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My family cut the cord to our beloved cable TV. I said good-bye to the real housewives of Bravo TV and my husband said adios to ESPN. (2018 Update: He is now able to watch ESPN. Keep reading for details.)
When our bill spiked up unexpectedly, we called the cable company hoping for some relief. Instead we were told that there was nothing they could do about the price, so we walked away from cable completely.
A funny thing happened when I called to cancel our cable, the company all of the sudden had a change of heart about reducing their price. But it was too late–we were done with cable TV.
And ya know what? We haven’t missed cable TV one bit. In fact, my husband said, “it was one of the best decisions we have ever made.”
Although, he almost changed his tune when be found out that the 2014 Super Bowl was going to be on the FOX channel. We have not been able to receive a FOX signal this past year, but thankfully, FOX streamed the Super Bowl online, so that potential crisis was diverted…WHEW!
But don’t let that crisis deter you from possibly walking away from cable TV too. I’m here to tell you that it IS possible to be entertained by TV, watch sports, and spend very little money.
How to Watch Great TV Without Cable
1. We purchased VHF/UHF antenna for Local TV channels.
After much research, my husband decided on this antenna from Amazon: Antennas Direct C2-V-CJM ClearStream 2-V Long Range UHF/VHF Indoor/Outdoor DTV Antenna with 20-Inch Mount.
He installed the antenna in our attic and ran coax from the attic to our TV lines using the cables that were originally for our cable TV. He chose the attic over the roof due to the cold weather outside, but the antenna can be mounted on the roof.
To get reception of the local channels, he went to antennapoint.com to find our nearest digital TV transmitters and used a compass app on his phone to help him point the antenna in the right direction.
At this point the project becomes a 2-person job. As he was aiming the antenna, I was near the TV letting him know (by phone) the status of the reception strength for each channel. Honestly, the strength depends a lot on the topography and distance of the nearest towers. We have been able to get ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, and PBS, along with a few extra channels that the main 3 networks distribute. Those channels are usually older movies and TV series.
We have had difficulty receiving the local Fox channel, but that might have to do with its tower location. It might help if we moved the antenna to the roof, but my husband is in no hurry to go on the roof and we don’t mind not receiving Fox at this time. (2018 Update: We receive the local Fox channel now. It suddenly came on, so whatever was blocking our reception has been moved or fixed, but we never figured out what it was.)
At the time, the cost of our antenna, stand and 50 feet was about $95 on Amazon.
2. We Purchased a Media Streaming Player
A media streaming player will allow you to stream audio and video over the internet to your TV. In other words, if you want to use online subscription channels such as Netflix or Hulu on your TV, you will need a media streamer. If you are ok with watching Netflix on your computer or tablet, you don’t need a media streaming player.
We purchased a Roku 2 Streaming Player for our family room TV. The Roku is just one example of a media streamer. There are others, such Sony, Apple TV, and select DVD players. I do not recall the exact price of our Roku 2, but it is currently around $70 at Amazon.
—->More about Netflix:
For a fairly low monthly fee, Netflix offers TV shows and movies that you can stream instantly over the Internet. You can watch Netflix from any Internet-connected device that offers a Netflix application, such as a PS3, Wii, XBox, PC, Mac, mobile, tablet or Roku. With a monthly membership, you are allowed up to 5 devices. There are no commercials and you can pause, rewind, fast-forward and replay again and again. The TV shows are not the current season, but Netflix is offering their own original series now, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Our kids use Netflix and it has a lot of children’s programs to choose from. With regular cable, my kids watched channels like, Disney Jr. and Nickelodeon, but with Netflix Kids, there is so much variety they hardly noticed that we left cable.
—->And Hulu Plus:
For a fairly low monthly fee, Hulu Plus works great to watch current episodes of shows that you might have missed during the week.
—->And for the sports fan:
Sling TV is an inexpensive option that we’ve been testing. Sign up for the Best of Live TV for only $21/month. The channels include CNN, ESPN, HGTV, FOOD NETWORK, AMC, A & E, TNT, Disney, and more. No long-term contracts, no set-up fees, and easy online cancellation.
3. We Stream from our Computer, but Watch on Our TV.
Many networks stream their TV shows and if it’s a show that the whole family wants to watch, we connect my laptop to the TV with a VGA cable to watch from the TV. This is how we watched the Super Bowl. We’ve also watched current episodes of Duck Dynasty that the A&E website offers for a limited time after the show airs. Check your favorite networks websites to see what episodes are available.
4. We Watch You-Tube.
There are tons of kids movies on You-Tube and my kids will watch on our iPad. Search for your interests and you’ll find all sorts of movies and TV shows. If you want to watch on your TV, just connect your laptop to your TV with a VGA cable, like I suggested in #3.
5. We Borrow from the Library.
When the movie, Saving Mr. Banks, came out, I wanted to introduce my girls to Mary Poppins, so I borrowed the DVD from the library and we had a family movie night. We have also borrowed DVDs of current and older family friendly sitcoms, such as Full House and The Cosby Show. Just make sure you return the DVD in time to avoid a fine.
6. Skip the Screens and Play Games Instead.
As a family, we have greatly reduced the amount of time spent watching TV and instead we’ve found other things to do, such as Apples to Apples Kids or Go Fish (my girls’ favorite games).
My Final Thoughts
Our initial investment for the set-up was about $150, but we were saving $55 a month when we canceled cable, so it paid for itself after 3 months. We now subscribe to Netflix and we are testing Sling TV, and other than the minor blip during the 2014 Super Bowl, we have not regretted our decision one bit. I read more, my husband loves the documentaries that Netflix offers, and our girls don’t even realize we cancelled cable.
Have you considered cancelling cable? Or have you already cut the cord? What has your experience been like? Let us know in the comments.
Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associate, and if you make a purchase through my link, I earn a small percentage–at no cost to you! You can read the site’s full disclosure here.
I cut the cable cord a year ago as well. My antenna is on the roof and I get many channels. I ended up getting an Over The Air DVR to record some shows – it reminds me of an old-school VCR, but saves to a hard drive. Current CBS shows aren’t on ROKU/Netflix/Hulu so I tape my CBS faves (Survivor, etc.) I could probably figure out streaming from computer to TV, but this has worked great. The only time I “missed” cable was during some of the red-carpet coverage of the Emmy’s and Golden Globes – no E! TV and the streaming they offer on those days is not the same as the TV coverage. I got by – but love love that I am not tied to the cable company anymore. I do have my internet through the cable company. I save $100+/month
I’ll have to look into the Over the Air DVR. That sounds interesting. We use the cable company for our internet also, but we need high speed for work. Thanks for the comments, Kate!
Don’t forget to purchase your OWN Modem, Router, & Extender at Best Buy (or where ever), turn in your Xfinity Modem/Router combo and save another $10/month. You call them and they will ask for the new “MAC Address” that is on your equipment and hook you up for $30-$50/month for internet.
We have been married for almost 30 years and have never had cable or satellite. Two years ago we did get Netflix. We have a large collection of dvd’s. We’ve never missed the “extra” channels that cable/satellite provide.
Laurie – we didn’t have cable when we first got married too. We subscribed years ago when we wanted to watch the Olympics and the Tour de France (back when Lance was racing and “winning”) and instead of canceling it when those events were over, we kept it for years. Right now we don’t miss cable and hopefully never will.
We have been cable free for 18 months and there is no way we are going back. The savings it has created, and the value of being “unplugged” are completely worth it. More channels just gives us more ways to kill time when we could be enjoying being outdoors or spending time with family. We have considered getting google chromecast but even then it might not be worth it to us.
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Jon – I completely agree with your “value of being unplugged” comment. I was spending WAY too much time getting sucked into the reality shows on Bravo channel–complete waste of time LOL! Thanks for the comments.
When we moved into our house 12 years ago we decided to not get cable because we were just trying to make the house payments and we had a million projects that we needed to do on the house. We are still here and still without cable because our house came with a great antenna on the roof. We are looking at moving and I asked my husband if we were going to take it with us. He said no that we would get a new one because they are smaller now 🙂 I laughed because I just pictured trying to get our huge antenna into a truck to move it. We have two VCRs and we record the shows that we can’t watch because there is something on another channel so that we have more to watch later when there are repeats on tv. There are so many other things to do other then TV but it is super nice to have that as an option to relax.
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VCR…I wish we had one of those to record our favorite shows! Ours broke a few years ago. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Alison.
We have been cable-free for a year now and the savings are so worth it! We were able to get basic cable channels for free because we have cable internet. It’s a little-known secret that if you have cable internet, the company has to give you basic cable for free! All you have to do is run a cable line directly into your TV (no cable box). We also have Netflix and I have found a lot of internet sites that stream TV shows. (Like I love Conan and TBS.com streams it.) The kids watch PBS kids and Netflix.
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Katie – Thanks for the tip about the cable line! I will let my husband know too.
Tell me more! I have comcast internet and a cheap antenna that is very temperamental. Great post BTW!
Krista — do you know if this is a law in every state? I live in Minnesota and have never heard of this.
Sandy, we live in PA. I did not know about this either, so you will need to contact your cable company, or research for your state.
What kind of cable did you use? We have desk top pc.in another room.
I am confused? What do you mean by “cable internet”?
Who is the provider?
So after connecting from your cable modem to your TV do you just use your TV remote to switch channels? Thank you
i want to get rid of cable but want to find a way to still watch channels like bravo and USA network i tried Hulu but they dont have the shows i watch. I agree its not worth the money$$ i pay for triple pay 120and its going up to 150 in a few weeks not worth it.
Hi Erika – Have you checked Bravo’s and USA’s websites to see if you can watch full episodes on Bravo and USA? Some channels offer full episodes of shows for a brief period after the show airs.
To watch Bravo you have to have a provider like Directv or some other cable company. I miss Bravo too. Hulu makes it hard to fine new episodes of Housewives but they don’t have other Bravo shows on Hulu.
Hulu has Bravo shows now!
Hulu does have Bravo shows but they are a season behind. Which is really bumming me out since I did cut the cord with Cable and saved 160.00 a month, being disabled and on SS I don’t get that much to live on…even tho I still have wireless internet through the cable company I cannot watch Bravo online. I live in an apt, bought a digital box and tried a couple antenna’s, they didn’t work, don’t know if its because I live on the first floor or what, but it wouldn’t bring in the Bravo channel anyhow.
By the way, cable is the only entertainment, aside from internet that i have…sad but true…still trying to figure it out…lol
Theresa, we used to use a converter box as well but a couple of years ago now I guess when we upgraded to a “cable ready” TV I tried one of those indoor antennas that is a bout the size of a sheet of paper and slightly thicker (not much kind of like a chart with plastic cover). It isn’t always perfect, depending on the weather sometimes or if they are messing with the tower the signal gets bad and I have to move it around but that really isn’t a big deal since it’s so light and not far from the TV. We get all the major stations in HD (as long as the TV plays that) along with local public TV and a few of the major network sub-stations and have combined that with a Roku so we can get Netflix amongst other things. The cable internet gives us access to ESPN app (and others I think) on the Roku or laptop and we can watch that for sports on the TV as well and if you don’t have cable internet but know somebody that does and will share their access info that works too. Actually most cable TV companies give that acess too with varying channel/app availability but they all provide some access for mobile devices so customers can always have access to the content while away from home with their devices. I guess the ability to save it on DVR isn’t enough, lol but mainly I think it’s aimed at sporting events so people can always watch games “live”. Anyway it works really well and very affordably for us, more TV then we can watch and we don’t have to make our way through hundreds of stations and programs we have no interest in!
Try Sling TV.com. For $20 a month you get 20 of the more popular cable channels. You will need to get a Roku box or similar device. There is no contract. You can cancel anytime.
Sling TV is awesome.
I have both Netflix and Hulu which is great with the variety of shows to watch. Also, I supplement with Redbox for the newer release movies. At $1.50 per movie per day and Blu Ray at that, it is a great way to watch newer movies.
We have never rented from Redbox, but there are a lot of newer movies that we’d like to see, so I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
We gave up cable over a year ago when we moved in to our new 17 acre home. Initially, I thought I’d I’d never survive, which was ironic because I didn’t have cable until I was in college! But then something amazing happened, we were never inside! Life had so much more to offer out on our new homestead! We didn’t even notice that we didn’t have cable. We found a handful of shows that we could get with our antenna & we’d watch them if we happened to be home or right before bed, but nothing we cared enough about to give a rip if we missed.
Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t anti-tv people. We love the Brewers & Packers. We sometimes long for some of the cable shows that actually interested us (not many). And let me tell you, that very rare occasion when Im sick enough to come home from work during the week, or during a blizzard on a weekend, or when daylight savings rolls around & suddenly its winter & cold & dark when you leave work at 5:00? Yeah those days can be ROUGH.
BUT, we have smart phones with the internet readily at our fingertips. I get free movies from the library. We rent from the Redbox. We go hang out at friends houses, grill out, watch games & spend time with friends. But mostly, we don’t. It hasn’t even mattered.
I’ve thrown myself into a new cooking hobby & go to exercise class 2 nights a week. When its “nice” out (opinions vary on that in the state of WI) I go running, my hubby goes biking. They broadcast Brewer & Packer games on the radio, so we put a stereo in our garage & listen to games while we do yard work, let our dog run, or have a campfire.
Cable/TV, they’re just not a priority anymore. There’s SO much more to life! Free yourselves people!!! 🙂
Congrats, Maurine, on your new home! I wasn’t sure if we would survive not having cable, but we don’t miss it either. And you’re right, there’s so much more to life–I’ve been reading more. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your cable-free experience.
I could totally go without television and rarely watch it. The rest of the family is another story. The hubs is not on board at all;0) Maybe some day!
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Jayleen – I didn’t think my husband would give up ESPN, but he was so angry with the cable company that it ended up being an easy decision for him.
I love our Roku! We haven’t had cable for years. Thanks for posting. Hello from Thrifty Thursday.
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Thanks for stopping by, Melissa.
Thanks for your review, Kristia. I have long contemplated giving up cable, and with a recent $20 price increase from my cable company, I bought a Roku 3 and antenna to see if that would work for me and if I would miss certain shows (especially the ones on Bravo and HGTV). I can always buy a season pass though. This should save me about $75/month, which is worth it to me, plus all the free time I will have.
Good Luck, Vonetta! I can honestly say that I don’t miss Bravo and was a hard core viewer of that channel. For me personally, when I stepped back from watching Bravo, I realized just how many hours I spent watching women cat-fighting and decided that the break was needed anyway. After you have used your Roku for awhile, stop back and let us know how it’s going.
I just cut the Direct TV cord on Monday. Tired of paying over $100 a month. I got a membership with Netflix and Hulu Plus. Bought a Roku 3 a year ago and finally decided to hook it up. It wouldn’t connect with my TV. Bummer. So am now waiting on an Apple TV device. I was just on the Hulu Plus website trying to watch the Real Housewives of New York episode from Tuesday. It wouldn’t let me. It said you have to watch it through your TV provider. Well, I don’t have one anymore. Do you know if there’s any way around that? Pretty addicted to the Real Housewives shows. LOL
Shelly – I was heavily addicted to the entire BravoTV channel before we cancelled cable. I went cold turkey at the time, but I think Hulu and maybe even Netflix are offering the housewives shows. We watch Hulu Plus through our Roku on our tv, so I’ve never tried watching thru the hulu website and we don’t have a provider anymore either.
Hey Jayle ! We are cutting the satellite TV now and we have a 16 year old so we thought it would be more challenging. We have netflix and hulu as well as the roku which pretty much covers everything except my husband and daughters sports which is major for them. We will be getting an antenna so that will cover Sunday Football. Sling will cover ESPN and EXPN2 and there is an NHL channel you can buy for the Roku that has an annual fee. All in all we will save over $100 a month and pretty much not miss a thing! As far as the Real Housewives on Hulu….. you have to link it to a cable subscriber to get it so although its on it is not available to those of us trying to cut cable.
Thanks, Jen, for your input!
I’m a real housewives adict and hubs wants to cut the cord on satilite TV. So there is no way to watch RH without a subscriber?
I stopped watching RH. Too much arguing for me and it wasn’t as much fun to watch anymore. But you might want to check HULU. we have unsubscribed from that, but they may offer current seasons. Check Netflix too to see if they offer previous seasons. Also, does the Bravo channel allow you to watch episodes without cable? You should check that as well.
I don’t watch RH anymore, but you should check to see if HULU has the current seasons. Netflix sometimes carries previous seasons. Also check the Bravo website to see if you can watch episodes there without a cable subscription.
We haven’t had cable or satellite in 4 years. We use Netflix and our huge collection of DVDs. We also borrow from the library. We don’t miss it. My husband streams the audio for his Auburn games (he just listens to the games while doing something else). The kids don’t notice and we are happy without cable/satellite.
We haven’t regretted cutting cable either! Thanks, Jennifer, for stopping by!
how are you streaming?? to watch Netflix..I don’t have cable but do have a Netflix account…how do I stream
We use a Roku.
As long as you have internet access you can use a variety of things to access Netflix, Hulu and other Apps. I also use a Roku but game boxes (Play Station etc), Apple, Amazon Fire Stick (or whatever it;s called), Goggle Chrome Cast among others or just a laptop connected to the TV depending on the TV (older ones may need a box of some sort). I think at least with most newer TV’s you could even stream through your phone but it isn’t ideal. I will say our Roku is an older one and works just fine for us, I’m sure they can be picked up on Craigslist or Ebay for under $50 at this point. What do you use to access your Netflix account now? You can likely use the same method somehow to see it on the TV screen.
We stopped using cable about 10 years ago. It was not that hard for us. It was before we had our boys. So, the boys have never even had cable before. We are the type of family that encourages reading over technology. Yes, THAT type. The boys watched limited TV and we are super proud of that. We find other things to do like read, play games, go on family bike rides. We have never regretted our decision. EVER. We have rabbit ears. They get all of the channels we need. We also have Netflix and rent movies from Redbox. I’m glad you cut out cable. It’s a life changing experience! They charge way too much, especially for a one income family! I just wish I could find a cheaper way for home phone and internet. MAN! That’s an arm and a leg too! Any suggestions, anyone?!
Hi Jennifer! Around the same time that we cut cable, we also cut our landline and just use our cell phones. And for internet, we switched to a provider for high speed for $55/month. That is only a 2 year agreement and we’re about half way through, so when it expires, I will shop around. Are there several internet providers/phone around you? Call them all and let them know that you’re shopping for a provider and the best deal wins.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
I am currently doing research to cut the cord and I already have a Roku for Netflix and Hulu and just got an Amazon Firestick with Kodi where you can have access to some live tv shows and live sports and newer movies even. I am still trying to work on getting an antenna that will pull the local channels but I’m in an apartment and tried one that didn’t work out very well. I will be looking at saving a little over $100/month when I cancel my cable!
My husband and I are thinking about cutting back and our first thought was cable, so I have been searching for Digital converter boxes for our home and now I’m stuck don’t know how to go about it, I have amazon prime and netflix and one of our Tv’s is a smart tv,our other two tv;’s has a HDMI connection, we are going to keep our internet with AT&T but we want to stop our cable, do you have any suggestions?
Hi BB, I’m sorry, but I’m confused. Are you able to watch Amazon Prime and Netflix right now on your tvs? We have a roku that I wrote about in the post and we use that to watch prime, netflix, and hulu. We have an antenna for for local channels. So we do not have cable, but we do watch a lot of tv.
This is a great resource for pricing cable alternatives.http://www.theverge.com/a/online-tv-stream-price-guide
What has worked for me is an internet connection, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Prime (in addition to programming I get free shipping on all my shopping – I buy all my household supplies at Amazon.com and save a lot of monet), Antenna, and ChannelMaster DVR Plus. I only get Netflix when one of the shows I like gets released which is 2-3 times a year. I added up the price of purchasing the entire season of the 8 shows I watch on Bravo, FX, AMC, and USA on Amazon Prime and figured out it cost less than 2 months of cable.
The ChannelMaster DVR Plus allows me to record anything I get via antenna. I did need to purchase an external drive ($60) to connect to the ChannelMaster to have enough room to record my shows.
For sports. I’m only into playoffs and US Women’s Soccer so I go to my local Sports Bar to watch. It’s so much more fun to watch with other fans.
I have Roku and am saving about $150.00 a month, there is a channel called live stream on there, I typed in my local fox station and I get the news everyday live.
Thanks for the tip, Kathry. I’ll have to look into that live stream.
I love Crackle free app on my firestick with some really ancient shows on that and on my Hulu app, we’re re-living my childhood-and his with some awesome old movies. Everything is in there. So many free apps to watch show and movies on my down time!
I will have to check out Crackle. Thanks for the tip, Dee.
I cut cable four years ago saving $100/mo. That’s $4,800 saved so far and I watch a lot of tv. I have rabbit ears, Roku and Hulu Plus ($7.99/mo but I get it free by using my Bing Rewards.) There are so many channels and shows to watch on Roku and Hulu. I love being able to watch old shows from my childhood in addition to current shows. Cable is a distant memory I don’t miss in the least.
I had to sign up for a vpn service to watch amazon content :(. I used arcvpn, but it’s really silly they can’t just provide me access!
I quit cable in March bill was $178, I bought a Sharp 43″ Smart TV for $299@ Best Buy, haven’t missed cable at all. I now stream got Hulu, just quit Netflix never watch it. There are so many streaming channels for free, Hulu also offers all networks, you click on that and watch whatever network you want. Sling has the majority of cable channels, including Bravo. But…. it’s $20 a month, I’m still in the two week free stages, but I know I’ll keep it. It’s worth it. Total with Hulu, sling, and internet, I’ll e paying about $60 a month. Well worth it. Cable is done when everyone realizes it’s a rip off. I also have a $9.99 antenna from Walmart, it gets $30 channels. Absolutely no need for cable!!! I’m Loving It!
We love Sling. It’s a bargain at $20/month.
What kind of antenna did you get from walmart?
Just cut the cord two weeks ago. I already had Amazon Fire TV to stream content and Netflix. I just signed up for the $25.00 SlingTV package. I get all the Bravo shows LIVE!!! And several are available via On Demand. The SlingTV package has several channels I wasn’t getting with Cable TV such as truTV.
Because SlingTV offers live programming and Amazon Prime and SlingTV offer live news from channels like CNN and CBS News, I do not miss cable at all. As for sports, I’ll have to go up to the Sports Bar to watch the Cardinals and Blues, but SlingTV has all the major sports networks so I won’t miss the Olympics.
We love Sling TV too!
I cut my AT&T U verse back to just the local channels. Saving $65 per month. When my friend hooks up my antenna again I can cut that out. Saving another $20. Don’t miss it at all.
It’s such an easy and painless way to save money!
My husband made our antenna using a 2×4, some wire hangers, and instruction off You Tube. It sounds hokey, but it gets better reception than our other store bought antenna. I’ll share the link for the video. It’s totally worth it.
Also, “smart” TVs have apps that sign you in to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon without having a streaming device like Roku or an XBox. Just a tip.
My husband made an antenna using. 2×4, some wire hangers, and instructions off You Tube. It sounds hokey, but it works better than our store bought antenna! Here’s a link to the instructions:
https://youtu.be/EWQhlmJTMzw
The cable here n south ga is owned by the city. They have monopolized Media Com so most apt blogs must use city cable. They came out to repair an issue with my digital box and the cable man disconnected my VCR. I didn’t know it at the time due to me not using it much. Approx. 1 month later I called to report it and get them to reconnect it they told me they would have to charge me Xtra for that type of call which they claimed was “in related to cable repairs”. So now I have to figure out how to reconnect it w/my ca le digital noc. If anyone have any e parties on how I can do this …I appreciate the advise, bcuz I don’t have a clue. Thanks n advance.
This post was really helpful for me and my son, but unfortunately I take care of my dad and he understands nothing about all this technology. He is 82 yrs and just wants to watch his shows as well. We are moving to a new house and me and my son can no longer pay 200 plus dollars a month for cable we can’t afford it no longer. We spoke about fire stick, roku and just streaming online. I work nights so I sleep during the day, so I can’t help my dad with the TV and my son works 2 full time shifts so he can’t do it either. My dad knows how to turn the set on and change channels lol. Help any ideas ??????? I’m so lost
Rosa – It is tricky at first, but have a few tutorial sessions with your dad and even spell out the instructions on paper. Once he understands the process, he might be able to figure it out on his own.
Streaming cost also. Cut my cable two months ago, took time to recover but after a few months my cable company says I’m streaming more therefore I must jump to next plan they have, with higher GB and so on, seems to me the cable or service you have gets you one way or another. You cannot stream your shows without Internet.
Thanks for the heads up! We don’t stream, because we’re mostly using Sling TV now $21/month.
You made your money back and then some after 3 months. You definitely traded up. The fact that your girls don’t know the difference is a good thing as well.
I REALLY want to cut the cable cord. Unfortunately, I live in the country (in PA) and the only cable that is offered where I live is Frontier DSL. I don’t believe we will ever get high speed internet on my road because we don’t have a lot of houses and some are Amish or Mennonite and don’t have cable. We have DirecTV but it’s SO expensive (especially because we have TVs and cable boxes in other rooms other than the living room). Do all these streaming devices need a “good” internet connection? I work from home and need a reliable internet. I don’t like the DSL because it can be slow and thought of switching to a satellite internet. Does anyone have any experience with that?
Your comments about calling when you were ready to switch definitely make sense. Service providers do become a little more willing to negotiate when you’re planning to switch.
Streaming spends a lot, very helpful post to me and my family, thanks for sharing.
Great tips! You can really save a lot by purchasing your own antenna and aligning it yourself. I use all of your other methods for watching TV as well. Thanks for sharing!