Oh, man do I love TV. I worked in the TV business for nearly a decade as a reporter. Nothing like the rush of deadlines and being on the scene and being in front of thousands of people’s lives. So it always surprises people when I tell them I cut the cord.
I not only cut the cord, but I also chopped it up into tiny pieces and put it in the fireplace and spread its ashes deep into the ocean. If you love money then you should do the same, especially if you have any debt issues.
When you break down the number of money people pay and how much they watch TV it costs very little, but the problem is TV addiction. It is such a time killer. So yes, the cost is pennies based on how much people watch but you should be more responsible with that time instead of plopping down on the couch each night for hours. It’s even worse for kids in front of the TV and the hours upon hours they spend. We can all use our time a bit better.
How Much Did We Save
Anyways, let us talk cold hard cash. TV is expensive and getting worse. Have you ever had any TV company call and offer you a discount or have you received notice upon notice for another price hike? I know, we’ve all been there before. We get the same channels and yet the price continues to go up unless you threaten to leave and then maybe there will be a concession, but it usually isn’t permanent. And then they get into disputes with the channels and pay and you end up losing out on channels and yet still charged the same amount.
My initial satellite bill was $25 a month, but surprise when the bill comes that it was above $35 because of DVR and taxes. Didn’t get that information in the initial sign-up. Then the 2nd year comes around the bill kicked up higher because the first-year special is over. Then the next year it goes up and then again and again. When we received our bill and it was over $70 that was it. I called up and said we were done. The funny thing is they didn’t even fight to keep us. I gave up my sports and ESPN. My wife gave up her Food Network and HGTV and you know what…it was no big deal.
But you know what is a big deal? The 1,200+ dollars we have saved in the last year and a half. Why didn’t we do this earlier?! Well, we felt like we couldn’t make the break. The same reason my parents won’t give up their home phone landline. It’s just always been that way and it’s hard to make a change.
Other TV & Show Options
Just because you don’t have cable or satellite doesn’t mean you have to throw all your TVs away or give up watching shows. The regular way of TV is getting disrupted on a regular basis by new technology.
We have a Roku box and there are plenty of channel options on Roku. There are many other options like Roku as well. Of course, there are several popular channels such as Netflix and Hulu which start at $8. (Some pricing is starting to go up). We like Netflix because of the selection of TV, movies, and kid shows.
Sometimes you just scroll through forever looking for new stuff, but there is always a good TV series that we have never watched and you can just watch as much as you want without commercials or waiting for the next show to come out a week later. (We like White Collar and now my wife is hooked on Royal Pains.) They are pretty much all there in the series. Kind of nice to have the option of 100 shows all at once.
There are over-the-air options with rabbit ears and other antennas that are an option as well.
Apps
If you have a tablet there are several apps where you can watch as well. CBS and NBC have great apps. CW is okay, but the content is more of an issue. ABC has one but the quality has gone down due to them wanting you to sign in to show a TV provider (which makes no sense since ABC is an over-the-air channel) and the reason why the app rankings are so low. However, usually, you can watch one show if you wait a week after it has aired. FOX does the same but with a show option unless you have a provider to sign in with so it’s worthless. PBS also has an app if you enjoy public broadcasting and they have one for children called PBS kids.
USA, Comedy Central, A&E, Disney Channel, History, Discovery, ABC Family, and Conan all have good apps where you can watch at least a few past shows. Some will require sign-on but since it’s the cable I don’t have much of an issue with that. It’s a premium service, but after a year it’s going to end up on Netflix anyways. But many of these will let you watch a few shows and Conan is just always available.
With apps you will have commercials just like regular TV, sometimes you watch the same commercial over and over, but hey it’s free TV so I can handle a couple of commercials.
Streaming TV
Aereo is out of business at the moment. They provided over-the-air online options and a DVR service for a small price. A recent Supreme Court decision put them out of business but the disruptive model they came out with is the future of TV. Everything eventually will be streaming. Why have a satellite if everything can be delivered through an app on your phone or tablet? I could see a day with an a-la-carte option of apps people are willing to pay for with streaming instead of the bulk packages.
Changing Habits
My little daughter has no idea what regular TV is because she hasn’t really had it. When we travel and stay in hotels she doesn’t understand why she has to watch commercials or why she can’t watch a different show in the series or rewind it. She is used to Netflix and being able to start and stop shows and jump around on demand. She also prefers to watch on a tablet than a TV which I just find more interesting, but this is a smartphone/tablet generation. It should terrify traditional TV and media because viewing habits and ways to consume media are going to radically change.
Healthy Life
The extra money is great, but even better is the extra time. It’s amazing once you break the habit of TV watching to see how much more time you have. I work out much more and get outside a lot more. Then seeing the extra money in the account just seals the deal. I do miss out on live sports, but hey the neighbors always have their big screen to watch…until they cut the cord as well.
We wish we have cut the cord sooner. Have you cut the cord? Any other apps or ways to get your TV fixed that you would suggest? Can you not give it up? Any shows or series you would recommend to others on Netflix?
