Life is too expensive. It's time to consider the free, ad-supported streamers.

There is only one thing worse than watching commercials while enjoying your favorite TV shows, and that's paying way too much each month for streaming services you might not really enjoy anymore.

We're at a weird cultural and economic moment for fans of television. Just as it feels as if broadcast TV and cable are dying, and the number of households subscribing to streaming services outpaces those subscribing to traditional pay television, streaming is getting more expensive and less expansive. Series and movies are disappearing from platforms like HBO Max, NBC titles have left Hulu for Peacock, prices are rising all around and the services themselves are even consolidating, led by HBO Max and Discovery+'s plan to merge next year.

It's a bit of a change from when cutting the cord was a cost-saving measure and you could be sure that an "original" series from a streaming service would never go away. But as with everything in our current economy, things are changing and not always for the better. But there is a solution that you may not have thought of, and it probably has a slightly silly-sounding name.

I'm talking about the free streaming services, the ones with ads: Tubi TV. Roku Channel. Freevee. Pluto TV. Crackle. Even Peacock has a free tier (although it leaves much to be desired). Goofy names aside, these are services that offer hundreds of TV shows and films to stream on demand at the grand total of zero dollars. They can do that because they have ads you can't fast-forward through (although the number of ads and how intrusive they feel varies). Have entertainment conglomerates merely ported basic cable over to the internet? A bit! But there's a little more choice involved than turning on TNT on a Saturday afternoon hoping you like whatever mid-budget thriller movie it happens to be airing.

The best free streaming services, ranked: Freevee, Roku, Tubi and more

Wait, you say, I got into streaming services precisely because I don't like watching commercials in the middle of my shows! I get it – I also rather detest ad breaks. But ads are coming to your favorite paid streaming services, too. Hulu, Peacock and Paramount+ have always had paid, ad-supported tiers, and were recently joined by HBO Max. Disney+ plans a similar tier in December, and Netflix has one coming this month. So why not steer into the skid, and take advantage of all the free TV and movies you can watch right now? You wouldn't be alone. These services account for 32% of the overall share of video services used by consumers in 2022, compared to 26% in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a report on TV trends by TiVo.

More: Netflix's ad-supported tier will be available to consumers on Nov. 3 for $6.99 a month

It is absolutely risk-free to click on over to Tubi TV, a service that offers a mix of on-demand movies and TV shows that you know and love and live TV channels, all without even having to sign up for an account. Or Freevee or Roku, which are the two free streamers who have invested in the most (and best) original programming. On Freevee, owned by Amazon, you can catch a new show from Judge Judy, a spinoff to "Bosch" or a series based on the lives of music duo Tegan and Sara, "High School." Roku rescued a Christmas special from NBC's canceledmusical TV series "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" and is reviving "The Great American Baking Show" after ABC dropped it. Roku will also be the home of "Weird," the buzzy new biopic of Al Yankovic starring Daniel Radcliffe (streaming Nov. 4).

These services are also home to a huge number of old TV shows that aren't available on the paid streamers, particularly from the mid-20th century. If you want to watch Norman Lear's seminal "All in the Family," for instance, your only options are Freevee and Pluto TV. And because of the rights issues inherent in licensing classic TV for streaming, it's likely these iconic series won't ever come to the paid platforms.

More: These classic TV shows aren't streaming anywhere, and we're losing our history

If there's one thing your friends and family probably can't stop talking about these days, it's how expensive life has become. Inflation is running rampant, and most Americans are feeling the effects at the grocery store, the gas station and the pharmacy. When essentials get pricey, it's a prime time to slash the nonessentials off your budgets, and we can see that happening, to news and stock consequences, with streaming TV services.

It might take some time clicking around Tubi or Pluto before you find the right next show to watch. But it might be worth spending a little more time and powering through a few ads to reduce expenses. Instead of Netflix and chilling, maybe try Roku and saving money for a vacation.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Weird' Al on Roku: Why it's time to try the free streaming services