Boy were we excited when we got our first DVD player! We ran out to the nearest DVD rental store and checked out 3 movies. It cost almost $15! (Can you guess where we got them?) Seemed like kind of a rip, but the movies sure looked great on DVD. The day they were due, we took the movies back early in the afternoon to avoid any possible late charge and to my surprise, they hit me with a late charge anyway because I was there at 12:30 instead of 12:00! Since they hadn’t told me about their “time cut-off,” I got stuck paying double when it was over-priced to begin with. Now, it was a definite rip-off and I vowed to never go back there again.

So, now we’ve got the happening DVD set up, but still need some movies to watch… As a busy mom, I don’t really care to add more driving errands to my day, so I pondered what to do. Then, my sister suggested NETFLIX. She’d been using them for the past six months and loved the service.

Netflix had a two week free trial, so I figured what the heck, I’d give it a try…

I was sold on it immediately! This is how it works: Starting for as little as $4.99 a month, you can have as many movies per month as you want, for as long as you want (no late fees EVER!). The movies are delivered to your house with a prepaid return envelope, so when you’re finished with them, you just stick them in the envelope and toss it in the mail! It doesn’t get any easier than that...

Now, if you’re a parent, the “have the movies for as long as you want” part is the deal closer, because if your kids are anything like mine, they want to watch their favorite movies over and over before they’re done with them. (Even when we were renting videos, I often ended up renting them more than once anyway.)

Netflix’s selection is huge and the site lays out the categories well, so it’s easy to find movies you’d like to see. It’s also a great to be able to look at a movie selection in a leisurely manner. Too often, when going to a rental store, you’re rushed either by time constraints or by kids not wanting to shop around too long.

When you sign up, they give you a “Rental Queue,” so you can make a huge list of what you want sent. When a movie is returned they just send out the next one on your list. (You can change the order of your list at any time.)

I had a recent incident where I had sent back 2 movies, but I only received confirmation they had received one. It was lost in the mail. After six days, I hit the “shipping problems” button in my queue to let them know I had sent the movie. I was immediately acknowledged via e-mail and with no questions asked, my next movie was sent out. (The movie arrived at Netflix the next day, by the way.)

Their customer service is great, the site is well organized, and if you do the math, it’s a big money saver… If you rent just 1 grown up movie and 1 kid movie every weekend at the above rental store that shall remain nameless, you’ve just spent $40 bucks a month! Providing of course you’re not late on the return. If you are… well, you get the picture.

With this service, you rent as many movies as you want, whenever you want, you never have to pay anything extra, and they’re delivered right to your door! I’m sold, and I know you will be too, so click on the link below and see what you think!