For the past 3 or 4 months, hubby and I have been very upset with the cost of our cable/internet/phone. Paying over $200 a month was ridiculous considering that we probably watch 10 channels regularly out of the 300 offered. We did some research and found that even if we cut back on channels, it really didn't make a huge difference in our bill.
Then last month, I snapped. I had a talk with hubby about turning off the phone, internet, and cable for a month to see how it would affect us. Believe it or not, it was nowhere near as bad as we thought. We've been using our cell phones for phones and we bought an antenna for $14 for our HDTV. Surprisingly we were able to get over 40 channels (we watch about 3 or 4) this way. In addition, we did the free trial of Hulu which had a lot of the shows that we watched on cable plus a lot of the old sitcoms and shows that we loved back in the day.
Of course, to watch Hulu from a laptop this means having the right cables and an internet connection. Luckily we already had HDMI cables and I have an app on my cell phone called PdaNet (which is free). I generally use it for a connection when I'm on the road, but trying it at home was certainly an option. And since I have unlimited Sprint, I'm not charged anything extra for using my phone for the internet or streaming. So with everything hooked up, we are able to watch tv and movies. The free Hulu trial did run out, but the monthly fee is $7.99 which is a heck of a lot cheaper than $200. The quality of Hulu is good. The downfall that we have has to do more with using my cell phone for internet access. It is best to wait for the movie or tv show to completely load before watching it. Otherwise, there is buffering and stuttering and that can be frustrating.
Long story short, we spent less than $30 for a month of home television and movie entertainment. And of course if we do this again next month the cost will be cheaper because we won't need to buy another antenna. So on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being very satisfied with the new setup, I would rate it about a 7. This is only because I'd like faster internet for the movies. To conquer this, we may turn the internet back on, but they will have to have a sweet deal in order for that to happen.
Then last month, I snapped. I had a talk with hubby about turning off the phone, internet, and cable for a month to see how it would affect us. Believe it or not, it was nowhere near as bad as we thought. We've been using our cell phones for phones and we bought an antenna for $14 for our HDTV. Surprisingly we were able to get over 40 channels (we watch about 3 or 4) this way. In addition, we did the free trial of Hulu which had a lot of the shows that we watched on cable plus a lot of the old sitcoms and shows that we loved back in the day.
Of course, to watch Hulu from a laptop this means having the right cables and an internet connection. Luckily we already had HDMI cables and I have an app on my cell phone called PdaNet (which is free). I generally use it for a connection when I'm on the road, but trying it at home was certainly an option. And since I have unlimited Sprint, I'm not charged anything extra for using my phone for the internet or streaming. So with everything hooked up, we are able to watch tv and movies. The free Hulu trial did run out, but the monthly fee is $7.99 which is a heck of a lot cheaper than $200. The quality of Hulu is good. The downfall that we have has to do more with using my cell phone for internet access. It is best to wait for the movie or tv show to completely load before watching it. Otherwise, there is buffering and stuttering and that can be frustrating.
Long story short, we spent less than $30 for a month of home television and movie entertainment. And of course if we do this again next month the cost will be cheaper because we won't need to buy another antenna. So on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being very satisfied with the new setup, I would rate it about a 7. This is only because I'd like faster internet for the movies. To conquer this, we may turn the internet back on, but they will have to have a sweet deal in order for that to happen.
Hubby and I almost made it through a second month with the setup mentioned before. We grew impatient with the slowness of using my cell as a modem to watch tv and movies. So we turned the internet on, ditched the home phone, and got a sweet deal with directtv. I plan to put Hulu on hold since we have satellite.
ReplyDeleteOverall, we're saving $130/mo. Not bad. And to help bring in extra dough, we're putting our handywork into rotation for residual income.