com is the high-speed Internet category. With more broadband choices and plans than ever, consumers looking to save money while getting the best possible download rates around have a multitude of options available to them.

The problem with all of these choices can be an overload of information at times. I know that trying to decide between certain broadband types can be a bit tricky, especially when you've got Cable and DSL, each with their own benefits and speeds. Below, we've put together a list of WhiteFence's best resources on high-speed Internet. Hopefully, browsing these pages will help you figure out everything you need to know to make your high-speed Internet decision.

High-Speed Internet Comparisons

Broadband vs. Dial-Up
Cable vs. DSL
High-Speed Internet Plan Comparisons

General High-Speed Internet

High-Speed Internet Providers
High-Speed Providers in My Area
How to Choose the Best Internet Speed
How to Get Satellite Internet Access
What Is Broadband?
What Is Cable Internet?
What Is DSL Internet?

Provider Deals

AT&T Internet Deals
Comcast Internet Deals
Verizon Internet Deals

WhiteFence's Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes

We're now just hours away from our Thanksgiving feasts, and it's getting a little hard to focus on anything else at this point. I've noticed that while the basic components of everyone's meals are pretty consistent, it seems like every family has their own twists and traditions to make their meal unique.

My wife and I are hosting our first Thanksgiving at our house this year, and we've been trying to work out what dishes to add to the mix. With that in mind, I turned to my coworkers to get some ideas.

Here are some my fellow WhiteFencers' favorite Thanksgiving dishes:

• Anthony, Marketing Optimization Analyst – My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a little outside of the box and quite possibly a little bit dangerous. It’s…(wait for it) turkey.

• James, Marketing Optimization Analyst – Someone in the family usually makes a 7 layer Mexican bean dip and if I’m not careful, I will fill up on that and chips before we get to the main food. We usually have it at Christmas as well.

• Tara, Senior Manager of Paid Search – So, when I fix my plate I fill it up as efficiently as possible—covering the bottom layer with the ‘sides’ like dressing, green beans, yams, roll, etc..,etc…then I lay the turkey across the top and finally finish with the cranberry sauce! Pretty delicious! For round two, an hour or so later, I go with the turkey sandwich on a roll. So basically, my favorite is the perfectly made plate-takes precision!

• Stacey, Senior Process Analyst – I’m all about the sides. I find turkey to be dry unless it’s in a sandwich with other stuff. I also don’t really like gravy or mashed potatoes. I fill up on green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and whatever kind of casseroles are available.  Also, lots and lots of pecan pie. Mmmmmm, pie…

• Lindsay, Marketing Optimization Analyst – My family likes to replicate the first Thanksgiving. We hunt deer and wild turkeys and cook them at home. We love to couple them with instant mashed potatoes and the pumpkin pie found at HEB.

• Eddy, Senior Copywriter – My grandma makes mac and cheese from the box but for some reason it tastes better than any mac and cheese ever, and I really have no idea why.

• Russ, Manager of Site Design and Development – Kugela, Lithuanian potato, cheese & fat casserole.

Beating the Black Friday Deals Now

Ah, Black Friday, the titan of shopping and savings that looms the day after Thanksgiving. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a gluttonous feast than to go buy a bunch of stuff. Personally, I avoid the day like plague, because in my head it's probably just a re-creation of several popular zombie horror movies, only with even more bite wounds. That being said, I do see the necessity of it for folks that do a lot of Christmas shopping and don't want to break the bank in the process.

However, if you want to do your Black Friday shopping without all of the hassle, there are actually a number of sellers and vendors this year doing pre-day deals, so that people can capitalize on the savings early. Yahoo has a list up of 7 Black Friday Deals Worth Buying Now, and it outlines all the places that have been in a price dropping war the last week or so, including Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon. Good news for shoppers!

There are a few key items to take note of where the savings are potentially at their highest. For one, toys seem to be getting marked down already, almost across the board. In addition, HDTV's are going to see their best prices in years. In fact, it might even be possible to grab 42" 1080p TV's for as low as $500. It all sounds too good to be true, but you might want to check out the list to see if there's anything you can get a steal on before the craziness of next week.

So, which of you brave readers will go out and confront the masses for Black Friday next week? Do you have another source of great deals? Let us know in the comments!

8 Popular Home Phone Calling Features

Back in the old days, all your home phone did was make and receive calls. These days though, the humble home phone has become a bit of a communications computer, capable of lots of cool stuff we used to only be able to dream of.

However, without the right home phone plan, you might be missing out on all of the cool calling features out there. If you're to add some features to your home phone experience, it may be time to shop for something new.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the most popular home phone features available here on WhiteFence:

• Caller ID – Know exactly who is calling before you pick up the phone and never deal with another telemarketer again

• Voicemail – Hear all of your messages wherever you are and say goodbye to your old answering machine

• Call Waiting – Never again miss another important call because you were already on the line

• Conference Calls – Get everyone together on one conversation instead of making lots of separate calls

• Call Forwarding – Have your calls forwarded to your cell phone or another landline while you are away from home

• Auto Redial – Easily redial the last number person you called even if you've forgotten their number

• Anonymous Call Rejection – Block calls from anyone that has chosen to block their name and number

• Speed Calling – Set up custom codes for all of your friends and family to make calls in a flash without your Rolodex

Video: Watch Out for Energy Vampires - NEW WF BLOG

We've posted on this blog before about the danger of energy vampires when it comes to your power bills each and every month. There are a number of ways to save electricity and lower your payments, but one of the easiest and least intrusive ways to do so is to watch out for these vampires.

What is an energy vampire, you ask? While your appliances may have on/off switches, many of them continue to draw power from their outlets while they are off. You would be surprised by just how many appliances in your home join in on the vampire fun. Just think of the prongs of the plug as their little monster fangs, taking your energy away.

To provide a bit of advice about this very subject, Alabama Power Company has provided a new video, the latest in its series of consumer education shorts.

What are your strategies for saving energy around the home? Do you watch out for energy vampires?