Cut the cord: Quit cable, not entertainment
I’m gonna let you in on a dirty little secret. I love television. Absolutely adore it.
That’s not something you’re supposed to say. I feel like I should tell you that after a long day what I really like to do is read Nietzsche or make handmade soap, but lying is bad.
I am actually watching TV as I write this. Well, the TV is on. That’s a problem.
Here’s the other problem: Cable is expensive. I was paying well over $100 per month for cable through AT&T UVerse.
So, a few months ago my husband and I joined the growing trend of people who are ditching cable.
Here’s how we cut the cord and still get our TV fix:
Antenna: One-time purchase of $29.99. It is a small, flat rectangle that hides behind our TV. The antenna takes care of all local channels including: NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX. It allows me to keep up with Brad Panovich.
Here’s a look at your 10pm temperatures. #cltwx #ncwx #scwx pic.twitter.com/6W26FxuRFD
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) May 15, 2015
Google Chromecast: One-time purchase of $29.99. This is a thumb-size streaming device that fits into the TV’s HDMI port and is easy to transfer from one TV to another. Plus, it has a whole slew of available apps such as Netflix, Hulu and Google Play.
Netflix: Monthly charge of $8.99. Is there anything better than a rainy-day Netflix binge? It has movies, the complete series of many shows and fantastic original programming. I could write sonnets about how much I love “Orange is the New Black.”
The new @OITNB trailer = what your Monday NEEDS http://t.co/3Clvcrv1qB pic.twitter.com/dfyMGUUgB0 — Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan) May 11, 2015
Hulu Plus: Monthly charge of $7.99. Hulu Plus has a couple of minor irritations. There are some shows, like “Jane the Virgin,” that it only shows partial seasons of and/or random episodes. However, Hulu makes your foray back to social media quicker by showing buzz-worthy shows like “Scandal” the next day.
Amazon Prime: Annual charge of $99. I’ve had Amazon Prime for years because I loathe shopping and adore free two-day delivery. It also has a lot of movies, full series and original shows that are included in your annual membership. “Veronica Mars”… enough said.
“There’s a case to be solved.” #VeronicaMarsMovie #KristenBell pic.twitter.com/6fSxL7DRgX
— Veronica Mars (@veronicamars) April 28, 2014
HBO Go: Uh, borrowed. OK, cutting the cord is becoming more prevalent, but everyone knows someone who has HBO through a cable provider. If they’re not your parents, bake them a cake or take them a bottle of wine and ask them to slide that password right over.
After cutting the cord…
… We pay around $25 per month (if you spread out the Amazon Prime cost on a monthly basis). That means that we are saving about $75 per month.
Translation: more MayoBird lattes, more trips to the Manor Theatre, and more trips to The Boulevard at South End, where I can treat myself to one new quirky coffee mug a week in place of 300 channels of nothing.
Photo by Mark Lennihan/Star-Telegram.
This story was originally published May 17, 2015 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Cut the cord: Quit cable, not entertainment."