Last week we did something we never though we would do. We cancelled our cable, our phone and our internet and figured out a really easy way to save money!
I know..who does that right?!?
At first it felt a bit like we were going to unplugging from the world but when you find something broken, you fix it.
For as long as I can remember we always had cable. We have had these services bundled with one of the “big three” providers so when our Internet became glitch and then totally unreliable we knew things had to change and started looking elsewhere.
What we changed helped us to shaved off $135 off our fixed monthly expenses ($1600 a year) and now we are getting better service than we were before.
We cancelled our service and went with “little guy” actually, “two little guys”. The big company’s will try to tell you that you will get sucky service or that your home security system won’t be able to watch your home without a land line but our service was completely unreliable already.
We didn’t have anything to lose and while we were at it we looked for a way to save money.
So how did we save money?
We are using teksavvy for our Internet are now enjoying the perks of unlimited high-speed for a fraction of what we were paying before. (costing us just under $50/month)
We swapped out our traditional land line for an Internet phone through “Ooma” which includes unlimited not only local but long distance phone Calls within North America, Call waiting, call forwarding and call display plus some pretty cool features like voice-to-email messaging that our regular provider didn’t offer. (costing us $10.00/month)
The only time I really watched TV was when the little ones napped and our own kids have tons of shows they love on Netflix. We already have Apple TV so own seasons of our favourites anyways. When we cut the cable cord and switched to online-tv. We purchased a nvidia shield box and downloaded kodi.tv and now our TV is free. Free people!! (costing us NOTHING, ziltch, zero, nada!)
I will be honest, I thought I would feel a bit sad about waking up cable free. I’ve been in a household that has had cable for as long as I can remember . But I wasn’t. I can still watch all the shows I love but now I don’t have annoying commercials that I have to fast forwarded through…and I have an extra $135.00 in my pocket which sweetens the deal even more!
What tricks have you figured out to save money?
We pay a LOT for internet and adding cable would not make the price go up that much so we are considering it. We ditched cable for Netflix and Hulu… but I feel like we are not saving that much more. Thank you for the tips!
These are some great tips!
In our home, we don’t have cable, but stream our shows. These are some great ways to save money on your cable/internet/phone bill.
Wow! Great savings, you go girl!
We don’t have cable either, it saves a ton of money, and with little kids – who really has the time to watch much anyway? I kind of miss watching the news in the morning, but it’s prob best to cut down on screen time anyway!
We save on cable by not having it. 😉 Netflix and Hulu is good for us! 😉
We have looked but we can’t get Hulu in Canada yet. We have Netflix but it’s the Canadian version so it’s not as good.
I thought I would be really sad not having cable as well! But with just netflix I don’t really miss it. And if there’s a specific show I really want to watch I just pop over to family or friends! It kind of makes those nights like a viewing party 🙂
We just called and renegotiated our service! Got more for less. Woot!
We don’t have a land line, only cell phones here, but with the three little ones, we are thinking about getting a land line in case of emergency – I want them to know how to dial 911 and actually get a person in our neighborhood! But, cable, we cut that cord long ago, never looked back! I can stream everything I want to see now 🙂
I need to check these out, I went 3 years with no cable and just recently cut it back on. Not to impressed with the quality since the money I’m paying is so high.
What great ways to cut costs and save money. it seems like all it took was some research. I love Netflix I think using apps like that are a great money saver when you are trying to cut cable.
Our cable is horrible. We waste so much money!
Recently we wanted to give up our landline, but at the end we lose a lot more money than when we keep it as it goes in a packet with our internet, and some additional channels on TV. These tips are fantastic, great ways to save money.
Great tips to keep in mind! it seems like a very good way to pay a little less every month
We don’t have a landline, but even at that, it’s just so expensive for internet and tv. I’m def going to look into these. Thanks for sharing.
Man, congrats, really! I wish these would work for me in Brazil.
We have saved money by disconnecting our land line. We all have cell phones the land line was never being used. We are thinking about turning off the cable and just watching everything online.
Congrats on doing that to save money! You are fortunate to have so many options that allow you to get away from the traditional phone and cable companies, so why not go that way and save money. It only makes sense.
Love these tips! They are especially helpful this month when one of my resolutions is to stick to a budget
We have been contemplating and tossing up ideas how to bundle and/or eliminate costs with our Tv , phones, & internet. You’ve given us a few more options to choose from now! Thank you for sharing this with us!
This is great way to save money. I like your post, so informative and helpful.
Cable used to be one of my most expensive monthly bills. Thanks for the money-saving tips.
This is absolutely a great way to save. I love saving money for future and for the other need.
I would love to do this. IT cost us 200 plus dollars a month for the bundle and it’s way too much!
So amazing! I am sure you will find better ways to spend 1600
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You did get some great deals there. I’m happy to say I don’t have (or want) cable either. 🙂
My husband loves to figure out ways to save and he’s good at it. We’re in the middle of a family disagreement re. cable. Do we want cable or will netflix do?
We have netflix but we found that Kodi has a lot more to offer.
The kids are big into Disney movies and they can watch every single one of them ever created since the 1930;s on Kodi.
Netflix Canada can’t offer that!
I will have to check into these options, cable is literally raping it’s customers and so is the gas/light company but since I am an apartment dweller I can’t really do solar. I am always looking for ways to save and cut costs!
I don’t think it will be too long before my hubby starts looking into Solar.
We switched Gas and electricity providers a year ago and have never looked back! Our bills are much more manageable.
This sounds like a great way to save and glad that it’s working very well with your household. I would love to save money on bills too. I will check them out.
I can’t believe you were able to save that much! I have to look at other internet and cable providers. Saving money is really important!
What a great way to save money. We also don’t have a landline since all of us have our smartphones.
I don’t even want to reveal how high our cable bill is but we justify it because it is entertainment for us. Thanks for these timely tips.
**snicker** now you have me curious! we were paying $186./month not including our netflix monthly payment or if we purchased a movie. There was a couple of months where we had 4 extra movies at $6.00 a shot. Ouch!
what a great way to save. I have never had cable my entire adult life and do not miss it as i never had it. makes me appreciate it at my moms though 😉
Honestly we are really lucky in all of these aspects. Our internet and cable is included in our rent and my husband’s office pays his cell phone. We just pay mine.
I need to check out Kodi.tv! We are spending ridiculous amounts of money on Cable and I am opposite, I grew up without cable
We don’t have a landline which saves us money but as far as internet we use Comcast since they have the best service and that’s saying something since they suck.
These are great tips on how to save money. I know there are always ways to cut monthly bills.
I have been thinking about taking the no cable plunge. It is such a big expense.
Great advice, every little bit helps. We got rid of our home phone about a year ago and just use our cell phones.
Handy tips! We don’t have cable so we save money there but we also ditched the landline to save money
This is awesome. I only watch TV every now and then and my boyfriend only watches a few games a month.
This is great! We keep talking about getting rid of cable. I am going to check into this. Thanks!
Well done for saving costs this month that is fantastic. I don’t own a TV I watch everything on my laptop so I just pay for internet and it works out a lot cheaper.
We dropped Uverse because none of us were watching it. Saved a bunch.
This is a great way to save. I was just telling my husband today how annoyed I was with Comcast. I can’t wait until our contract is up!
So impressive! While I truly love this idea, I’m not sure I could ever convince my husband, but I’ve definitely thought about it on more than one occasion because our cable/internet bill is outrageous!
Wow, that is amazing! I’ve never thought of going without one of the big guys that bundle our internet and cable (We don’t have a landline and that was an interesting conversation with the Verizon rep). I’ll have to look into this as we are way overpaying – our bill is about $275 a month. Thanks for the info!
My husband is ALWAYS looking for ways to save money on these bills. The prices are way way to high for sure.
Great way to save money. You really got a great deal and a huge savings.
These are some awesome tips! We have an internet phone as well. I haven’t heard of the nvidia shield box or kodi.tv though so I’ll be checking them out for sure!
We have yet to cut the cable cord, but we do watch more TV than you. My brother did what you did and he has saved a TON of money. Great tips here for sure!
Cable really can be such a money-suck! And, if you’re a little creative, it’s totally doable to find your favorite shows elsewhere and save that hard earned cash. We don’t keep a landline anymore and that has alleviated one more expense for us.
I can’t believe the savings! I would love to do the Kodi.TV but my husband is not at all interested in missing his live sports. That relationship he has with sports costs us a great deal of money for cable each month.
You found great ways to save money. I saved by bundling related services.
That worked for me, too. Separately they would have costed a fortune.
We don’t even have a landline, so we only pay for cable & internet. I have a bundle, so I save that way.