Ditching Cable ~ Update 1

I recently posted on our plans to cancel our Time Warner cable TV because of the ridiculously high cost. $180/mo for a CableTV/internet/phone package is simply not worth it! With so many viewing entertainment options out there that cost so much less, it was time for us to reconsider how we wanted to spend our hard earned dollars. You can read my original “Ditching Cable” posts here, here, and here.

Last week we finally took the plunge. We ordered our TiVo Premiere XL through TiVo.com. It is the pricier Premiere model, but we wanted the bigger hard disk, the better remote, and the better picture quality, and we figured it was a one-time expense. Their system for choosing your model, any accessories, and subscription plan was slick! We did purchase their Wireless Network Adapter so that the TiVo box could read our wireless internet.

The setup of the TiVo also went smoothly as silk! They have developed an impressive and high quality system. So far we have been very pleased with TiVo. We connected our indoor antenna, purchased at Best Buy, and are able to see about 12 channels, including the 3 major networks and Fox. The picture quality comes in much better through the antenna than it did through the cable!

The next day, we took our two cable receivers and remotes and returned them to Time Warner. We cancelled our cable TV service! They then again informed us of what we already knew, that since the contract for the CableTV/internet/phone package had been broken, they would have to charge more for just the internet and phone. We had them break down the charges and realized they would be charging $45/mo for the phone. So we cancelled that as well! Now we are just paying $58/mo for the cable internet! 🙂

We signed up for Netflix for $10/mo. TiVo has a slick way of connecting to your Netflix account. Everything is easily accessible using the TiVo remote. So we can watch as many Netflix movies and TV shows as we want for that set price! We watched a Netflix movie last night (The Proposal with Sandra Bullock,) streamed through the wireless internet, through the TiVo box, onto our TV. It was picture perfect. No hesitation, pixilation, or glitches!

TiVo is currently working out the details of providing Hulu through the TiVo box. When that happens we will sign up for that as well, to get some of the other programs we like to watch.

We had been using our phone line for our fax machine and for our alarm system. We are doing less and less faxing anyway, as most things are scanned and emailed. If we decide we still need to fax, we plan to sign up with an internet fax company for about $10/mo. The alarm system will now go through their cellular option, which involves another one-time hardware expense, but all of this pays for itself in less than 6 months.

Bottom line, so far, instead of $180/mo to Time Warner and $20/mo to our alarm company, we will be paying $58/mo to Time Warner, $20/mo to TiVo, $10/mo to Netflix, and $25 to the alarm company. That’s a savings of about $85 per month! 😀

If this has been helpful, please share or “Like.” 🙂

14 thoughts on “Ditching Cable ~ Update 1”

  1. I’ve been so tempted to do this too but I am afraid to get rid of the phone service even though we have cell phones. The cell service is sketchy so I worry that I will drop too many calls. But, I really don’t need phone service and we watch most of our shows on the internet now so cable isn’t necessary either. That is a big savings. I am impressed.

    1. Good for you, Joan. It sounds like you never got sucked into one of the more expensive cable setups. Our signed contract was supposed to be a “locked in guaranteed” $110/mo. But the contract allowed Time Warner to add other fees that effectively steadily jacked up the monthly rate anyway. It’s a legal scam!

  2. We thought about doing this, but decided to stay television free. We just don’t seem to care about it anymore. I’m happy you made the plunge and I’m sure we’ll here about this again. Perhaps a review in a few weeks? Hoping for one.

    Have a terrific day. Big hug to you and Princess Gail. 🙂

  3. I did something similar with ROKU. Lots of free channels and I too have a Netflix account. AWESOME! Most times these products seem too good to be true, but in this instance, I could not be happier.

    1. Hey, Speedy!
      Yeah, Roku is a great product for streaming! With so many choices like Roku, TiVo and others, don’t you think the cable companies have to reconsider their pricing structure? It’s only a matter of time before their subscribers abandon them in droves.

  4. I’m afraid this is old news to me. We ditched our cable twenty years ago after the cable men tracked in mud all over my white carpet and nobody cared (stupers at work again!). We went back briefly, but found we enjoyed life more without it. Now it’s hulu and netflix for us. I love “Watch Instantly.” I don’t recommend movies, but recently we watched “The Answer Man” as an instant view. A few F-bombs, but I liked it!

    1. You were (and of course are) smart. I’m glad you avoided the aggravation. We liked the convenience of cable. It was good to have a zillion channels, but we only watched a mere fraction of a zillion. We were upset with the cost for years before we finally gave it up. Another example of how change can be difficult. But we are happier now that we ditched cable. We’ll watch free Hulu on the computer, but will sign up for Hulu Plus when we can stream it through TiVo onto our TV.

  5. Wow. I’m seriously impressed. Right now my internet/TV cable (Comcast) combined is about $85 without any of the premium channels like HBO, etc. I get On Demand movies and reruns of most TV shows so I don’t need to DVR anything. Cut out Netflix to save $, but I miss their selection which is better than Comcast, especially the documentaries. You’ve given me a lot to think about though as I’ll probably be making some kind of change within the next year. Thanks for the education.

    1. I think $85/mo is a good price for both internet and cable TV. We would have kept our service if that had been what Time Warner was charging. Our TV right now is down to the major networks through an indoor antenna, and we do miss some of the other channels.
      I think many of us have cut back on our TV entertainment expenses. The industry better keep a good eye on that. There is a lot of competition out there, and people will find the best value.

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