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  1. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    Ever think about all the money we spend needlessly that can be saved with a little planning and thought.
    THink about what a complete waste of money that $100-150 TV cable,sat ,dish etc bill is. WHat do you have to show for all that money every month.
    That,s more than my heating bill.
    I use netflix and an antenna. (mostly netflix) antenna is free HD and local channels 5-25 network channels, and netflix is all the movies (HD quality) and TV shows both delivered and streaming you can watch for $10 a month,
    The kids love the cartoon selections they can watch at any time day or night as many times as they wish.
    My entire outlay for unlimited TV is $50 a month $10 For programming and $40 for 55" LCD flat screen at 0 interest. so that $50 includes the cost of a NEW flat screen LCD TV every 3 years.
    If you don't want or need don't a new TV of course your cost is $10 a month. Im planning to buy a 1080P projector 120" picture for the man cave with my savings as well.
    #1

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  2. RoseRedHoofbeats Feeling the Heat

    joined: Oct 7, 2010
    369 posts
    Salt Lake Valley, UT
    We cancelled our cable a long time ago. I love Netflix and I bought a Wii off a friend to watch it on my TV. I watch it WAY more than I ever watched TV, they have so many great shows on there, and the full series no less! It's awesome. Plus no commericals, and my daughter can watch all the same cartoons I did as a kid. NO SPONGE BOB.

    I still have an old tube TV, all of like 17". My husband is dying to get a flat screen 26" or 32" but we won't be able to swing it this year.

    ~Rose
  3. Dune Minister of Fire

    What do you do for internet service? Here, broadband cable TV and high speed internet inclunding phone is $90/month. We don't use the phone line, except for a fax machine.
  4. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    Our internet is Broadband DSL (a must for netflix) is $30 a month. We use it extensively ,have 3-5 computers and the TV on it.Our Phone (landline )is $20. They are also a business write off as they are needed for my business.I know you can get package deals (3in 1)and get basic cable, but most people i know locally have ridiculous TV bills.$100-150 a month. Till they add premium channels,purchase new release movies, HD, extra recievers TIVO,ect and some pay an extra $240 a season over and above all that for the sports package.
  5. PapaDave Minister of Fire

    Yep, canceled DirectTv about 2 years ago, and we use Hulu, CastTv, and the network shows online. Plenty of programming that way, and it's much cheaper.
    Anyone know how to get DSL dry loop? I'd love to ditch the land line, but I've heard it gets screwed up when doing the transition.
    We also try to only make one shopping trip/month to save some gas and wear& tear on the Jeep. The closest real shopping is about 32 miles from us, and although we have a local grocery, they're pretty spendy.
    We mostly eat at home too, unlike when I was still working. I like to cook, so not a big deal.
  6. Mainely Saws Member

    joined: Jan 11, 2010
    134 posts
    Topsham , Me.
    I agree with dumping the Direct TV & getting NetFlix & a decent antennae . I heard NetFlix is going to all streaming in a couple od years . I have a 40" flat TV & DSL but the connection speed is slow ( Fairpoint ) . It is $30 per month & I can increase the speed for another $10 per month . The picture quality is not as good as it could be with such a slow DSL speed ( 1.3 mb )
  7. Mainely Saws Member

    joined: Jan 11, 2010
    134 posts
    Topsham , Me.
    I agree with dumping the Direct TV & getting NetFlix & a decent antennae . I heard NetFlix is going to all streaming in a couple od years . I have a 40" flat TV & DSL but the connection speed is slow ( Fairpoint ) . It is $30 per month & I can increase the speed for another $10 per month . The picture quality is not as good as it could be with such a slow DSL speed ( 1.3 mb )
  8. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    My DSL speed is 3Mbs for $30 ,You can get HD quailty at anything over 1.5 . For another $10 i can take it to 7Mbs but its not needed.
  9. Mainely Saws Member

    joined: Jan 11, 2010
    134 posts
    Topsham , Me.
    Wish I could get 3.0 MBS for $30 per month .........
  10. Highbeam Minister of Fire

    I built an antennae to get great TV but have it only as a backup because I need internet and I need telephone. Those two seperate cost more than the 3n1 bundle that includes TV. Now if I could really get 30$ internet that is sufficient to strem netflix then things would be different. Don't some of those cheap internet places cap your data transfer?
  11. 4acrefarm Member

    joined: Jan 11, 2009
    158 posts
    western ma
    I am also doing netflics, hulu, youtube, and network feeds, any ideas on how to get cristmas specials. My wife wants sc comming to town,charlie Brown , etc.
  12. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    Most people do not realize what you can get with a good antenna a and signal booster. IN HD no less. Should be able to get the major networks and your locals in most places.
  13. semipro Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 12, 2009
    1,686 posts
    SW Virginia
    Just FYI: Netflix works pretty well with our internet connection which averages 1.5Mbps (as measured using CNET' online speed checker).
  14. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    Im watching NBC nightly news on MSNBC website on a 27" monitor right now as im typing on a 23" monitor on the same computer ,Who needs Cable?
  15. ihookem Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 25, 2009
    503 posts
    Allenton, Wisconsin
    Wife and I have been on my own for 23 yrs. Cable was about 25 bucks then. We decided not to get it and just have a tv. I figure cable cost an avr. of 500 dollars a year over 23 yrs. 500x23= 11,500 dollars. I took the 11.5k and put it against my home loan@ 9.5% interest for 3 yrs, then 6.75% for another 17 yrs. I figure I saved another 3-4k in interest. This makes about 15k in savings. We never had it so we never missed it. We did this for cell phones,cable, car repairs, furniture. It makes paying off home loans much faster.
  16. flyingcow Minister of Fire

    joined: Jun 4, 2008
    1,684 posts
    northern-half of maine
    No cable or sat tv. just a roof mounted w/rotor antenna. Get 4 tv stations over the air(nearest stations are 70 miles?). Actually 6, get 2 out of new brunswick canada. Also netflix junkies. Only get 1MB for $34.95. Not many ISP's up here.
  17. Lynch Member

    joined: Dec 13, 2010
    192 posts
    northern maine
    WHAT!?!?! no cable!!! you dont watch sports
    internet and cable is 87 bucks for me and worth it
    sorry but have to have my sports and HD channels
  18. katwillny Minister of Fire

    joined: Sep 13, 2009
    1,285 posts
    Dutchess County NY
    we actually decided to drop all of our PREMIUM channels last night. I called the cable company last night and was offered all kinds of incentives to keep my premium channels. I told the person on the other end of the line that we had decided to drop all of the channels because we didnt watch much tv as a family and now that the summer is coming we plan to be more active. My kids dont watch tv during the week and I work a lot of hours. My wife watches her shows online. So we dropped to basic and I downgraded the internet connection to regular, I had the Boost Plus which added an additional 15 dollars to our bill. I intend to take the monthly difference and split it equally and add it to our kids 529 plan. Frugal? Maybe, I just refuse to keep spending money frivolously.
  19. begreen Super Moderator

    joined: Nov 18, 2005
    36,116 posts
    South Puget Sound, WA
    Not a particularly green topic. Moved to DIY, where a lot of this is already covered.
  20. TIM RUTMAN New Member

    joined: Apr 20, 2012
    23 posts
    Pa
    Our Directv cost less then our cell phones. I'd rather get rid of the cell phones then my televisions. It all about what my wife wants. lol
  21. kettensäge Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jan 18, 2011
    445 posts
    N.E. PA.
    I recently went to basic cable and upgraded to a 1.5 MBPS cable connection. The cable company charged us $40 to downgrade the cable TV. We do the netflix thing as well. Put the savings toward a gaming type computer. The video card has a HDMI output which I send to our 26" HD CRT TV in the living room. The computer also has a blueray player/burner. I can watch Internet TV, Netflix, Blueray and DVD's on the TV in the comfort of the living room via the computer.



    http://www.cabletrain.com/hdmi-over-cat5e-cat6-extender-single-port-1p-wall-plate-pair.html
  22. firebroad Minister of Fire

    joined: Nov 18, 2011
    1,028 posts
    Carroll County, MD
    I have an antenna with rotor, get about 25 channels of TV, don't watch it that much anyway. I have limited phone service with no long distance, nobody calls me anyway, still costs me $30 a month. I am still trying to figure out how to get internet service without having to buy any more services than I have to. I don't need cable, don't use my phone that much. Most people I know around these parts can't or won't tell me what they pay total--can you imagine not knowing what you pay for all that stuff every month? I know darn well it is close to or over $100. I presently use the internet at my desk at work (they are pretty cool about that), or the free wi-fi at the library, Panera, etc.
  23. PapaDave Minister of Fire

    We could use the free wi-fi at the library, but for the cost of the gas, I'll pay for internet and stay home.
    OTA doesn't work here, so that option is out.
    Fiber-optic is coming thru the area this year, and I hope our ISP hooks into it so we can get faster internet speed (that's the whole intent). I'll pay a bit more if they do, just to have it.
  24. gpcollen1 Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 4, 2007
    2,023 posts
    Western CT

    Yes but i can only get Football on DirecTV. In addition, Sometimes you just want to flip on Ax Men at bed time or whatever else is out there, not search for something you may want to watch. Some of us save money here and some of us save it there. Bottom line is, most have added Netfilx to their existing service and not removed their existing service.
  25. Seasoned Oak Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 17, 2008
    2,016 posts
    Eastern Central PA
    Pretty sure Ax men is available on either netflix or Hulu which i have both. I know theres a few logging shows,and can watch previous episodes at your own convenience.

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