Author Topic: Break Up With Cable  (Read 18427 times)

DebtDerp

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Break Up With Cable
« on: January 04, 2013, 05:15:14 PM »
Love this tweet:

https://twitter.com/buwcfromvzfios/status/286916126837968896


EDIT: By my arithmetic we've had Four people drop cable this year, including myself, and five people that dropped cable last year! Not too shabby! Lets keep it going.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2013, 05:56:50 PM by DebtDerp »

Herbert Derp

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2013, 08:40:49 PM »
I've never had cable or any kind of paid TV service in my life so I guess I meet the challenge.

DebtDerp

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2013, 10:02:16 PM »
I've never had cable or any kind of paid TV service in my life so I guess I meet the challenge.

That's great! I grew up without cable but quickly thought of it as a necessity once I had it. I'm getting rid of it this month. Time to cut the cord! Oh how I will miss ESPN though...

smurph

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2013, 02:03:58 PM »
I did this in October. Bought a streaming box for $100, which was less than 1 month of cable. Also bought an antenna for $40 for local HD networks, though that doesn't really get used outside of some NFL on Sundays. I do really miss ESPN, but overall I'm happy. Friends and coworkers think I'm some kind of radical weirdo though, which is funny. One guy thought I had fallen on hard times.

lauren_knows

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2013, 02:09:56 PM »
We dumped cable last year.  Our contract was up about 1 month after we had our first child, and it was a no-brainer as we have very little free-time to even entertain the idea of watching TV.

We now get by on Netflix DVD delivery and Amazon Prime Streaming.  I will say that I missed having cable for a couple of weekends when my alma mater was on ESPN, but we've generally been happy with the decision.

DebtDerp

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2013, 06:01:06 PM »
Dumped Cable today! Will save almost $1,200 this year!

Budget_Ninja

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2013, 07:36:47 PM »
We dumped cable early last year, we were subscribed for about 6-8 months after not having it for over 5 years.  We just don't watch it.  57 channels and nothings on...
I do have a nasty cable internet bill, but it isn't going anywhere...


Greywynd

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2013, 09:27:49 AM »
Got rid of the satellite here about 5-6 years ago. Really don't miss it!

James

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2013, 10:13:48 AM »
We dropped cable about three years ago, I figure we have saved well over $3,000 in that time!  Netflix covers all of our TV needs, I don't miss cable at all.

tmac

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2013, 10:16:30 AM »
We broke up with cable last year and are much more satisfied now than we ever were with it, for 1/5 the cost.

We use a Roku to stream Netflix and HuluPlus, and discovered recently that our Amazon Prime subscription (purchased for the free shipping for our business) gives us free streaming. Anything that isn't captured on those services (one-off events like the Olympics and Super Bowl) we can usually get online and plug the laptop into our TV.

We get all the BBC crime dramas a person could ever want, and I really don't miss the kids' incessant demands for toys they didn't know existed before seeing a commercial for it. :)

Woolie

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2013, 10:45:39 AM »
I haven't had cable in almost two years. Netflix provides me with all that I need. I also have an almost 4 year old and I'm very glad that he isn't seeing all those commercials for stuff and asking me for it.

I found that the first couple of months were the hardest, where I missed certain shows or channels the most but now I really don't mind it at all.

And I have plenty of friends that have lots of movies and shows on DVD so I can borrow something if I really want to see it and Netflix doesn't have it.

James

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2013, 10:56:07 AM »
The mention of kids reminds me of another reason I love dropping live TV, the kids never beg to get on at a certain time to catch a show, and they can be told "one show" and they can't just let the TV continue by default.  When the show ends they would need to start a new one in order to keep watching. 

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2013, 11:03:05 AM »
I really got sick of cable a long time ago. Haven't had it for two years (had to put up with live-in landlord who did want it). I do miss ESPN. Half considering getting a Comcast subscription for the trial 30 day period in mid march and canceling once the conference tournaments and March Madness ends. Intel was working on some unbundled cable service. Wouldn't mind paying $10/month for cable when I wanted it.

amyable

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2013, 04:26:02 PM »
I haven't had cable since I lived in college dorms (about 10 years ago)--I didn't even really want it then, but it was a non-negotiable for my roommate.  I definitely have my weaknesses but watching TV is not one of them.  I rarely watch it.

ketchup

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #14 on: January 19, 2013, 04:50:46 PM »
I've never had cable in my life. Always had the rabbit ears with my parents, and now we don't even have a TV at home. Any TV we watch is on the computer (Netflix or elsewhere).  The only live TV I ever see is at the gym nowadays (which honestly is rather annoying, due to all the ads).

GuitarStv

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2013, 08:17:36 AM »
We got rid of cable about three years ago . . . at the time I had intended to set up an antenna for OTA streaming, but it didn't take long before we realized that we prefer our entertainment sans advertisement.

N

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #16 on: January 30, 2013, 10:29:15 PM »
we broke up with cable nov 12. I do miss it. I miss my dvr a lot. My husband really misses espn and sports.
maybe time will ease the pain.. :)

martynthewolf

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2013, 01:42:45 AM »
I'm breaking up with cable today! For too long I've been paying through the nose and not realising I hardly ever watch the channels I bloody pay for. It'll save me £400 a year.

YAR

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2013, 05:00:40 AM »
I'm breaking up with cable today! For too long I've been paying through the nose and not realising I hardly ever watch the channels I bloody pay for. It'll save me £400 a year.

We dumped it this past Friday (first of the month). I get my high-speed internet service from the same provider so I will not shed the bill entirely but I have managed to cut it by $75 per month. So a $825 savings in 2013 and $900 every year there after.

martynthewolf

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #19 on: February 04, 2013, 07:42:22 AM »
I'm breaking up with cable today! For too long I've been paying through the nose and not realising I hardly ever watch the channels I bloody pay for. It'll save me £400 a year.

We dumped it this past Friday (first of the month). I get my high-speed internet service from the same provider so I will not shed the bill entirely but I have managed to cut it by $75 per month. So a $825 savings in 2013 and $900 every year there after.

The guy on the phone tried hard to get me to stay subscribed. He offered me a 25% discount on a reduced package. My subscription runs out on the first of March as I had just paid a bill.

Budget nazi

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #20 on: February 09, 2013, 06:17:49 PM »
Dropped directv this week. Would go weeks without turning it on anyway.    Didn't realize all the available hd channels ota with a simple antenna. 

Rural

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #21 on: February 09, 2013, 06:55:16 PM »
We've been eight years without cable and about four since we finally threw out the TV; no Netflix or Hulu, either. I find I feel better, and frugality is infinitely easier without the constant ads (no billboards around here and I have an ad blocker on the browser).

Mama Mia

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #22 on: February 14, 2013, 10:40:15 AM »
My cable is "bundled" with my internet & home phone.  If I get rid of cable I'm pretty sure they jack will jack up the price of internet & phone...how do you get around this???

jpo

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #23 on: February 14, 2013, 10:42:36 AM »
My cable is "bundled" with my internet & home phone.  If I get rid of cable I'm pretty sure they jack will jack up the price of internet & phone...how do you get around this???
That may be, but the overall monthly bill will be lower. If it's not you may as well keep the cable as you are getting it for free.

MrSaturday

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #24 on: February 14, 2013, 11:07:15 AM »
My cable is "bundled" with my internet & home phone.  If I get rid of cable I'm pretty sure they jack will jack up the price of internet & phone...how do you get around this???

Plan on cutting the phone at the same time and find out what it would cost for internet only.

When I cut cable I switched my landline to a VoIP service (Ooma) that costs a little under $5 per month and lets you keep your phone number and has 911 location reporting.

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #25 on: February 14, 2013, 12:17:24 PM »
My cable is "bundled" with my internet & home phone.  If I get rid of cable I'm pretty sure they jack will jack up the price of internet & phone...how do you get around this???

Start by reading the communications superguide. You're already on a VoIP service if your phone's bundled with cable internet, it's cheaper taking control of your own VoIP phone service by going elsewhere. I'm personally not a fan of Ooma for the costs/equipment investment versus quality, but there's plenty of other frugal options out there like VOIPo, Future Nine, VOIP.ms, CallCentric, etc.

frugal_engineer

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #26 on: February 16, 2013, 01:00:00 PM »
I just got rid of my DirecTV last week, took the receiver to the post office to mail it back yesterday.  I haven't missed it for one second, and I'm greatly looking forward to my extra  $1000 in savings per year!

Congrats to everyone who also cut the cord!

unplugged

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #27 on: February 16, 2013, 02:26:35 PM »
Anyone here:
-out in the country
- can't get antennas reception (we built one, bought several , and used an antenna website, used tall poles, but we are too far away and too many trees, miles, and mountains in the way)
- have horrible DSL (WS) so Hulu and Netflix are out (we tried and WS is too slow to stream)

For me, being a homebody in the boonies with no other options I chose to haggle down D*irect TV each year. Everything with them is negotiable I have learned.

burly

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #28 on: February 16, 2013, 04:16:11 PM »
+1!

I am very happy to see this! I am and have been against cable for years. Why would I pay for this service with all these ads?!

Hulu and Netflix are more than enough to satisfy. I also have antennae and am able to pick up about 12 HD channels!

NumberJohnny5

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #29 on: February 16, 2013, 04:55:13 PM »
Anyone here:
-out in the country
- can't get antennas reception (we built one, bought several , and used an antenna website, used tall poles, but we are too far away and too many trees, miles, and mountains in the way)
- have horrible DSL (WS) so Hulu and Netflix are out (we tried and WS is too slow to stream)

For me, being a homebody in the boonies with no other options I chose to haggle down D*irect TV each year. Everything with them is negotiable I have learned.

Well, there are, er, "alternative" ways to get certain broadcast shows. Ways that it'd be fine if it took five hours to download during the night, it'd be ready the next day for you. But I shall mention no more of this.

What shows are you watching? Is it something that would be released on dvd eventually? How much would it cost to just buy the season dvd set when it comes out the next year or so? Add them all together...I'll wait...ok, is that less than a year's worth of DirecTV? If so, there's your answer.

Plus, you know Netflix will still mail DVDs, right? Would that work out to be cheaper for you?

unplugged

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #30 on: February 17, 2013, 01:41:35 AM »


Plus, you know Netflix will still mail DVDs, right? Would that work out to be cheaper for you?

I took my shows and priced them on Itunes and they came out way more than my haggled down d*irect tv. My favorite network doesn't participate with Hulu , again though WS DSL wont stream Hulu it's too slow. For now, to keep me from getting cabin fever and wasting gas, I am sticking with the lower price I pay them. The time I have it up as a test my gasoline bill shot up LOL. I think in the rare case of boonie living, a dish can pay for itself if it's truly the main part of your entertainment budget. I tried reading books a lot but found that was just too sedentary. I get a lot done while I watch my few shows.


Left

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #31 on: February 17, 2013, 02:13:52 AM »
if it's just espn, you can get some of it online but reason I'm posting is that for people have a post-paid (contract) cell phone plan. a lot of them have tv apps on the phones now (tmobile and sprint does at least, think verizon and att too). Anyways you can hook up phone to tv using hdmi and watch espn through that

I mean if you're already paying for the phone...

Ed Mills

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #32 on: February 17, 2013, 06:40:04 AM »
Breaking up with cable was like dumping a bad girlfriend.  When I turned in my cable box, it felt great!  In have not had cable or traditional phone service since 2009.  My breaking point was when I realized that we paid $130 a month for cable and internet to watch endless commercials.  NOPE, no more cable for me.  Like most of you guys, we like Netflix a lot.  I use ESPN3 to watch some events and this year I watched the Super Bowl thanks to the internet.  Good riddance cable, you and your ridiculous bill are not missed. 

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #33 on: February 17, 2013, 07:03:56 AM »
Anyone here:
-out in the country
- can't get antennas reception (we built one, bought several , and used an antenna website, used tall poles, but we are too far away and too many trees, miles, and mountains in the way)
- have horrible DSL (WS) so Hulu and Netflix are out (we tried and WS is too slow to stream)

For me, being a homebody in the boonies with no other options I chose to haggle down D*irect TV each year. Everything with them is negotiable I have learned.

I'm not sure how accurate the pricing information is right now given Dish has bumped up their Welcome Pack price to $20, but you used to be able to get local only with public interest stations for just $10 a month. It's the sort of deal where you have to ask specifically for the service and need to pay for the equipment up front along with either paying for or doing the installation yourself to get it, but it's a relatively frugal option without contracts for people in rural areas who can't do antenna, and a relatively good deal better than I've even heard regarding DirecTV negotiated prices are capable of hitting.

if it's just espn, you can get some of it online but reason I'm posting is that for people have a post-paid (contract) cell phone plan. a lot of them have tv apps on the phones now (tmobile and sprint does at least, think verizon and att too). Anyways you can hook up phone to tv using hdmi and watch espn through that

I mean if you're already paying for the phone...

That's pretty rough logic to swallow... right up there with telling people to just go out and buy an Xbox 360 and a Live Gold Subscription just to get their ESPN fix.

ESPN has free apps now for streaming their coverage... which means a nice little Android based streaming media player or Apple TV if you want to go there can now do ESPN coverage for free.

Mama Mia

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #34 on: February 17, 2013, 09:01:19 AM »
I.P. do you have any advice on antennas?

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #35 on: February 17, 2013, 09:22:50 AM »
I.P. do you have any advice on antennas?

Yup.

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #36 on: February 17, 2013, 09:31:28 AM »
My cable is "bundled" with my internet & home phone.  If I get rid of cable I'm pretty sure they jack will jack up the price of internet & phone...how do you get around this???

Our TV/phone/internet bill used to be ~$150/month.  When I called to cancel cable in October, the phone/internet was going to be ~$85/month, but if we opted to keep basic cable (20 channels) the whole thing is just $75/month.  I'm certainly going to let them effectively pay me $10/month, so I can have HGTV, CBC News Net, and Treehouse, for when our nieces and nephews are over once a month.

We are all netflix all the time though, other than the few things I watch on CBC news net, like documentaries.  I have satellite cable at work, and I watch so much crap by default here (someone else has it on, or I need some sort of noise to keep me awake at night), that I don't want to spend my days off, watching TV.

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #37 on: February 17, 2013, 10:34:37 AM »
Our TV/phone/internet bill used to be ~$150/month.  When I called to cancel cable in October, the phone/internet was going to be ~$85/month, but if we opted to keep basic cable (20 channels) the whole thing is just $75/month.  I'm certainly going to let them effectively pay me $10/month, so I can have HGTV, CBC News Net, and Treehouse, for when our nieces and nephews are over once a month.

And how much is your cable company's internet only service, especially in the 3-6Mbps range? Are you sure the cable company is actually "paying" you to keep those services bundled, or are you still effectively overpaying and telling yourself you're getting a good deal because you haven't priced independent home VoIP providers like VOIPo, CallCentric, Future Nine, PhonePower, or VOIP.ms?

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #38 on: February 17, 2013, 12:17:08 PM »
And how much is your cable company's internet only service, especially in the 3-6Mbps range? Are you sure the cable company is actually "paying" you to keep those services bundled, or are you still effectively overpaying and telling yourself you're getting a good deal because you haven't priced independent home VoIP providers like VOIPo, CallCentric, Future Nine, PhonePower, or VOIP.ms?

I am in Canada, so my options are little more limited.  I also am able to write it all off, as a home-office expense. We don't have a home computer, so I don't know that VOIP is the best solution for us, because of that.  Our internet provider claims the following about our internet:
Up to 20 Mbps download speed
Up to 512 Kbps upload speed
However, we've tried the service under the one we have (only $5/month less) and netflix is choppy.  My husband also needs to remote into his work computer, so he doesn't like the slower option.

If we dumped the phone and the TV, we could get the cable down to $60/month unbundled, but I'm happy with what we have right now.

I'm still saving 50% over what we were paying before, and we own all the hardware (so no rental fees that can be eliminated).

I'm sure a better deal can be had, but I haven't found it with a mainstream provider.  However, I'm going to take another look today, and I'll call and haggle with them, if I can find a better price.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2013, 12:21:12 PM by Self-employed-swami »

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #39 on: February 17, 2013, 12:25:53 PM »
So I just checked the other communications company, and home phone with their internet comes in at $85/month plus tax.  With their most basic TV package, that rate goes up to $118/month plus tax.  But, it we switched, and signed a 3 year deal, they'd give us a 40 inch flatscreen TV
Facepalm

Ottawa

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #40 on: February 17, 2013, 12:57:05 PM »
@ Self-employed-swami - Depends on where you live in Canada...I'm in a city in Ontario...you can do substantially better than you are currently.  I've got Ontario urban dialed down if you want advice.  If you live in Iqaluit...I can't help ;-)


Spartana

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #41 on: February 17, 2013, 12:57:46 PM »
No cable (antenna works good in my area but rarely watch TV anyways) and GASP!!!! Dinosaur alert - no home internet or smart phone either. Use free wi-fi whenever I need it and have a pay-as-you-go tracfone that I can access the internet to check e-mail (currently in a beautiful park after my morning run on a sunny day watching the ducks in the lake aand eating lunch while I type this - who needs home interenet!!).  Have never bought anything online and just rent DVDs - usually get them free at the library - to watch movies. All that probably saves me $150 - $200/month. Now back to my cave with the rest of the troglodites....
« Last Edit: February 17, 2013, 01:12:23 PM by Spartana »

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #42 on: February 17, 2013, 01:10:17 PM »
@ Self-employed-swami - Depends on where you live in Canada...I'm in a city in Ontario...you can do substantially better than you are currently.  I've got Ontario urban dialed down if you want advice.  If you live in Iqaluit...I can't help ;-)

I am in Alberta, so we have 2 options, Shaw and Smellus.

Ottawa

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #43 on: February 17, 2013, 01:10:43 PM »
I just updated what I use in Ottawa over here: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/cable-internet-home-cell-phones-redone-mmm-style!/

Here's a copy and paste:

Quote
UPDATE:

Quote
Awesome!  Here is what I was able to do in Urban Canada (all prices included tax and are per month):

Previously
Cable TV (Rogers) - $85.60
Cell Phone* (Wind Mobile Unlimited Data and North America long distance) - $45.20**
Home Phone (Rogers - 6Mbps with ) - $42.15
Internet (Rogers) - $41.12
TOTAL = $214.07

Currently
TV - $9.03 (Netflix) - (using 2nd hand Boxee Box one time cost - $120)
Cell Phone (Wind Mobile Unlimited Data and North America long distance) - $45.20** 
Home Phone (TekTalk - unlimited North America and all kinds of cool gadgets) - $28.19
Internet (TekSavvy - 18Mbps with 300GB cap) - $45.14
TOTAL = $127.56

Savings since MMM = $86.51 (OR $15,312 over 10 years equivalent)
* Our family has only one cellphone as we are rarely if ever both away from our work or home.  Thus, whoever is away takes the phone.
** We are doing some trialling currently to see if we can drop down to Pay as you go.  This would be a massive reduction in monthly cost...probably $40.


UPDATE

Currently
TV - $7.99 (Netflix) - (using 2nd hand Boxee Box one time cost - $120)
Cell Phone (Wind Mobile Unlimited Data and North America long distance) - $32.77
Home Phone (TekTalk - unlimited North America and all kinds of cool gadgets) - $28.19
Internet (TekSavvy - 18Mbps with 300GB cap) - $45.14

TOTAL = $114.09

Savings since MMM = $99.98 per month!!!  (OR $17,696 over 10 years equivalent)

Ottawa

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #44 on: February 17, 2013, 01:17:59 PM »
Quote
No cable (antenna works good in my area but rarely watch TV anyways)

You are right!  I haven't done this yet...It will cost me around $45 one-time for the antenna...or I could try to make one...it is in the forums here.  Here is a link that will show you what channels you should get OTA:
http://www.tvfool.com/

Also:  This might be breaking news for some folks...but...there is a way in CANADA (and I believe other NON-USA countries) to LEGALLY get HULU and US NETFLIX for free! 

Hulu is free, Netflix of course costs you $7.99 including tax per month in Canada.

Just grab the Chrome or Firefox internet browser, and add on the appropriate extension "Media Hint" here:

Media Hint for Chrome:
https://mediahint.com/install_chrome.html

Media Hint for Firefox
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/media-hint/
« Last Edit: February 17, 2013, 01:20:29 PM by Ottawa »

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #45 on: February 17, 2013, 01:48:50 PM »
I am in Canada, so my options are little more limited.  I also am able to write it all off, as a home-office expense. We don't have a home computer, so I don't know that VOIP is the best solution for us, because of that.  Our internet provider claims the following about our internet:
Up to 20 Mbps download speed
Up to 512 Kbps upload speed
However, we've tried the service under the one we have (only $5/month less) and netflix is choppy.  My husband also needs to remote into his work computer, so he doesn't like the slower option.

If we dumped the phone and the TV, we could get the cable down to $60/month unbundled, but I'm happy with what we have right now.

I'm still saving 50% over what we were paying before, and we own all the hardware (so no rental fees that can be eliminated).

I'm sure a better deal can be had, but I haven't found it with a mainstream provider.  However, I'm going to take another look today, and I'll call and haggle with them, if I can find a better price.

Technically VOIP.ms and CallCentric both support Canadian customers as well as us Yanks... and technically, VOIP.ms is even cheaper for Canadian users to boot. Also, I don't know why people keep thinking that using a VoIP based solution needs a computer. It doesn't, I promise! All you need is an ATA. NetTalk Duo is also available up in Canada now, but they apparently won't let you Canadians port your number yet and don't have new local numbers available for all markets. I'm not a huge fan of NetTalk due to their proprietary nature and razor thin profit margins, but it might be worth looking into anyway.

As for Netflix choppiness, it's easily fixed by dialing back the image quality in settings. You don't need HD... and as an IT guy myself, I'd like to mention that I do remote administration and support as well as web development on a 3Mbps connection with nary a problem. Just tossing that out there. :)



Interesting info there, Ottawa!

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #46 on: February 17, 2013, 02:11:51 PM »

Technically VOIP.ms and CallCentric both support Canadian customers as well as us Yanks... and technically, VOIP.ms is even cheaper for Canadian users to boot. Also, I don't know why people keep thinking that using a VoIP based solution needs a computer. It doesn't, I promise! All you need is an ATA. NetTalk Duo is also available up in Canada now, but they apparently won't let you Canadians port your number yet and don't have new local numbers available for all markets. I'm not a huge fan of NetTalk due to their proprietary nature and razor thin profit margins, but it might be worth looking into anyway.

As for Netflix choppiness, it's easily fixed by dialing back the image quality in settings. You don't need HD... and as an IT guy myself, I'd like to mention that I do remote administration and support as well as web development on a 3Mbps connection with nary a problem. Just tossing that out there. :)



Interesting info there, Ottawa!

Thanks for the info.  We've got the netflix dialed down to the lowest quality already, and it works well now.    I want to keep my home number, because it is on all my promotional material for my business.  I know I could order new business cards for less than a month's savings, but I don't want to change my number, because about 200 people have my card in their wallet already, and to track them all down, isn't worth the fuss for me. 

I appreciate the info though.  Have they fixed the e911 services for VOIP providers yet in Canada?  We had a bad problem a while ago, where 911 couldn't get addresses automatically from VOIP subscribers.

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #47 on: February 17, 2013, 04:39:13 PM »
I can't fault you for wanting to keep your home number, Swami, I'd want to do the same thing in your position. I kind of figured NetTalk was a long shot anyway, why I said what I did.

As for the e911 service issue, all you can really do when looking at VoIP providers is to ensure that they meet or exceed CRTC e911 regulation in your situation. I would imagine that so long as they meet that criteria, it shouldn't be an issue, and it's worth pointing out that VOIP.ms does meet that criteria. If you want more details and the concerns addressed, it might be worth contacting their support department. (Keep in mind, too, that if you're using Shaw for your phone service, you're likely already using VoIP with e911.) I've always appreciated the necessity for having some reliable method for emergency services dispatch with the phone service, and after years of paying extra for the e911 service through Future Nine ourselves, I finally had occasion not once, but twice to need it a couple weeks back. In the case of them and e911 services meeting FCC requirements in the US at least, I know it works as they connected me to our proper local dispatch office and confirmed the address with me during the call both times.

Speaking of VOIP.ms... they support Canadian number porting, unlimited incoming DID rates for all Alberta rate centers are $5.95 a month before taxes (break-even to the unlimited cost with the $1.99 and 1.49¢ per minute outbound would be about 260 minutes incoming a month), and outbound termination rates are under 0.52¢ a minute to everywhere but Yukon, Nunavut and the NWT... which is only 1.02¢ a minute. Basically, $4 would buy you over 12.5 hours of outbound calling a month inside Canada. They also have massive configuration support for a mess of ATA devices, including the OBi110 and Grandstream HT286.

There's also Fongo's FreePhoneLine.ca service, but their 911 service clearly isn't up to e911 standards. Also, you get what you pay for, free comes at a price, they nickel and dime you to unlock useful features, etc. etc.

Hope this helps out!

By the way, what part of Alberta you located in if you don't mind me asking? I know some folks in your chunk of the country.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2013, 04:41:56 PM by I.P. Daley »

Self-employed-swami

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #48 on: February 18, 2013, 05:07:49 PM »
I am in the southern-most large city...

Go flames go? ;)

Daley

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Re: Break Up With Cable
« Reply #49 on: February 18, 2013, 07:15:08 PM »
Go flames go? ;)

Aah, gotcha. My friends are up in Oilers territory... it's been seven years and McFarlane still has a price on his head out there. I'm a Leafs guy when it's not strike season, but I can totally sympathize. ;)