Pulling the Plug! (Cable) - Suggestions? Tips?

Updated on March 14, 2013
I.:. asks from Minneapolis, MN
19 answers

In an attempt to save money, I have finally (almost) talked my hubby into cutting cable. We need the wireless internet since we both work from home a fair amount of the time, but cable alone is $80/month. We don't really watch primetime TV anyways. After work, IF the TV is on in the background, it is on HGTV (which is seriously the only channel that doesn't have totally inappropriate things for our kids to overhear). Any other time we will just watch a DVD from our blockbuster 1-at-a-time in the mail account (which we will also cancel). We like to watch TV series this way (breaking bad, damages, boardwalk empire, entourage... that kind of thing), and a movie every once in a while.

We are planning to either use Netflix streaming or Hulu Plus. We might have to buy an (hopefully inexpensive?) box for it, since we keep our Wii downstairs in the playroom.

Does anyone have any opinion of Netflix vs Hulu Plus? Or any other tips on pulling the plug? The one thing my Hubby will miss is baseball. But I won't miss that at all ;)

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K.H.

answers from Chicago on

Speaking strictly based on watching television at my boyfriends on occasion; Netflix is great, Hulu plus or otherwise is glitchy, even on a very good network.

I do not have cable. I have not had cable for over 9 years. I watch television and have babies who do as well of coarse. I buy a lot of movies. Growing up we did not have cable either. The thought of having a tight month, with cable, internet, multiple cell phones, two cars and everything else we have to have but can barely afford, is craziness.

There is a video store in my town called family video, you can seriously get 5 movies for under 5 dollars. I also have what is called a converter box. It cost me 40.00, and it picks up some extra channels to basic television. The box for Netflix here, cost my father 60.00.

I hope this helps/ I am by no means cheap. But I like to be comfortable. And there are just somethings I have decided I do not need.....shoes however :) That is a different story.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.O.

answers from Minneapolis on

We don't have cable and haven't had it since college. We have Netflix streaming and an internet TV so we watch stuff that way. Or if I really like a TV show I buy it. A lot of network shows I watch I watch online later anyways. I love Netflix and so do my kids.

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K.D.

answers from Jacksonville on

For current season TV series def. Hulu plus. Netflix for movies and older series. We have both. It would be less than $20 per month for both.

3 moms found this helpful

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

I love Netflix. We've had the instant streaming for years, and there's always something for everyone in the family to watch. We stream through our Wii, and they just added a youtube channel for Wii, so there really is literally nothing I can't find these days. Netflix costs about 8 bucks a month, and the youtube channel is free.

Hulu Plus seems to be really hit or miss, and I think they only have the current seasons of shows available. With Netflix, I have to wait until the next season comes on to get last years season, but at least all the seasons are there for me to watch.

1 mom found this helpful

T.L.

answers from St. Louis on

I totally envy you. How in the world did you almost talk hubby into it? I would love to ditch our cable. It would save us $63 a month.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I have not had TV/cable in over 10 years and it is awesome! My kids are hysterical because it took them years to know what a commercial was! You will not regret your decision to pull the plug. It might take a few weeks to get over missing your "shows" but you won't miss them for long. I always say that I am not better than TV, but that TV would always get the better of me.

We subscribe to Netflix - 3 at a time. I let the kids pick one movie and we get the other two. We can also just stream Netflix through our computer and watch a series, like Breaking Bad. Or just get the DVDs in the mail. I have used basic Hulu, but think the Plus is probably much better because otherwise it is severely limited.

Only watching movies or Netflix makes it so much easier to limit your TV watching. One and done is usually our motto. Especially for the kiddos. Your husband may want to subscribe to one of the sports networks online to get his baseball fix, but I don't really know how those work. My husband does not watch sports.

Best of luck in your new endeavor!

1 mom found this helpful

E.B.

answers from Seattle on

We made the switch years ago. NEVER LOOKING BACK!!

The one thing I miss is having the shows around air time.

I know people who use Hulu and swear by it as well.

I know with Netflix you can watch Breaking Bad, entourage and many more. Some stream right to your TV, some you may need a disk package as well. Unlimited is $7.99 for one disk out at a time and you can go up(and have multiple. Streaming is $7.99 a month as well.

Free trial for both for a month.

I love not having to pay comcast, I will never go back to cable again!!

The nice thing with Netflix is if you have the right tv...There is no equipment needed.

1 mom found this helpful

E.S.

answers from Asheville on

We just spent over a year without satellite and zero local channels. The girls and I watched videos and dvds. Not having it didn't mean I got more done, I just reread books and goofed off.
Now that we have had it again for a few weeks, I may have made a mistake. I am not as attentive to people on the phone (sorry Mom and Matt), prone to staying up too late watching just one more episode of what I missed this past year (House, Storage Wars, History channel) and just being lazy in general.
I'm hoping that when I catch up on the shows I missed I will be more apt to get up and do what needs doing....Yea Right! :)

1 mom found this helpful

C.V.

answers from Columbia on

We haven't had cable in years. We still have the local channels, internet, and phone.

We have Netflix streaming and the kids use it for their kid's shows. I also have an Amazon Prime account so we can stream from Amazon Instant video. We have our DVD/Bluray that is Netflix ready, but you can buy a Roku for that too.

For movies, we rent from Redbox.

Because you'll still have the local channels even without cable, it's very likely that hubs will still have baseball. :-)

Be sure you're at the end of your contract. You can't get rid of cable until you are.

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

I don't have any suggestions, since I've never pulled the plug. I've never had cable.

We still have television stations, so it's not like you're without TV. Regular TV even shows baseball games! If there is a game my husband really wants to see that's not on TV, he'll go to a bar to see it.

The kiddos watch PBS.

We supplement with rental dvds. At some point, we'll probably go the Netflix route, but we haven't seen the need yet.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I absolutely need my cable. I enjoy watching TV and the kids love a lot of the kids shows on Disney and Nick. They are such fun shows.

I also have to have a source for weather. Where you are I am sure you don't have sudden weather like we do in Oklahoma. Cable is the one thing I won't go without.

If I had to go without something it would be land line, perhaps data stuff on my cell, finding some other things would be individual of course but it can be done.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

We got rid of our cable a few months ago. I was nervous but now I know I will never have cable again, what a waste of money! I have netflix and watch it though my apple TV. I love it, they have so many great documentaries I love to watch with my kids on family movie night. As for the shows I like, I can still keep up on them all through internet sites like the free tv project which has current and past episodes of shows like Supernatural, Big Bang theory, True Blood, Bones, and so so many more. I just watch them right on my computer screen.

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G.L.

answers from Salt Lake City on

We've been without cable for two years now, and have no regrets. The only thing that my hubby has missed is college football, and I've offered to drive him to a local sports bar on game days and pick him up after, so that he can indulge in a black-and-tan or two while he watches. He hasn't taken me up on the offer yet, but it still stands. I figure even if he does go several times during a football season, it's still way cheaper than cable!

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A.G.

answers from Houston on

We are sports freaks and didn't have cable for a whole year one time. We had just moved and had been married for only 2 years and wanted to see if we could do without our $120 monthly bill. And this was around the time the Houston Texans were just getting started! We listened to the radio alot, or we went to a sports bar or friend's house for the bigger rivalries.

I won't lie...even if you say you hardly watch TV, you'll still go through withdrawl esp during bouts of boredom. But with the internet, you won't be without your news, weather, traffic and info, as well as your shows.

We have a Wii and can stream Netflix and the internet through it, so watching shows, say on NBC.com, on our TV isn't hard at all. aaah, the wonders of technology!

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G.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

We pulled the plug in October. We do have Netflix and Hulu Plus, the TV is no longer on just to be on, we make more thoughtful choices. I wish we had done this years ago.

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N.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

I have both, but would choose Netflix over Hulu if I had to have only one. And, since I make so many purchases on Amazon, I also have their Prime membership which allows for free or cheap shipping on most purchases and includes Amazon instant video.

We use Roku boxes, they cost about $90. But, since they just came out with a new model, you can probably get the outdated model for a better price now. We also bought OTA antennas for two of our tv's. I think one was $20 and the other was $25. The $25 one included a signal amplifier and does a much better job than the $20 one. With the antennas, we get about 25 live channels including the major networks.

It will take a little time to adjust, but you'll be so glad you did it.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

We don't have cable.
We have DISH Network.
There are different price packages.
And it does not cost, $80/month.

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B.H.

answers from St. Cloud on

I didn't read the other posters so sorry for repeats. We have a google tv (sony), a roku, and an xbox 360 with live membership. We can run netflix on 2 devices at one time. And we LOVE it! have not had "real tv" for 3 years and don't plan to get it any time soon. Netflix has the last season so can you live without current episodes? the netflix for kids is amazing. lets them choose a show by character, show- if they can read, or genre etc. it is so cool for us because it will suggest things after a while that we might like.

if you have a digital converter box u should be able to pick up local stations fyi. we can't because we live too far away and the old owners cut all the cables from room to room and we've been too lazy to rethread the whole house to the antenna. But we do get Ion, qubo and some other station pretty well also :)

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M.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

I think it depends on what you like to watch. We have Netflix and Hulu. I like Netflix better. There are many kid friendly shows on it and it is easier to navigate. We have many more connection problems with Hulu than we do Netflix. Hulu has commercials, it is difficult to fast forward through shows, and I get disconnected in the middle of a show and have trouble getting back to the point where it stopped. Netflix does not have the current season of shows, so you have to wait to view new episodes until the season is over.

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