Self-employment is definitely on my mind, and I want to be as prepared as possible for self-employment as I can be. I have been analyzing our budget a lot (our budget will be posted soon), and I have been looking for any categories in which we can lower or eliminate our spending altogether. Cable has definitely been on my mind because of this.
There are also other reasons why we have thought about possibly eliminating cable. We spend a lot of time in front of the TV, and we constantly wonder if it is worth it.
There are some shows that we feel that we NEED to watch (Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Walking Dead, and the list goes on forever), but the rest are mainly just shows that we watch to procrastinate with things that we should actually be doing.
Also, another reason is that there are many people out there who watch all of these same shows and save tons of money. Some don’t spend anything, or they spend a very small amount each month, such as $10.
If I can possible save money, then why not? Who wants to spend more money than they have to?
Surprisingly, I have received some flack on the blog lately for wanting to save money. With self-employment, income is not stable, and I would like our budget to be low if we can help it. We still want to enjoy our lives (there are plenty of free and frugal activities out there) of course, but if we can save money and still receive the same value in return, then why not?
What amount do we pay for cable right now?
We are currently paying $57 (this amount includes all fees and taxes) for nearly every single channel imaginable and also for channels such as HBO.
It would be higher but around every 6 months I call the cable company and ask them for a discount, and they always easily say yes. This must be because so many customers are cutting the cord lately.
Would we be more productive without all of these extra channels if we determined cable isn’t worth it?
$60 is probably not an amount that could break us, but I wonder that if we paid for less channels if we would be more productive and maybe even happier in our lives.
With the amount of channels that we have, there is almost always something on TV for us to watch. We pay $60 a month for only 3 shows each YEAR pretty much.
With less channels, I do feel as though I will be more productive. And this is a big reason for why I might want to get rid of cable. Sitting in front of the TV when I should be working during the day just sounds too tempting! If I get hooked on a show, it’s really hard for me not to watch a marathon of it for the rest of the day. I am guilty to say that almost every single Saturday I work on my side hustles while watching a Boy Meets World marathon.
If we were paying $10 a month for what we watch, then we would be saving $50 a month. That $50 could go towards something else that has meaning instead of all of the mind-numbing shows that I currently watch (ahem… Teen Mom and everything else on MTV that I seem to be addicted to).
Related: 16 Alternatives To Cable TV That WILL Save You Money
We do love watching TV.
Don’t get me wrong, we both do love watching TV. I always love a good movie and a new TV show (I’m loving Under the Dome right now) too.
The price we pay isn’t too high, and I believe we pay much less than what others pay. I have heard of some cases where some families pay over $100 a month for less channels than we receive. I have even heard that the average cable bill is around $125 a month, which blows my mind because I would never pay that much. Would you ever pay that much for TV?
There are many ways to save on cable, of which we have done in order to lower our cable cost to as low as we have it. It’s always best to sign up under some sort of “New customer” discount.
Also, always make sure to ask for additional discounts. You can ask for the receiver for free, any insurance on the satellite, free HD channels, free premium channels such as HBO and so on. Also, do what we do and call your cable company every 6 months or so and ask for a discount. This has ALWAYS worked for us and usually takes less than 5 minutes.
What other TV options are there?
Netflix – Less than $10 a month
Netflix is around $10, and with it you can stream shows straight to your TV. Or you can get DVDs straight to your home.
At one point, my sister bought Netflix (I’m not even sure if we still have it, I’ll blame my laziness for not knowing the answer to that), and we would stream it from our PS3 straight to our TV. However, I never really saw too many shows or movies that interested me. I’m not sure if I just had bad timing, but I also only gave Netflix one or two chances.
Hulu Plus – Also less than $10 a month
Hulu Plus is $7.99 per month. I have heard that Hulu Plus is great if you want fewer ads (as compared to the free Hulu service) and because you can stream a lot of recent shows that may not be on Netflix.
Antenna – Free
I hope everyone knows what this is. Find those rabbit ears and put them on your TV. You can get basic channels for free. If you don’t already have an antenna, they can of course be bought at stores for what I’m thinking would be a relatively low price.
EDIT: I now use an antenna so that I can get my favorite local channels. You can [easyazon_link keywords=”go to this website” locale=”US” tag=”maksenofcen0b-20″ link_id=”3628″ id=”52224″]go to this website[/easyazon_link] and find many great antennas – this is an affiliate link, but I didn’t find out I could be an affiliate until after I was already using their antenna. I truly enjoy their product and recommend it!
Amazon Prime – $79 a year, but there are often discounts
There are many benefits of Amazon Prime, such as free shipping, but the main point of including it in this post is that they offer unlimited streaming as well in their service.
I logged in to see what the exact price would be, and it says it is normally $79. However, when I logged in, Amazon said that I qualify for a 50% discount, which would make my price only $39 a year. That seems like a deal! I have heard that there are many different discounts out there, such as for being a student, so please research this. I’m sure most people don’t pay the full $79 price.
Library – Free
The library is also another option, and all it costs is whatever it takes in gas to drive there. The library often has movies and you can rent what you want to watch for free.
Do you have cable? Is is cable worth it to you? How much do you spend each month on cable?
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Hey Michelle. I haven’t had cable for many years now, but I still watch every show I want and don’t miss out on anything.
I do have a off the air antenna and that brings in over 22 channels including all the PBS, Fox, CW, NBC, CBS, Mt local Montreal channels and more. I also use the library for DVD seasons and if need be, I’ll download a TV show or two!
More importantly though – “Surprisingly, I have received some flack on the blog lately for wanting to save money” – What’s up with that!?
Take care and all the best.
Lyle
Sounds like you have a good mix!
And yes, it is a little upsetting that people think that my opinion doesn’t matter since I apparently do not need to save money (this is according to some comments that I have received).
Yes, you are correct Catherine. Luckily we do not have a contract with our cable company and can cancel it at anytime.
That sounds awesome! We will have to switch and do something similar.
I have sooo wrestled with the idea of getting rid of cable, it is such a time suck! Like you mentioned, I spend maybe 25% of the time watching something I really want to watch, and 75% watching stuff just because it is on (and keeping me from other productive things) We pay almost $150 for cable + internet, insane!
Yes, we waste so much time also!
We haven’t cut the cord. Although we pay more than your $57 (which is a great price!), we use it and enjoy it enough to justify the expense in my mind. It’s part of our budget and if and when a time every comes that the price either becomes too high or we stop watching TV, then I would consider the cutting the cord. It makes sense to me with your pending self-employment that you would reexamine all your bills to make sure you can’t lower or eliminate some. It surprises me to hear you say that TV is potentially keeping you from being more productive. You seem like one of the hardest working and most productive people I know!! 🙂
Haha trust me Shannon, I watch a TON of TV. I have a lot of favorite shows and they all prevent me from getting stuff done!
Wow, $60 is pretty cheap for cable. Definitely less than what they charge here. I might be tempted to keep it at that price, too! It’s good you’re thinking about it from a productivity standpoint. If you really think you’d be more productive, and make more money, without the distraction, then perhaps it is worth it to cut the cord. However, if you had any subscription services, would you be able to stop yourself from browsing them? Cable is included in our rent, but I’m just not one to surf the channels and find something interesting (my boyfriend does this!). I usually rent DVD’s from the library and watch when I want to.
Wow, $60 is pretty cheap for cable. Definitely less than what they charge here. I might be tempted to keep it at that price, too! It’s good you’re thinking about it from a productivity standpoint. If you really think you’d be more productive, and make more money, without the distraction, then perhaps it is worth it to cut the cord. However, if you had any subscription services, would you be able to stop yourself from browsing them? Cable is included in our rent, but I’m just not one to surf the channels and find something interesting (my boyfriend does this!). I usually rent DVD’s from the library and watch when I want to.
Haha yes $60 is definitely not bad! And once Boardwalk Empire is over for this season, we won’t have any need for HBO until Trueblood starts back up next June, so we can save around $10 to $15 a month for around 6 months too! 🙂
I think I could stop myself from browsing subscription services, but I guess you are correct also. I’d probably get sucked in!
Yikes! only $60? We pay at least $89/month which includes HBO and Showtime. I need to call Comcast and ask for a discount, because we also pay for Internet services on top of the $89. This is crazy!
At $89 a month, I do think I would want it lowered or eliminated. That is crazy! Definitely call and ask for a discount.
We don’t have cable and enjoy the monthly savings, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll watch less TV! I still feel like I watch too much TV using our Netflix streaming subscription. We’ve gotten hooked on numerous TV series where we watch 2-4 episodes per night, amounting to 3 wasted hours per day! Everyone is different and perhaps you won’t have the same experience, but I have a similar addictive personality and also enjoy watching TV! On another note, we tried Hulu Plus but decided against signing up because we hate commercials and feel strongly that if you pay for something, it should be ad-free. Great post!
Haha yes, you are probably right Kendal!
For me, cable is (painfully) worth it. I enjoy watching sports and I don’t have any other option. The local pro teams are mainly on cable. I don’t feel like going to the bar to watch the games and I wouldn’t want to go to friends house all of the time either. So until the issue with sports and cable is solved, I will be a cable subscriber.
If I were into sports, I do think I would be the same 🙂
We don’t have cable and I think it’s for the best. We pay a Netflix and Hulu monthly subscription.
I think we might do something similar!
We only use the library right now and it’s working well for us. Netflix would be nice too, but we don’t feel the need at the moment.
We want to do the same also. Good job Joe!
$60 is cheap!!! We pay about $130 I think and we don’t even have premium channels. We have Direct TV and we have a slim package but I think that’s just the cost where I live. Yes, it’s worth it. If we were struggling to pay for groceries or in debt NO it would not be worth it but we enjoy it and we can afford it so we have it. I do often wonder about all that I could be doing with my time were it not for being in front of the TV. I really try to balance it and get what I need to do done and I think I do an okay job of it.
Wow $130 is a lot for just basic TV. Can you negotiate?
I don’t think I can ever give up TV. I sure don’t watch as much as I used to, but my DVR records practically everything so that when I do get a chance to watch, all of my favorites are there. My cable bill is pretty high, but it’s probably because my mom and auntie insist on getting The Filipino Channel (sigh)
How much do you pay? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, it’s cheap entertainment for most! 🙂
My library charges a dollar to check out DVDs. Still a good option though!
Really? I’ve never heard of that!