Cutting The Cord

Over the past year or so I came to the conclusion that it would be prudent to cut some expenses due to
continued rising prices. One of the first areas I determined I would look at was the cost spent on
entertainment, specially cable TV. e were spending !"#.$$ a month for %expanded basic& from
'ediaCom, the local cable provider. I actually watched very little TV, and most of what was available
I never watched. I decided that I would first do some research, purchase what I needed, and be set up
before I %cut the cord&. (tarting in 'ay )$*+ I bought an ,pple TV box for streaming shows from my
computer and purchased a few shows from iTunes to see how I liked it. , note here, I bought an ,pple
TV box because I have a 'ac computer, there are other brands that work -ust as well, .oku is a good
choice, plus the with the newer TV/s you may not even need a box. In 0une )$*+ I signed up with
1etflix for !2.$$ a month to stream shows to my TV. Once I was familiar with how streaming worked,
I purchased an antenna that I mounted in the attic crawl space over the second story in the house.
3sing a separate TV attached to the antenna I determined that I could receive all the local stations that
were available. ,t this time I called 'ediaCom and %cut the cord&, I dropped their service and
connected to the antenna, bought a second ,pple TV box for my small TV and haven/t looked back.
1ow I want to share my experiences and my thoughts after approximately one year.
Two things actually4 one, I watch more TV then I used to, second, I/m saving money. I watch more TV
because, other the network shows that you have to watch when they/re scheduled, other shows, either
on 1etflix, or ones you have purchased, you can watch on your schedule. , good example, suppose I
purchased a series on iTunes that is %not suited for children& and that we watch on a certain night every
week. (uppose we have one of the grandkids stay over for a few nights, we -ust don/t watch that show,
we wait till they/re gone, it/s still there, we -ust watch it on our schedule. , note here, if you want to
%binge watch&, thats fine with 1etflix, the cost per month is the same, but if its a series you have
purchased, like from iTunes or ,ma5on, then you/ll defeat your purpose of saving money. , good
example, %(ix 6eet 3nder& from 78O, there are # seasons, we have -ust started on the fifth and last
season even thou we started watching it a year ago, we watch one show a week. ,nother plus I have
found is you can search all the cable channels for shows that stand out and ignore the rest of what they
offer, although 78O does seem to have some of the better offerings. ,nother example, we have -ust
started on 6argo, we/re two shows in and eight to go. If say next week we have grandkids staying over
for a few days, these shows will -ust wait till the next week.
One caveat, sports, if you are a ma-or sports fan, and have to have your total sports coverage, then this
might not be for you. I can live with what I get from network sports over the antenna, which is
considerable. If you need more then that, then you may need to keep the financial pipeline to the cable
or satellite Co. open.
1ow to crunch the numbers for the past year.
6irst the cost to get set up plus the cost of the shows purchased plus the monthly cost of 1etflix.
9arts...,ntenna, ) ,pple TV boxes, wiring, etc. !+*2.$$
(hows : 1etflix !);).$$

Total cost<setup and shows !#=$.$$

0ust the cost of shows purchased and 1etflix
(hows : 1etflix !);).$$
The cost over that same period of time if I had kept cable>
'ediaCom for one year at !"#.$$ per month !?$$.$$
6or the first year if you include the setup costs and costs for shows, we/re still saving !+;$.$$.
If the costs for 1etflix and shows purchased stays about the same, the savings per year going forward
should be in the area of !=#$.$$. , savings of over !#$.$$ per month.
1ow some helpful hints>
ith some of the newer TV/s you may not even need a box to stream shows from the computer, the TV
takes care of it for you. If your TV doesn/t, you have several choices, I picked ,pple TV simply
because I have a 'ac computer and I can stream my music from the computer to the TV if I want.
,lso I can use my i9ad to display pictures I have loaded on the computer on the TV. ,nother very
good choice is a .oku box, I strongly considered it also. There are other cheaper ways you can stream,
you -ust need to do your research.
@our antenna, this is I think an important choice for satisfactory viewing. @ou need to do a little
research online to determine where the broadcast station towers you want to access are located and to
determine the antenna that will best fill your needs. If you are located in the same general area I am,
your closest TV towers are clustered in the same general area except for one. @ou need to know how
far away they are, and the general compass direction, assuming you use a directional antenna. I went
with a directional antenna because all the (pringfield TV station towers, except one, are all located in
the same general direction about ;$ miles out. The one exception is the 6ox station, the closest tower
for us coming out of (pringfield, which is about )$ degrees different from all the others. Aven with my
antenna aimed more toward the ma-ority number of towers, I can still get a good signal for the 6ox
station. 'y daughter and her husband in 'arionville went with a larger multi<directional outdoor
antenna and they can receive all the (pringfield stations plus the 0oplin stations. 6or our area I would
say expect to pay around !"$.$$ to !*$$.$$ for a good antenna. I know people who use lower priced
antennas and get a picture, but I/ve also heard is is not always consistent. I can count on one hand the
number of times I have had a problem with a station being received in the past year, and it has always
cleared up in a very short time. I/m going to post some sites you can use for research.
http>BBwww.antennaweb.orgBdefault.aspx
http>BBantennapoint.comB
http>BBtvfool.comB
http>BBdennysantennaservice.comBdigitalCtvCantenna.html
,ny of these should help.
7aving been so successful with cutting the %cable& cord and seeing the savings it engendered I decided
it was time to attack another area of excessive expense, our home phone service. 6or over +# years we
have had the same phone service with the same number from ,T:T over a landline. If you live in the
area and have this service, or have had it, you know how expensive it can be. @ou have the basic cost,
then to be able to call outside your immediate area, say to (pringfield, you pay extra for that, add on
caller ID and its getting expensive. Then you start to notice every six months to a year, its another two
or three dollars added to your bill. The last bill I paid to ,T:T was for !#".$$ for one month for our
landline. I have an inexpensive cellphone that I have had for several years, but I still wanted to keep a
%home& phone. ,gain, for over a year I have done research on other options, the most viable always
seems to be a VOI9 phone system, Voice Over Internet 9rotocol, the only decision, which one. I have
been with ,T:T for several years for internet service, now 3 Verse, and have no complaints with it.
Avery time I researched this I came back to the same system. It is highly recommended by Consumer
.eports, and the reviews I found were all favorable. The company is Ooma, they have been in business
now for several years and seem to be well established. The cost of their system from them direct was
!*#$.$$, but as soon as I activated it they refunded me !#$.$$, so the actual cost was !*$$.$$. I picked
a new number in the ;*" area code, followed the directions on how to connect it to my computer, and I
was activated. The basic system gives you caller ID and voice mail and free long distance calling in
the states. They offer an expanded service with other features for an extra !*$.$$ a month. 'y first
charge for the basic service for a month, !+.2). I had to purchase two new wireless phones since all the
phones we had were so old they could not work with the new system. I notified ,T:T I wanted to
drop my phone service but keep my 3 Verse for internet. 8ecause I am using wireless phones I don/t
have to mess with my in<house phone wiring. If you would go from landline to VOI9 and want to use
your in<house phone wiring, you have to be sure to disconnect from the outside line coming into avoid
problems.
,nticipated savings, if I stay with Ooma basic< !#+.$$E a month, if I go with expanded< !;+.$$ a
month, looks like win<win to me.
http>BBooma.comBproducts