Got rid of cable, it's almost been a year!

[MikeTaylor]

If we're at home, media content-wise we're either on the computer, tablet, or smart phones. Otherwise, we're busy doing other things. So, we decided to bite the bullet and dropped the hassle of cable. Our smart TV (or other electronics hooked up to the TV) connects to Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc. so the transition was fairly easy, at least for us. We get a ton of snail mail for offers and come-back-to-us-marketing, but we're happy.

Depending on where you live and what your carrier/connection/package is currently, I'm sure you can save anywhere from $45-$250 a month (just on television) and that equates to $540-$3,000 a year. So, on the bottom end, that translates to 5 nights at a Value Resort and at the top end, 5 nights at a Deluxe. Seeing cable in a different light now? Do you really need your extra sports add-on?

It's all about priorities and if your favorite show(s) is(are) more important than your vacation, then that's your personal decision (and nobody's judging). To us, it just seemed like an easy way to save money, especially for something we weren't using as much as we used to use.

 

[pklein09]

We're going on 3 years without it. I did buy digital rabbit ears after Hurricane Sandy came through for the local news. We have Netflix, Apple TV, and everyone has a personal device. I can't imagine why I would ever go back to cable. We have 4 teenagers in the house, and they never complained. We only had the "expanded digital basic" package, so my savings per month was about $70.00. I'd like to say that savings went towards Disney, but it went towards more expensive teenager activities (i.e. band and choral trips).

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We just disconnected yesterday. I do feel like we will probably get it back for my husband once football season starts again but at least we will save and do a little experiment for the next 7 months

 

[Southernmiss]

I could easily give up cable tv, but dh loves sports of al types. Cable tv is his one outlet. Doesn't hunt, fish, golf or run around with the guys. When his groom's cake at our wedding 25 years ago was a 'couch potato', I knew it would be hard. Lol He works hard and if t.v. is his only vice, then I'll keep him.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I wish I could do this, but it's exactly the sports thing that gets us. I have a husband and two sons who would be completely lost if they couldn't watch the games or tune in to Sports Center! Believe me, even another vacation isn't worth a full year of dealing with the three of them!

There's no way around that, is there? I know I could get an antenna for local channels and maybe catch some of the games. But they like flipping between the different ones. And we don't have a sports package per se, but we get ESPN, NESN, Fox Sports, etc. So they see more games and all the talk show/analyst stuff that they love.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Yep. Thought about disconnecting but then I get preemptive sports withdrawal and I chicken out.

Plus my television add-on is relatively cheap. I think it's about $40 more than just my level of Internet. To really save, I'd have to get lower speed internet which isn't going to happen.

While I'm sure I could come up with something to spend and extra $480/year on, it certainly wouldn't pay for a vacation.

If I couldn't afford to vacation then I'm sure I would consider cutting a lot out of my budget, but I'm thankful I can afford both so I enjoy my football and vacations!

 

[puffkin]

We looked into it, but if I get out of my internet/cable bundle it really isn't worth it for us. My internet would go up about $40/month to stay at the highest speeds. Then add in a subscription to netflix, possibly hulu, etc and that is another $20/month. So that basically makes my TV savings about $30/month.

Then add in the sports factor, and I would have a revolt on my hands from DH and DS8. It just isn't worth the paltry savings in our books to cut the cord. I will admit though, we aren't home much, but when we are, we watch a lot of TV.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Depending on where you live and what your carrier/connection/package is currently, I'm sure you can save anywhere from $45-$250 a month (just on television) and that equates to $540-$3,000 a year. So, on the bottom end, that translates to 5 nights at a Value Resort and at the top end, 5 nights at a Deluxe. Seeing cable in a different light now? Do you really need your extra sports add-on?

People really spend $250 a month JUST on television????? My bill is admittedly high at $170 a month, but that's for all three--land line (which I just can't cut the cord), high-speed internet (which I need for work), and TV. Even if I did cut the cable TV portion, I'd still have a hefty bill. Then I'd have to add in Netflix or Hulu or both and end up not saving nearly as much.

 

[havaneselover]

People really spend $250 a month JUST on television????? My bill is admittedly high at $170 a month, but that's for all three--land line (which I just can't cut the cord), high-speed internet (which I need for work), and TV. Even if I did cut the cable TV portion, I'd still have a hefty bill. Then I'd have to add in Netflix or Hulu or both and end up not saving nearly as much.

I'm at $145 for internet, cable, and phone. Dropping cable won't save me much and I like hgtv, bravo, and cable news. I saw dish network was offering sling for $20 but that would save me almost nothing and reduce my channels by 90%.

 

[sherlock14]

Well, I "cut the cord" in regard to Cable TV about a year ago. Just kept the internet at $59.95/ month. My cable bill was over $130.00 per month prior to cutting the cord.

Went out and purchased an inexpensive digital antenna so I still am able to view all the local channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.. I also have Amazon Prime and HuluPlus where I can access TV shows and a scad of movies.

Figuring all, I'm saving about $75.00 per month /$900 per year. As for landline telephone, I cut that cord over 20 years ago. Save lots of $ not having a landline phone.

.

 

[MikeTaylor]

People really spend $250 a month JUST on television????? My bill is admittedly high at $170 a month, but that's for all three--land line (which I just can't cut the cord), high-speed internet (which I need for work), and TV. Even if I did cut the cable TV portion, I'd still have a hefty bill. Then I'd have to add in Netflix or Hulu or both and end up not saving nearly as much.

As an example of an unnamed service provider off of their website:
$80 for 200+ channels and DVR for 12 months, $20 price increase at months 13-26.
An extra HD box (plus one for "free") is an extra $35.25.
An additional $12.75 for a 3rd HD box.
All combined premium channels are $53.
Cheapest sports package for extra channels is $9.
= $190.00 for everything listed.

NBA is $200 and NHL is $167 for full seasons, playoffs are $50 extra. MLB should be around $125 for a full season, with $25 for Spring Training.

...add any one of those and your bill is $315-$390.
...I'm sure there's more hidden fees they'll end up getting you to pay, also.

I was actually being conservative.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Well, I "cut the cord" in regard to Cable TV about a year ago. Just kept the internet at $59.95/ month. My cable bill was over $130.00 per month prior to cutting the cord.

Went out and purchased an inexpensive digital antenna so I still am able to view all the local channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.. I also have Amazon Prime and HuluPlus where I can access TV shows and a scad of movies.

Figuring all, I'm saving about $75.00 per month /$900 per year. As for landline telephone, I cut that cord over 20 years ago. Save lots of $ not having a landline phone.

.

You're not that far from me and every single night I put TV on I wonder why I'm paying all this money for this. In the past at least they would give you a free movie every month, remember back in the day when you would get a booklet in the mail showing the new movies coming out each month. Now they expect you to buy them too. And the commercials are insane, even on cable channels, what's up with that. You watch more commercials than you get actual TV time it seems. If I can get my husband to do this I would really love to.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

...I am counting the days. It won't be a great savings since we have Dish at the lowest (secret) package $23 after taxes. We stream almost every program on Netflix, Amazon.

The only programming we have watched on the satellite is PBS and BabyFirsttv. (And those are available online)

 

[newfangled]

Hubby and I are "cord-cutters" too. Apple TV, Netflix, and online streaming from the networks is fine for us (we are not into sports).

I've been meaning to get some rabbit ears to pick up local news live (for convenience and in case of hurricane), but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I don't miss it. I do pay for the highest Internet speed available from my provider...and I have a VOIP phone line for work (work from home). We also have a network extender since cell phone service isn't usable at our house (text is about all you can get through and you better not try to send or receive photos). The bad part of this arrangement is that if the Internet is down ... you suddenly feel very isolated (I would have to get in my car and turn on the radio to get news from "the outside world").

I was forced to have Comcast at the apartment we rented before we moved here...never never never again.

 

[ICF]

People really spend $250 a month JUST on television?????

not really...maybe someone does, but they are in the vast minority.

My Direct TV bill is about $100 w/4 HD tvs w/DVR and no premium channels...it a bit higher during baseball season thanks to MLB extra innings.

To get that high you would need lots of sports packages and all the movie channels.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

As an example of an unnamed service provider off of their website:
$80 for 200+ channels and DVR for 12 months, $20 price increase at months 13-26.
An extra HD box (plus one for "free") is an extra $35.25.
An additional $12.75 for a 3rd HD box.
All combined premium channels are $53.
Cheapest sports package for extra channels is $9.
= $190.00 for everything listed.

NBA is $200 and NHL is $167 for full seasons, playoffs are $50 extra. MLB should be around $125 for a full season, with $25 for Spring Training.

...add any one of those and your bill is $315-$390.
...I'm sure there's more hidden fees they'll end up getting you to pay, also.

I was actually being conservative.

I doubt many people are paying for all those things. And you did add in full season sports packages as a monthly charge. If NBA is $200, for example, you're not adding $200 to your bill every month. You're actually adding $200 divided by 12 months or $16.66 per month. And most people who do cut cable end up adding a streaming service--Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.--so you have to add that expense back in.

I guess my thought is not too many people are going to fund an entire vacation by simply cutting out their TV expense.

Of course, saving something is better than nothing, but few people are spending $3,000 a year on cable!

 

[AquaDame]

We haven't had TV since 2008ish (honestly I forget, maybe earlier). We do not subscribe to streaming services aside from one I have for $6.95 a month to watch Japanese shows, which I would not be able to get via a cable service anyway. I think once in that time when we cancelled and resigned up for internet we were given it for free for x number of months but we still didn't use it much - I don't miss it. We can stream the sports we want or can go to a bar or watch it at someone else's house which is more fun/social for us anyway.

Recently I've been considering going a week a month with zero TV or movies.... it always feels like I am behind with housework - basics get done but I never seem to get around to deep scrubbing - and crafts or just so darn busy yet we find time for shows. I think once the weather improves and we can get to work on fixing up our yard we'll pull the literal plug and see how we feel then.

 

[nickle831]

We cut the cord last month. We were paying $112 a month just for directv. I kept my internet and increased the speed and am paying $60 for that, no land line. We use netflix/hulu/amazon and antenna.
It has been an adjustment for my husband more so learning to navigate the different streaming sites but he's doing okay.
I hate not having dvr for the shows on local channels, but I have to remind myself I can watch on hulu if I really wanted to wait. That I don't have to watch right when it comes on.
So over all I am glad we got rid of cable but it has been an adjustment to get used to.

 

[christineann]

I dropped my (basic) cable almost two years ago, and except for football season, I really don't miss it. My kids got me a Kindle Fire and Amazon, and I watch movies and older shows on that.

Cutting out cable is a great way to save money if you need to do so. I love not paying that bill every month. Remember when cable was less than $12??

 

[Ranger111]

I dropped my (basic) cable almost two years ago, and except for football season, I really don't miss it. My kids got me a Kindle Fire and Amazon, and I watch movies and older shows on that.

Cutting out cable is a great way to save money if you need to do so. I love not paying that bill every month. Remember when cable was less than $12??

ACK, I remember paying 9.99 for cable, way back when....but then, again, I remember 13-cent a gallon gasoline and dial telephones

I cut cable back in 1994 when they went to $39/month. Never looked back. I do miss not being able to get things like the Rose Bowl football game, but, am not going to be blackmailed.

I travel a lot for business and even in the hotels, which for the most part have every channel there is (except for the Vegas hotels, which want you out of the room and in the casino), I still don't find much of interest.

My daughter just moved to Minnesota this week (and she loves that -50 weather), but I sent along a Mohu antenna and a cheap TV. She's used to the no-cable life. All she wants to watch is the local news, mostly.