Author Topic: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month  (Read 4318 times)

ctuser1

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1741
Went from Optimum, that charged me $165/mo to Frontier - $38.63/month.

The bandwidth is okay, latency is actually better. I work from home a lot, and it seems perfectly capable of handling my RDPs.

Add the $12.99 disney+ and hulu bundle to keep the kids happy, and we are up to about $51.

Optimum is running fiber in our state soon. So that may flip the equation again and get me spending a bit more for fiber.


Simpli-Fi

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 328
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2020, 11:49:31 PM »
Great work ctuser1!

my goal is to optimize fees and subscriptions in 2020, but my DW and DD's seem to not be on board fully yet.

I threw cells in too (since they have internet), and my travel cards, since they have a fee, I travel a lot for work...yet "downshifting" somewhat in 2020; less travel and less pay

internet $10 (10 more months)
Netflix $8.99 (I argue...don't need since we have Prime $10/mo)
Cell phone $3 (pay as you go)
DW cell $54 (she can't let go of data yet)
VPN $55/yr 4.58/mo (everyone has wifi these days...this protects me...at least I tell myself that)
Audible $14.99 192/yr
AMEX travel $195/yr
Chase travel $95/yr

total approx $90/mo $1087/year
2020 savings $482...30% cheaper than 2019

zolotiyeruki

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5603
  • Location: State: Denial
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2020, 10:33:22 AM »
Nice job!

I'll piggyback on this thread, since this doesn't warrant its own:  Our one-year "new customer" special with Comcast ran out, which meant our monthly bill would go from $20 to $40.  Usually, if you call and tell them you want to cancel, they'll offer to keep you on the same plan for another year.  Two years ago, for some reason, they refused, so we switched providers for a year until we could qualify as a new customer again.

This time, they offered to keep us on the new customer discount for another year.  I saved $240 for about half an hour's work.

studentloanobliterator

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 11
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2020, 10:47:07 AM »
I just did the same thing with Comcast, with a twist. The one year special ran out right when I was going to be away for a couple weeks for the holidays. I cancelled on the day I left, and on coming back already qualified for the new customer special again, with zero downtime for me.

Unfortunately for me I can't time it this way every year; in my area Comcast locks you in to a one-year agreement, so I'll have to switch providers or downgrade next year.

Bearblastbeats

  • Guest
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2020, 10:49:43 AM »
Nice job!

I'll piggyback on this thread, since this doesn't warrant its own:  Our one-year "new customer" special with Comcast ran out, which meant our monthly bill would go from $20 to $40.  Usually, if you call and tell them you want to cancel, they'll offer to keep you on the same plan for another year.  Two years ago, for some reason, they refused, so we switched providers for a year until we could qualify as a new customer again.

This time, they offered to keep us on the new customer discount for another year.  I saved $240 for about half an hour's work.

Me and my gf do something similar. After our one year special, whoever name is on the bill cancels and the other signs up. Been about 3 years now no problems.

PVD_Kev

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 45
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2020, 01:09:04 PM »
Went from Optimum, that charged me $165/mo to Frontier - $38.63/month.

The bandwidth is okay, latency is actually better. I work from home a lot, and it seems perfectly capable of handling my RDPs.

Add the $12.99 disney+ and hulu bundle to keep the kids happy, and we are up to about $51.

Optimum is running fiber in our state soon. So that may flip the equation again and get me spending a bit more for fiber.

Love this.  If The Missus could live without cable, we could totally go this route.  That cable box is just a big wallet vacuum. >:-(

PVD_Kev

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 45
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2020, 01:14:14 PM »
Nice job!

I'll piggyback on this thread, since this doesn't warrant its own:  Our one-year "new customer" special with Comcast ran out, which meant our monthly bill would go from $20 to $40.  Usually, if you call and tell them you want to cancel, they'll offer to keep you on the same plan for another year.  Two years ago, for some reason, they refused, so we switched providers for a year until we could qualify as a new customer again.

This time, they offered to keep us on the new customer discount for another year.  I saved $240 for about half an hour's work.

We have a fairly non-MMM internet/cable/phone plan that was once decent (~$100/mo) but ballooned in year two of the contract ($140/mo).  The contract ended last week and now it's outrageous ($225/mo).  I was shocked that their loyalty team could only drop it down to $180.

So starting tomorrow Verizon is again our provider at around $100/mo.

I can't understand how it's profitable for them to screw existing customers or offer new ones such discounts.  I have made this swap about four times in the last eight years.

zolotiyeruki

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5603
  • Location: State: Denial
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2020, 03:14:42 PM »
We have a fairly non-MMM internet/cable/phone plan that was once decent (~$100/mo) but ballooned in year two of the contract ($140/mo).  The contract ended last week and now it's outrageous ($225/mo).  I was shocked that their loyalty team could only drop it down to $180.

So starting tomorrow Verizon is again our provider at around $100/mo.

I can't understand how it's profitable for them to screw existing customers or offer new ones such discounts.  I have made this swap about four times in the last eight years.
It's because most consumers aren't savvy enough (or willing to put forth the effort) to call up and cancel.  I just wish they'd put something in the file that says "this guy is gonna call to cancel as soon as his year is up, so just go ahead and keep him on the plan" so we can both save ourselves the time.

ctuser1

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1741
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2020, 05:48:19 AM »
Almost at one month now without optimum. I am glad to report we are adjusting pretty well - better than I thought.

I was initially afraid the kids will take a "glass half empty" approach and complain about stuff they can no longer get. Instead, they are doing the opposite and taking the lead on discovering what they *can* get.

We even streamed the superbowl through hulu - thanks to the DD1 figuring it out how!!


ontheway2

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 195
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2020, 08:53:47 AM »
Almost at one month now without optimum. I am glad to report we are adjusting pretty well - better than I thought.

I was initially afraid the kids will take a "glass half empty" approach and complain about stuff they can no longer get. Instead, they are doing the opposite and taking the lead on discovering what they *can* get.

We even streamed the superbowl through hulu - thanks to the DD1 figuring it out how!!

If you want some basic sports and shows, you can also get a hd antenna for a one time ~$20 to get all the local stations. We are able to watch about half of the college football games we want, the superbowl, my shows on abc/fox, etc.

ctuser1

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1741
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2020, 09:54:03 AM »
If you want some basic sports and shows, you can also get a hd antenna for a one time ~$20 to get all the local stations. We are able to watch about half of the college football games we want, the superbowl, my shows on abc/fox, etc.

Yupp - that is on my todo list.

Any suggestions which antenna to get? Where? I haven't spent any effort on figuring that out yet - so pointers would be useful.

ontheway2

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 195
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2020, 09:17:47 PM »
If you want some basic sports and shows, you can also get a hd antenna for a one time ~$20 to get all the local stations. We are able to watch about half of the college football games we want, the superbowl, my shows on abc/fox, etc.

Yupp - that is on my todo list.

Any suggestions which antenna to get? Where? I haven't spent any effort on figuring that out yet - so pointers would be useful.

This is a good one, and it's $22 right now.

Mohu Leaf 30 Television Antenna, Indoor, 30 Mile Range, Original Paper-thin, Reversible, Paintable, 4K-Ready HDTV, 10 Foot Detachable Cable, Premium Materials for Performance, USA Made, MH-110598 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSMK580/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KKnqEbTW8JYQ4

ctuser1

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1741
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2020, 12:03:22 PM »
If you want some basic sports and shows, you can also get a hd antenna for a one time ~$20 to get all the local stations. We are able to watch about half of the college football games we want, the superbowl, my shows on abc/fox, etc.

Yupp - that is on my todo list.

Any suggestions which antenna to get? Where? I haven't spent any effort on figuring that out yet - so pointers would be useful.

This is a good one, and it's $22 right now.

Mohu Leaf 30 Television Antenna, Indoor, 30 Mile Range, Original Paper-thin, Reversible, Paintable, 4K-Ready HDTV, 10 Foot Detachable Cable, Premium Materials for Performance, USA Made, MH-110598 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSMK580/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KKnqEbTW8JYQ4

Thank you.

Guy Ensenada

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #13 on: February 12, 2020, 10:05:32 AM »
If you want some basic sports and shows, you can also get a hd antenna for a one time ~$20 to get all the local stations. We are able to watch about half of the college football games we want, the superbowl, my shows on abc/fox, etc.

Does one antenna in the attic etc serve the entire house/multiple TVs if fed thru cable infrastructure? Or does each TV require it's own antenna?

Simpli-Fi

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 328
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2020, 06:12:33 PM »
Great work ctuser1!

my goal is to optimize fees and subscriptions in 2020, but my DW and DD's seem to not be on board fully yet.

I threw cells in too (since they have internet), and my travel cards, since they have a fee, I travel a lot for work...yet "downshifting" somewhat in 2020; less travel and less pay

internet $10 (10 more months)
Netflix $8.99 (I argue...don't need since we have Prime $10/mo)
Cell phone $3 (pay as you go)
DW cell $54 (she can't let go of data yet)
VPN $55/yr 4.58/mo (everyone has wifi these days...this protects me...at least I tell myself that)
Audible $14.99 192/yr
AMEX travel $195/yr
Chase travel $95/yr

total approx $90/mo $1087/year
2020 savings $482...30% cheaper than 2019

$25 iTunes Match
$55 buffered
$45/mo T-Mobile (To $15 plan)
$16/mo Apple Music


Still chipping away at monthly expenses now up to $1114 savings per year.

marty998

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7372
  • Location: Sydney, Oz
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #15 on: May 24, 2020, 04:41:08 AM »
Great work ctuser1!

my goal is to optimize fees and subscriptions in 2020, but my DW and DD's seem to not be on board fully yet.

I threw cells in too (since they have internet), and my travel cards, since they have a fee, I travel a lot for work...yet "downshifting" somewhat in 2020; less travel and less pay

internet $10 (10 more months)
Netflix $8.99 (I argue...don't need since we have Prime $10/mo)
Cell phone $3 (pay as you go)
DW cell $54 (she can't let go of data yet)
VPN $55/yr 4.58/mo (everyone has wifi these days...this protects me...at least I tell myself that)
Audible $14.99 192/yr
AMEX travel $195/yr
Chase travel $95/yr

total approx $90/mo $1087/year
2020 savings $482...30% cheaper than 2019

$25 iTunes Match
$55 buffered
$45/mo T-Mobile (To $15 plan)
$16/mo Apple Music


Still chipping away at monthly expenses now up to $1114 savings per year.

Fantastic work! Well done! Almost a hundred dollars a month - you'll really notice the credit card bill being lower next time around with so fewer debits on it.

MasterStache

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2912
Re: Reduced my cable + internet + tv bill from $165/month to $51/month
« Reply #16 on: May 24, 2020, 06:26:42 AM »
It feels good doesn't? Good work!

I just branched off from our families cellphone plan because my data usage was less than 1GB/mo. Went from $25/mo down to $10. Also our prepaid TV streaming service is going to get cancelled. Kids seem to only watch Hulu and YouTube. Hulu is only costing us $0.17/mo and YouTube is free obviously. Unfortunately the spouse wants to pay for Netflix again. Bummer, she loves her TV shows. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!