Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Cut the Cable

Cut the Cable

Happy New Year!

If you have decided to save significant money in 2015 - about $100 per month - read on... 

As many of you know, I am a former television writer/producer and an incurable news junkie, so this was not a decision I made lightly.  But a monthly cable/phone/internet bill that approached $300 was enough to spur me to explore the alternatives.

In my old apartment I had Verizon's FIOS and loved it. After years of TimeWarner unreliability, I was thrilled when FIOS finally was available in my old neighborhood on the Upper East Side.  I think I was the first one to sign up for the service and when they finally got it right, I was very happy.

Then I moved to my new apartment in Washington Heights and FIOS was not available.  Instead of going back to TimeWarnerCable, I decided it was time to take the plunge.


The first thing you need to know is that if you have a "bundle" and you separate it out, the cable companies will charge you more for each service.  Still, today I have just internet and WiFi from TWC and I pay $44 per month.  I bought my own cable modem/router for $130 (ask your internet provider which one works w/ their system) and now I'm not charged $8 for monthly modem rental fees.

Now TV.  My boyfriend bought me a MOHU antenna (about $50 on Amazon) that pulls in all the broadcast stations (CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, etc.) all in HD plus a bunch of additional stations I frankly can't figure out. Some are in a foreign language.  There's an old movie channel. A lifestyle show.

Once you have your antenna set up, it's time to move on to cable offerings. All cable channels have a website and you can watch programs - with usually a 1 day delay - on your computer, but if you want to watch it on your big screen TV, invest about $35 (once) in a Chromecast or Fire TV stick streaming device.  Plug it into your TV's HDMI outlet and you should be good to go.

To greatly expand your offerings, I recommend a subscription to Hulu for $8 a month.  A huge selection of new and old TV shows is available.  Netflix is also about $8 a month and has a much better movie selection, but I'm old fashioned (& thrifty) so  I still subscribe to the snail mailed DVD's for only $6 per month.  If you are a member of Amazon Prime ($99 per year), you can get some movies for free, plus you get free delivery on all the stuff you order from Amazon

I am a proponent of "borrowing" the codes for HBO GO and Showtime Anytime.  Ask your parents or another older friend who still pays for cable.  You need their email and password.  UPDATE: my cousin tells me you can use the borrowed codes for any site that requires you to identify your TV provider (like CNN and MSNBC).  This is potentially huge!  Thanks, Skipper...

If you like everything in one place and you want to bypass your computer, then you'll want a Roku or Apple TV or Kindle Fire TV device (about $100).  These stream directly from your router so you don't even have to turn on your computer.

The most difficult thing for me to get used to was not having all my shows listed on the DVR service. It's really not necessary because when you think about it, almost everything is on demand.  Missed last week's episode of Modern Family?  Watch it on ABC.go or Hulu.  Couldn't watch SNL? See the episode on NBC.com. It takes some getting used to, but just keep thinking about the substantial money you are saving.

Live sports - OK, here's where I have to confess it's never been my priority, but hey, I do have a son and a boyfriend who are wild sports fans, so I recognize the importance of the genre! Luckily, ESPN has a free website that you can stream.

On the other hand, baseball has MLB.com at a (in my opinion) very pricy $24.99 per month. Football has NFL.com, also for $24.99per month.  It seems to me that major league sports franchises, which have historically depended on TV revenue, are getting into the streaming game.  If you are a die hard fan, you'll have to decide if the price tag is worth the enjoyment.

For financial news, I have a Schwab account and get CNBC for free on my computer, but they, too, have a website.  Bloomberg News is available on Hulu.  Cable news providers MSNBC and CNN haven't yet caught on to the "Cut the Cord" movement, but there's always NPR (radio)!

Let me know how this works out for you.  If you liked this post, please forward it to your friends...and please sign up to receive almostfreeny.com by email or follow it on google.

Keep calm & carry on...Lori Bores


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