If you find the cost of cable or satellite television skyrocketing too much for your liking, why not consider cutting the cord? Freeing yourself from the monthly limitations offered by cable and satellite television providers opens up an array of on-demand online content. Streaming sites let you watch television, even live television, on your smart devices, and most of them give you free access as long as you don't mind watching a few commercials.

Crackle: As one of the preferred free streaming sites, Crackle has a variety of content ranging from classic television shows to newer series. It even has hundreds of films you can watch. However, because it's free, expect a handful of ads to air during your streaming sessions.

Plex: This site serves as an organizing tool since it takes all of your shows and movies located on your computer or cloud and places them on one server. It also offers free on-demand movies and shows, podcasts, and live television. For an extra $5 per month, you can watch and record over-the-air broadcasts.

Pluto TV: Offering television channels similar to a cable package, Pluto TV has dozens of classic television, sports, and movie channels. You can also view live streaming from major network news channels.

Tubi TV: An ad-supported video-on-demand service, Tubi TV has partnerships with major television and movie studios so you have access to more than 35,000 movies and television shows as well as more than 100 local and live television stations.

There's no better way than starting the new year off by cutting costs. One way you can do that is by cutting the cord and selecting one of the many television-watching apps for your smart device.

Sources: Thepennyhoarder.com, Highspeedoptions.com, Lifewire.com