Reducing my clown cable bill + improving internet reliability

[ctuser1]

This is more of a brainstorming topic now, to ask for comments from fellow mustachians.

I currently pay nosebleed price for cable: $165/month. Service is through Optimum/Altice. The TV is primarily used for kids shows.

I am planning to do the following:
1. Cut the TV. Keep only internet.
    - Regular price: $88/month.
    - Promo price: $56/mo (need to jump through some hoops to qualify as "first time" customer)
2. Purchase a multihoming router.
    This one seems promising. https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Business-Gigabit-Router-LRT224/dp/B00GK640D6/
    $165 on amazon right now.
3. Get also get internet connection from Frontier.
    $35 "For Life" price.
4. Get Disney+/Hulu etc bundle when it comes out. Seek discounts (maybe with itunes gc).

This allows me a few things:
1. More reliable internet. This is critical for me. I work from home quite a bit. there has been two instances in the last few years where optimum service disruptions have left me unable to do my work. I *can* and do tether via my cellphone when this happens - but that is slow and a hassle.
2. Qualifying for "new customer" discounts usually require disconnecting and reconnecting with another person's name (i.e. if I was the subscriber, my wife becomes one now). With a multi-homing router, we wont care if one service is disconnected for a bit.
3. Disney+/Hulu will cover everything kids would want.
 
Comments? Suggestions?

[DeniseNJ]

I'm in the same boat of looking to reduce the cable bill but we only have access to Comcast/xfinity internet.  I'm going to unplug the box and try hulu live to see how that goes for a week and then cancel the cable altogether.  Without cable there are lots of charges/taxes/ fees you don't have to pay.  We have a fire stick so no idea why we still have cable but still haven't cut the cord.

Anybody got other suggestions for cheap or free tv, beside hulu/netflicks etc.?

[newloginuser]

Really depends on what you're looking to watch, but I believe there are a few free options if you just want basic cable. I just downloaded locast (I think that's what it's called, I can check when I get home). It gives me all the basic channels for free. I use Roku, but I'm sure it works with a Firestick.

Internet is through new customer at Xfinity which near me was $30. I plan to push this price every year by either the "threaten to leave" method, or cancel the plan under my wife's name and try to open it under mine (I've heard this work just never tried).

You may want to try googling aps with free tv and see what comes up. Or if you just need kids shows, I imagine the Disney plan should be sufficient to get by.

[FIRE@50]

I haven't paid for cable in over 8 years. We have an antenna that gets close to 40 channels and a NetFlix account. There are also tons of free shows on YouTube including some Disney content.

Don't know how old your kids are, but eventually you get to tell them to go outside and ride their bike or whatever. One of the big goals of getting rid of cable was for everyone to have less screen time. I can't say that has been all that successful though.

[Auldtriangle8]

Also don't have cable, we have internet only. You can watch over-the-air and build your own DVR called a Home Theater PC (HTPC) which is what I did. Free recordings after initial purchase price. The PBS Kids channel seems pretty good for kids too which is also over-the-air.

Also, not sure if you're interested but until September 2 Disney is offering its Disney+ service for $4/month if you sign up for 3 years (https://www.techspot.com/news/81666-you-can-get-disney-4-month-if-you.html). I don't have kids and have no interest in Disney, but I can understand why people do, especially those with kids.

Good luck pairing things down, you won't regret it!

[ctuser1]

Has any mustachian used a multi-homing router to connect to two separate internet services at the same time? Any experience?

I am a techie, and have the ability to learn/do basic router configurations myself. However, I still value user experience.

Currently my main router is Apple Airport Extreme (yes, the discontinued model). I plan to keep it around for some more years since I am a little scared of the brandname routers due to privacy concern. Maybe I'll do more research on DD-WRT/Tomato someday and flush a router myself once the Airport dies.

My setup will be like this:

Cable Internet    ->                                                                   --> Guest Network -> For guests
                           --> MultiHoming Router -> Airport Extreme ->
Frontier Internet ->                                                                   --> Private Network -> My devices

Any comments? Suggestions? Has anybody done it before?

Any advantages to moving to DD-WRT/Tomato instead of Apple router?

[MaaS]

+1 on the Disney+/Hulu bundle. It'll be the best deal in streaming by far. It also comes with ESPN+ and you can add Live TV through Hulu later if you want it.

[magnet18]

DW and I stick with just YouTube, an infinite amount of content and more than enough really good stuff to ever watch, and usually I'm learning something (wood/metal working, diet/exercise, personal finance/investing, etc.)

We haven't logged into Netflix in well over a year, didn't mean to, just sorta happened, plenty to keep up with on youtube, and for $14/month it's ad free and we get google play music on our phones as well :)