Any Cord Cutters?

[J Soshae]

The $200 per month does seem high.

Here:

Directv $105
Charter internet $50
Netflix $8

 

[Smokey-smokey]

The $200 per month does seem high.

Here:

Directv $105
Charter internet $50
Netflix $8

Yes, high. Also, my pay did not include internet.

Keep in mind
- prices very per location
- Prices change after some months (introductory rates, etc)
- Price increases if you add any "premium" packages to watch what's already on netflix
- I don't think online quotes include fees, rentals (equipment) etc.

When you add it all up (it is always surprising when you get your first bill considering the advertised rate) you will get close to 200/mo

 

[Domer]

I wouldn't pay $200 either. I have Dish 250 channel and after the introductory year it's $98. Includes the $10 Sports package.

Some people switch back and forth between Dish and Direct every 2 years to take advantage of the first year discount. There really isn't any difference between the two.

 

[J Soshae]

Michigan does sound higher than Alabama. I wonder why?

Those amounts are not introductory. I pulled up some budget spreadsheets from 2010.

For comparison:

Directv               (2010 $90)  -  (2014 $105)
Charter internet  (2010 $50)  -  (2014 $50)
Netflix                (2010 $12)  -  (2014 $8 )

Charter wants to lock customers in at $55.00 per month. By making a 15 minute phone call once per year and threatening to cancel, we are able to keep the $50 per month rate. So a savings of $60 per year for 15 minutes effort.

 

[idbowman]

The $200 per month does seem high.

Here:

Directv $105
Charter internet $50
Netflix $8

It thought the same thing...I'm on Time-Warner for Cable and Internet ($130/mo total), Netflix ($12/mo), Amazon Prime (equiv. $8/mo). So I'm at $150/mo ($1,800/yr) for television, movies, and internet. Not that I'm thrilled to shell out $1,800, but we do make good and frequent use of those services, so I'm ultimately ok with it.

 

[Smokey-smokey]

The $200 per month does seem high.

Here:

Directv $105
Charter internet $50
Netflix $8

It thought the same thing...I'm on Time-Warner for Cable and Internet ($130/mo total), Netflix ($12/mo), Amazon Prime (equiv. $8/mo).  So I'm at $150/mo ($1,800/yr) for television, movies, and internet.  Not that I'm thrilled to shell out $1,800, but we do make good and frequent use of those services, so I'm ultimately ok with it.

I don't know about Michigan, but at least my area. That's what I was paying.
It boils down to what Idbowman said: do you have the use for it?

100 +/- per month spent in something you'll use above all else? sure
In my particular case, no, I can get away cheaper. I guess if I was a football fan I'd consider cable.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Fios in Philly is:

$75 for TV
$46 for Internet
$19 for HBO
$32 for 2 boxes (one DVR)
$15 in fees


But wait!!! I do save $5 for bundling TV and Internet.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I just pulled up this month's TWC bill.. $129.78 includes one cisco dvr and one cisco desk top box. 170+ channels, including multiple espns, mlb, hgvt, food, usa, amc, on demand, etc.. etc. and internet, I provided 2 wireless aps. Prime's first year was free with a Kindle purchase the the 2 day shipping sold me and I re-upped at $99 a year. my Kindle has an HDMI out port I can watch movies, youtube, whatever in HD by simply putting the kindle close to the tv and accessing the internet wirelessly. I could also have a land-line included in that price but declined as I have no interest in a land-line

 

[puros_bran]

Smokey that was just one small part of it.. I was just trying to show that there are in fact laws requiring them to carry certain channels. Theres much more...if you want to go further examine the Must Carry Laws or Dig into the C-Span must carry battle. Or the nonsense QVC/HSN pulled to get designated as a 'local channel'.

It's even crazier on the Satellite side. In order to provide ANY local channel they are required to air EVERY local channel down to and including minor low power school stations and what not.

 

[kaitlyn3837]

I only used netflix and hulu for 2 years. We recently moved into a new house and took the plunge to bundle internet with cable (because there was an introductory offer of course). It comes out to about $80 a month, which is fine for our budget. Before we were trying to save by not using cable but between my MLB yearly, Netflix monthly, and UFC monthly subscriptions, it's pretty much the same cost. And I must say it is really nice to be able to watch the news and Sportscenter again!

 

[idbowman]

I only used netflix and hulu for 2 years. We recently moved into a new house and took the plunge to bundle internet with cable (because there was an introductory offer of course). It comes out to about $80 a month, which is fine for our budget. Before we were trying to save by not using cable but between my MLB yearly, Netflix monthly, and UFC monthly subscriptions, it's pretty much the same cost. And I must say it is really nice to be able to watch the news and Sportscenter again!

You know, as much I want to NOT like ESPN, I can't help myself.

 

[kaitlyn3837]

I only used netflix and hulu for 2 years. We recently moved into a new house and took the plunge to bundle internet with cable (because there was an introductory offer of course). It comes out to about $80 a month, which is fine for our budget. Before we were trying to save by not using cable but between my MLB yearly, Netflix monthly, and UFC monthly subscriptions, it's pretty much the same cost. And I must say it is really nice to be able to watch the news and Sportscenter again!

You know, as much I want to NOT like ESPN, I can't help myself.

I know! ESPN can be a time suck but it's nice to be able to keep up with the sports that matter to me in one spot, rather than scouring the internet for each individual team/sport for the latest information.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

I only used netflix and hulu for 2 years. We recently moved into a new house and took the plunge to bundle internet with cable (because there was an introductory offer of course). It comes out to about $80 a month, which is fine for our budget. Before we were trying to save by not using cable but between my MLB yearly, Netflix monthly, and UFC monthly subscriptions, it's pretty much the same cost. And I must say it is really nice to be able to watch the news and Sportscenter again!

You know, as much I want to NOT like ESPN, I can't help myself.

ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 are available online via the Watch ESPN app. You can stream them through Roku or Fire TV (I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I use). You need a participating provider, which, fortunately for me, Fios is.

 

[TMacphersonNH]

Ain't got no TV at all. There's too many time-sucks in my life as it is.

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Going on 2 years and no TV.  Internet for news and Netflix for movies.  


^^^^^^^^^this for me too. No TV here on the mountain. Just an iMac for Netflix and Internet access.

 

[puros_bran]

That by definition is cord cutting.

 

[Briarbabe]

I cut the cord years ago, and haven't looked back. I have Netflix, the sweetie has Hulu. In fact, our tv finally kicked the bucket about three weeks ago and we haven't bothered to replace it. To be honest, other than for watching movies, I'd be surprised if we do replace it.

 

[BriarFox]

We cut the cord earlier this year. I was tired of paying so much for a bunch of crap. We get the local CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, WB, PBS, and a few others on a digital antenna. We have a Sony streaming box on the TV in the sunroom and purchased a Amazon Fire TV box for the TV in the family room. Paid for Amazon Prime (which has already paid for itself in shipping costs) and have a Netflix subscription. With the money saved (around $100 month) I purchased a Chromebook which has an HDMI port. I can connect it to the TV and stream directly off the internet for which the streaming boxes can't do. Typically this is from the TV stations web page where you can stream things they day after they air. I also purchased this season of The Walking Dead on Amazon Prime. It was the only show I really watched when we had cable/Dish?Directv. I paid $26 to stream it and just have to wait until the day after it airs on AMC.

We (the whole family) do not miss cable one bit. We still have internet through Charter and they will probably raise internet rates as more people get tired of the high bills for little in return. Fortunately there isn't the monopoly on ISP's like there is for cable/satellite.

 

[deathmetal]

Anyone else take the plunge yet?

Never really was a big fan of television, or most movies, so it was an easy choice. Did it decades ago now. I've since sometimes had cable because it was cheaper, but found it went mostly unwatched. With 99% of entertainment being the mental equivalent of the worst aro on earth, it's not hard to pass it up.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

It's been nearly a year since I started this thread. I did take the plunge...sort of. Fios let me drop my plan to internet and local TV, this allowed me access to HBO which they through in for free. We don't watch the HBO channels, but we do use HBO Go on Roku and Amazon Fire. So far I have no real complaints. I save about $125/ month and we watch about as much TV as we always have - we just choose what we want to watch vs. watching whatever might be on. We do subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and MLB.tv, but I subscribed to all but Hulu before dropping cable as it was. Sometimes try to watch sports gets a bit frustrating, but never so much that I consider going back.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

12 bucks a month for a landline, 1o bucks a month for what is called DSL, and my satellite dish that I tune myself for mobile internet. Rode that wave of entertainment without participation when the kids were home.

Done with that now.

Music, books, thoughts, clouds. These and forums are now my best bet for entertainment........