Thursday, January 15, 2015

Cutting the cord

G-man and I have done alot of talking about what will happen after the move.  It is so frustrating to have so many unknowns right now, so the majority of our conversations are speculative or contingent on something else.  All it is right now...is talk.

I took the opportunity one night to re-visit the cable discussion. Currently we have the formerly-known-as AT&T U-verse (they were sold off here in CT and is now known as Frontier).  Our package is the "U200," which a lower tier package.  But for us, it is all we need....no premium channels or sports packages.  The one or two channels we see on the guide but don't have....not worth the money.  We have 2 receivers (family room and master bedroom), and an 80-hr DVR which allows you to record up to 4 channels at a time.  And it is bundled with the internet.

The amount of taxes on this is ridiculous.  I would have to look at the bill...but I would venture it is at least 20%.  Just to have the privilege of having cable.  We pay about $120 a month for all of this.

I am a self-proclaimed tv-junkie.  The problem with this is I don't have the TIME to watch this stuff.  I record all sort of stuff, and it fills up the DVR, and I can only clear 2-3 hrs of it a day (I usually watch tv from about 9pm-11pm....speed through commercials!).  And my current "nemesis":  Programs that are being shown from the beginning!  There are shows that I am a little late to the party on....and the network so kindly decides to start the show in re-runs from the pilot...so I record that!  And have to dig out of it.

(on a side note....I got to binge watch Breaking Bad, and am totally hooked on Orphan Black now!)

Yeah....this is not healthy.  There are shows that I watch because they are "habit"...not because I really enjoy them.  I record all sorts of stuff from TLC.  It is really pathetic.


We already investigated our cable options for the new area, and they are not great.  Roughly the same set up we have for the same money....except we have to have a dish on the house (already did that...lots of problems).

So....this move is the opportunity to break some of these bad habits....
and save some cash:  cutting the cord.

I finally have convinced G-man to at least entertain the idea of cutting the cord.  Even though he isn't a tv watcher (he usually would watch whatever I was watching and I made sure I watched his most objectionable shows when he was at work)...he was the one who didn't want to get rid of the cable.  But now....we are in discussions.

We are looking at lots of options....Netflix, Chrome, Hulu.  We know we will still need the internet.  But there is a good chance that with a combination of things...we will still get all the tv watching we want, and the cost per month will be less.  We know very little about these options....so we are in the research stage.  Need to make sure we have the technology to support things, we understand the limitations, etc.

I know the kids will have to get used to it.  But I am pretty sure at this stage of the game...they will adapt.  Bossy understands WAY more than he used to.  And thankfully, the violent tantrums are (mostly) a thing of the past. 

So if you have any of these...or others....tell me all about it!  What do you like or dislike?  Cost?  Technology?  I am just at the beginning of all of this!



21 comments:

  1. Hi Mysti!
    LOVE the new look of your blog! I would love to cut the chord on cable, but it is tied to our internet and phone in a 'package' deal. If we let go of landline and cable, internet will be outrageously priced. Seems criminal, but that's where we stand at the moment. I will look into it again, once the last child goes off to college, and it's just my husband and I left. I'd rather spend that money somewhere else...

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    1. Thanks! I am still working on some of the bugs...but eventually I will get the blog looking the way I want.

      I am not sure what the internet only price will be for us, if we go that route. Like I said...research! We have 5 years before Sassy leaves for college....EEEK....that isn't THAT far! But Bossy will be with us for awhile. :)

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    2. Sharon, are you sure it will cost that much? We had ours bundled as well, but it still turned out less after all said and done.

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  2. We have frontier internet and it is acceptable. It is $50/month for our DSL (but I am in Indiana), which includes a Wifi hotspot charge. We haven't had cable for the 12 years of our marriage. We use Netflix almost exclusively. You can hook it up to your TV through a Wii or XBOX, if you have them. We can also hook a computer up to the TV through an HDMI cable for larger viewing. We tried Hulu Plus, but found it wasn't worth it for us. The free Hulu where you can watch current episodes of shows is where we fill in the gaps on anything we really want to see, but we usually just wait for the entire series to hit Netflix. We love a good binge-watch! Good luck with your decision!

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    1. It that computer to larger tv hook up that I am trying to figure out. We have Wii...so I know we can stream through there. But the computer will be in another room, so I want to make sure we can access what we want on the tv.

      I love a good binge watch, and I am sure I will do some of that. Actually, I do now....I don't get around to watching something, and I build up 3 or 4 episodes!

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  3. I can't get DH to cut the cord, but I could probably learn to live without cable if necessary, but it is also tied into our internet and phone bundle. We have had Netflix for about the past year and except for a couple of shows I watch on network/cable tv I mostly watch Netflix. I'll find a series to watch and start from the beginning. It's $8 a month (though I think it got increased a bit for new subscribers). I did have to buy a bluray player that had wi-fi (our tv doesn't have that) but just bought a cheap one for $50. I see now that there are also plug in type "sticks" you can buy now to plug into your tv's USB port and get the shows streamed that way. I also find myself watching whatever Netflix show I'm currently watching on my ipad mini, while I'm making dinner or just don't feel like turning on the big tv. DD also uses it to watch shows and movies while away at college.

    We also have Amazon Instant prime, that came with DD's student prime account. I used that to watch all 4 seasons of Downton Abbey, but haven't really used it to watch anything else yet. We order quite often from Amazon, so the free 2 day shipping has been really nice perk. I might drop Netflix, since I can watch most of the same stuff on Amazon Prime Video

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    1. I am leaning toward the USB port thing, but still learning how it all works. Does Netflix have a delay on new network programming? Like the show is on Monday, but you can't watch it for a week?

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    2. I don't think you can get current episodes of most shows on Netflix right away, unless it's one Netflix produces itself, like House of Cards.

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    3. I think Lisa is right - just previous seasons of shows and movies (but not new releases). I think Hulu is the one for watching current shows the next day or so

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  4. I have same plan with the fastest internet, costs $149 a month... hate it hate but I'm a channel flipper so it keeps me entertained and I cannot give up ESPN or HGTV!! I would like to get faster internet, 18 MB is not fast!!

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    1. I have no idea how fast our internet is.....

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  5. We cut the cord about 2 1/2 years ago. It is wonderful. We first bought a roku box, so that we would have access to Netflix, Hulu, amazons prime, etc. now, most newer TVS come equipped to for that. You will need wireless internet, which runs about $80 a month for us with a landline. We just use Netflix and Amazon Prime. That is it. Amazons prime runs us $90 a year, but we use th free books and 2-day shipping as well as the free shows and movies. Netflix is $17 a month, but we also do 1 movie at a time mail in.

    At this point, we don't need anything else. I know some people have bought HD receivers to get local channels. From what I hear, the receiver runs about $30-$40. One time charge.

    I will never go back. Ever.

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    1. Our TV is older (7 yrs)....which is also a factor in all of this. We already know that we WANT a bigger tv (we have a 32", and most likely our new family room will be way bigger than what we have now....).

      I don't care about the local channels that much. I rarely watch the news. I just need to know I get all the main networks, and some of the cable stations! Like, can you still get HGTV or Food TV, or Discovery???

      We don't have Amazon Prime...but it seems alot of people are liking that!

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  6. I cut the cord last June and love it. I bought an HD antenna (for about $40, one-time purchase) and can get all of the network channels that way. For new cable shows, I usually end up buying them off of Amazon for $1.99'/show and sending them to my Tivo, which, even if I spend $10-$20/month, it's cheaper than the $150/month I was spending on cable. Also, Dish is coming out with a new program soon that will be $20/month, no-contract, that will allow you to stream shows from ESPN, HDTV, Food Network and some others, so I will likely add that to replace the per show cost. It's way better than dealing with Comcast, which was my cable provider.

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  7. We have an antennae and get several great pbs stations and the major networks, plus local for nothing. Anyone can do this. Then we have net flix 9 bucks a month which I love.

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  8. We did this ages ago and we don't miss cable at all. We have basic cable so we get the local channels, and we have internet. We have Netflix and we have Hulu Plus oh and Amazon Prime since that includes streaming stuff too. Initially we bought a Roku so that we could use that to stream Netflix and Hulu and it was great. Then one day we bought a new Blu-Ray player really cheap (like $40) and it turns out that it had the apps built in to watch Netflix and Hulu so that was great! It's actually funny because my boyfriend is not used to DVR technology so he watches TV shows on Hulu instead of DVRing them and it drives me bananas because you can't fast forward through commercials on Hulu (the one complaint I have about them- I'm paying for the service, I shouldn't have to watch commercials).

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  9. I gave up cable for 2 years, didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. I liked the savings more. I re-watched DVDs & regular TV using my MOHU Leaf antenna ($40, INCREDIBLE purchase). My boyfriend has free satellite now (long story, but it's legit lol), but no DVR. So I still don't watch a lot of TV. We stream Netflix (also free for us), Hulu, Amazon Prime through our blu-ray player. I say go for it.

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  10. Just mentioned getting rid of satellite to my husband. We hardly watch TV these days. He was opposed until our internet is faster(we are rural). He NEEDS to watch his beloved Maple Leafs(lose....always :)).

    If it were just me and the kids it would be gone, freeing up $92 a month.

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  11. I haven't watched cable in eons... lol! Finally got rid of it a few months ago. Last year was cheaper to have than NOT to have. Go figure... we have Netflix and it's pretty good. And cheap. lol!

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  12. We still have cable .... we keep talking about switching to a dish or u-verse but it hasn't happened yet. While I call myself a tv junkie ... the tv is always on ... it doesn't mean I actually watch it. I like to watch the news ... in the morning & while I'm getting dinner ready. I like sports. Even though the Packers lost today LOL. We have Netflix, but not everything is on there. TLC is no longer contracted with them, which makes me sad because I WAS watching the Little Couple ( one of the few shows that I DO actually watch). I just finished all 15 seasons of ER - one of my favorite shows ever - & it only took me 3 years LOL. Good luck & let us know what you decide!

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  13. Dish network has a web based service that is only $20 a month. Edith call Sling. You even get ESPN- http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/business/media/dish-network-announces-web-based-pay-tv-offering.html?_r=0

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