So I think I figured out a way to ditch cable
We pay around $150/month for cable. And this Saturday, after the kids went to bed...we gathered some snacks and some drinks and cozied up on the couch. There was NOTHING on...it was sickening. We have been wanting to ditch cable for so long but there are a few channels that we just can't get rid of, and we rent movies off the TV a lot too. We also use the DVR all the time since the kids go to bed sorta late and cut into primetime (haha!)
So I looked into Tivo. A refurbished unit is $99. You need to pay $12 per month for their service...it will hook up to our HD antenna, which was $15 from RS (which gives us GREAT picture, better than cable believe it or not) so we can watch local stations and PBS - which has Evan's cartoons. We can sign up for Netflix - for $8.99 per month and it streams movies right to the Tivo.
I will miss CNN, HGTV and Jungle Junction from Disney. But those just aren't worth $100/month. But I think we can hook our computer up to the TV and watch stuff that way too if we need to - but I haven't looked at that yet.
Oh - and we would keep our Roadrunner - which I think is $15/mo.
So I think this is going to be our best option to save money and keep most of what we want. Anyone else do something differently - or does anyone see a flaw in my plan??
Re: So I think I figured out a way to ditch cable
When we moved into the new house I requested that we go the summer without cable since there is really nothing on anyway. Well, it worked so well that we haven't had cable since. We still have internet so we set up our mini entertainment center (laptop on coffee table with external speakers) and watch a lot on hulu or network sites. It works great. I just looked into adding netflix again since you can stream to a computer I think it would save us on trips to Family Video.
I guess we have to look into hooking our computer to our tv because it would be much nicer to view it on the larger screen.
I will say that I miss HGTV and some other stations but I realized that I would watch them mindlessly. When there wasn't anything on they were my go to's. Now I am more intentional about what I watch and I can still get some of the HGTV shows on hulu. I usually pop one on when I am nursing!
I doubt you would be able to get JUST roadrunner for $15 a month. Ours is $50 a month for just RR.. I think there are lower priced plans but not as low as $15..
You'd still be saving a lot.. so if you think you can live with out it, go for it..
m/c 1/2/08 and 3/12/08
Eve Amelia- Born 2/24/09. 6lb 9.9oz
Natalie Ruth - Born 6/13/11 7lb 6.6oz
I really, really think that's what I remember but I may be mistaken...we do have a slower plan, though. I'll check again before I make a commitment.
I really, really think that's what I remember but I may be mistaken...we do have a slower plan, though. I'll check again before I make a commitment.
we did that last summer (no tivo) and i loved it!!!
only thing was we couldn't watch the sabres when the season started. so we're on direct tv now.
i loved not having cable- we were so much more productive!
Charlie 11.01.07 ~ Paul 05.07.10 ~ Annaliese 02.24.12
Yeah - when I present this to DH...the Sabres thing will be his big hold up. But I like the fact that I won't have to watch 80 friggin hockey games : ) We'll see!
I just double checked the Road Runner - and I was $10 off...their light package is $24.99 (It's $15 when bundled)
We haven't had cable in years. We aren't sports fans, so we haven't missed it a bit. Netflix + Internet streaming video with a program called PlayOn directly to our TV via a PS3. You do need someone in your house somewhat tech-savvy to set it up, though. Not a plug-n-play solution.
Just an FYI, a lot of Blu-Ray players now offer Netflix capability. We got a simple Blu-Ray player from Best Buy for $120 and now can play all of Netflix streaming videos (there are a lot now) directly on the TV. You can set it up with a WiFi adapter or just run a network cable to the player.
PS3, Xbox, and Wii also all have disk you can put in them that will allow you to access streaming Netflix.
Same here! Men!!!
I've been trying to convince my husband to ditch the cable since we bought our home almost 3 years ago! I never had it growing up and I feel there are better things we could do with our spare time. We bought this new fancy touch-screen computer that is supposed to have a built in DVR and he has the PS3 with the wireless router...so with all of your helpful information maybe I'll finally convince him to get rid of it....just have to find the Speed Channel car shows on Netflix or Hulu, lol!
We got rid of cable about 6 months ago and haven't looked back once. It's been really nice not having it actually. We have the basic of the basic channels (2-14) so we still get all the local channels and have PBS for cartoons for our Godson seeing as he's at our home 45 hours a week. With the home phone, 14 channels, and turbo internet our monthly bill is only about $60 a month compared to the $200 that it was. We also have Netflix and rent movies a lot from the Red Box at Wegmans, but that's still a heck of a lot cheaper per month than cable.
Idk if you know it or not, but most channels have their shows on their websites after they've aired, so you may not need a DVR.
Yeah, thanks - we've had to watch shows like that before if we forgot about something...but we like watching TV together in HD. And we usually just have to start something a little late.
Do you have an antenna or do you actually have cable for those 14 channels? What stinks is that you have to get such a high package of digital cable to get the HD channels.
But now DH is dragging his feet on getting rid of sports - grrr!
They still use the cable hookup for channels 2-16 or something like that. We got that because of the digital switch last year. That was $15/month.
We actually JUST got cable this year after 5 years without, and I am loving it - productivity has certianly gone down at home, but we got an amazing deal, basic cable with all channels to 99 and we pay $30 a month. So its not bad at all.
No antenna. The cable is just hooked up to it. We have some of the HD channels with our package. Idk if we should or not, but we do.
DH kicked his feet and threw temper tantrums about getting rid of the military channel and sci fi. Those were his 2 biggest concerns. Oh and the fact that he couldn't watch Royal Pains on USA anymore, but now his uncle records them on his t.v. and he can watch them when he stays down there for work on the weekends. I had to point out to him how much all the bills were costing us, and the fact that we were paying near $200 for all the channels we don't ever watch. Plus, I told him I refused to pay all that for just 3 channels. It's ridiculous, but afterward, he hasn't really complained about it too much.
It is SO ridiculous!! Esp when we sit there and surf and just end up ordering a $4.99 movie because there is nothing on!!
I hope we can do this! I'd love some extra cash!
Same here. However we enjoy watching some shows together and we don't have a problem turning off the tv. Sure we could save some money but we enjoy it so why change. I feel like tv gets a bad rap but I feel it's just like everything else.....ok if in moderation.