Save Thousands by Cutting Cable TV

Here's a tip from a Bankrate reader who says cutting cable TV can save you a ton of money. Her suggestion:

The best money-saving tip I've discovered is getting rid of that ever-increasing cable bill. When I moved into my new apartment three years ago, I decided to buy some rabbit ears and forgo the cable for awhile. So what happened? I saved $60 per month, $2,160 over three years, and lost five pounds. The rabbit ears bring in seven network and local stations, and I don't even miss cable. Why pay for TV when you can watch for free? Live a better life, turn off the TV.

This is what we do as well -- rabbit ears. We get the local ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates plus PBS and a couple "miscellaneous" stations (Christian TV and WB/whatever it's called now.) That's fine for us. If we had cable, we'd spend much more time in front of the brain drain and I'm sure would have much less exciting lives. As for movies, we have a DVD and VHS player, of course, so we often rent when we decide to have a special evening "at the movies."

$2k in three years is not shabby either. Just imagine what that's worth over 10, 20, and 30 years -- it's a boatload of money. And seriously, who really needs to see a Sponge Bob marathon or show after show on sharks during "Shark Week"?

Comments

[Brad]

If I could drop cable except the ESPN channels and Foxsports, I'd do it. My girlfriend would probably not go for it though.

At this point ESPN is something I'm not willing to sacrifice.

[JM]

Don't over look netflix. If you are patient, you can get a lot of the stuff you watched on cable via netflix that is not available over the air for free. Yeah, there is a fee, but its nowhere near the cable fee.

Also, iTunes can work out to be much cheaper than buffet style tv as well.

For a second there, I thought you were going to advocate downloading tv shows illegally for free, as alot of PF bloggers do when they talk about cutting the cable bill. Kudos for taking the high road.

[tYLER VS]

Yep, my wife and I just cut our cable last week. We've decided to use a portion of the money that we previously spent on cable to support a couple of friends who are training to become campus missionaries.

[sid]

I have a plasma tv , gor rid of cable got a high def anteana , save alot of money....

[Kurt]

Free over-the-air HD is one of the most under-used technologies in the world today. Augment it with Netflix and some Itunes here and there (if you MUST have the latest releases of certain cable shows) and you're done.

I have been wanting to get rid of cable for years now. My wife will not let me, please help!!!

[Ron]

Thanks for pointing this out! Since my wife and I have never had cable in the 10 years we've been married I just figured that we've saved over $7000.00. Not too shabby.

[Lord]

I always like to capitalize the cost to compare monthly costs to upfront costs. Using a capitalization rate of 5%, $60/month is equivalent to $14,400. Is it worth that to me? Not by a long shot. I have a hard time finding anything I want to watch on it. Since I only care to watch 2 movies a month, rental works out better than a service.

[Steve]

Wow, people still watch TV? I cut mine a few years ago. Don't miss it one bit.

[ammbd]

i would far rather cut the number of useless -to-this-household channels that cable & satellite insist on bundling together.

that way we can keep scifi, espn, nickelodeon & the 2-3 music only channels. those are what we watch.

netflix & the library have their place as well.

[BradM]

Tried this last year during football season...I spent more money trying to watch Auburn football than I did having cable. Besides the first 2 games of the season are on ESPN and ESPN 2, not something I could get with rabbit ears! After the football season, cut the cable!

[Anitra]

I've discussed it before, and my husband and I have agreed that we _could_ cut cable, except for one thing: sports. Specifically baseball, which lasts almost 8 months out of the year. If we got rid of the cable, I'd spend a lot less time with my husband, because he'd be going other places (bars or friends' houses) to watch the games. It also allows us to invite friends over more often to watch the games in HD. So when I see the cable bill, I grit my teeth and consider it well-spent. (Of course, there are a few other things we watch, but most of those we time-shift and watch at our leisure; it wouldn't be a big stretch to buy them on DVD instead.)

[justin]

That's all well and good for people who live somewhere that receives over the air signals.

We live in a town of over 60,000 and you can receive one channel over the air. The local University/PBS channel.

[Traciatim]

We cut our cable recently when we move from an Apartment to a Home (purchased) with a yard. The difference in our kids is pretty darn amazing. Far less 'I want' and far more 'Can we go to the park?'. I feel better since we get outside more and have to mow a law regularly so I get more exercise there too. I've come to be baffled by how much time we used to spend in front of the TV and wonder how the heck we ever got anything done.

Keep in mind we have a Wii, a Laptop, and a desktop PC. So there are still plenty of electronic gadgets vying for our attention. Just all of them keep your brain moving rather than just firing ads at your still face all day.

[tax settlement]

Heck, I live in the middle of Los Angeles and I couldn't get squat from rabbit ears. Makes me mad as heck because I don't watch much TV but every so often, I need something mindless to relax. $45 a month+ for cable is too expensive for the once and awhile mindless activity.

[Ann]

I'm with Steve----I stopped my sattelite service 3 years ago, now have time to read 5 books per week, am saving %600-$700 per year, and have lost 15 pounds. What's now to like!!!

[Beth]

I have Sky Angel--a nice mix of faith-based/family/news channels (ie, Hallmark, Hallmark Movie, HGTV, Fox News) for only $14.99 a month. It's a great deal and available throughout the country.

[geo]

i've never had cable and have never regretted it. we have a "no television" rule for the benefit of the kids so it wouldn't set the best of examples by having cable. people are shocked to hear we don't have cable either thinking we have a mental disorder and/or we're cheap; i prefer frugal. and there apopletic when they see we have only one television that is 25 years old. i have neighbors spending as much as $160 per month for digital cable and all of the bells and whistles --- that's just too much money and too much time on the couch!!