Cutting costs by cutting cable

Did you know that most public library systems have movies in VHS and DVD format that you can check out? I had Netflix but after the first month the service went downhill. Now I pop by the library, grab some movies and get to keep them for a week. I can even access my account online and put holds on movies, check to see what is in transit from other branches and when my movies are due. And the cost of the library card ... nothing. LOL

We've been thinking about just plain cutting out cable. It would save us $20 per month, which we could use. The tricky part is that we do actually watch shows that are on the basic cable channels. How is the movie watching going for you guys? Do you miss tv shows? We've turned off the TV for the week just because I watch too much and it was wasting my time, but I don't know if we could actually go six months without any TV.

I have wondered if this would be a good option for my family as well. I think we spend way to much time infront of the TV just rotting away. Our cable isnt a horrible bill but every penny helps. I think I would miss the TV and spend more time online. We once canceled out internet and tried using or family members computers when we went to visit them. It lasted for a while but I missed it. We did manage to save enough money to buy a new computer though. I hope every thing works out well for you.

I did this, too! I lived without a television for three years and saved money by just subscribing to Netflix and playing them on the DVD player on my computer. I did it to be frugel, but honestly, now that I live with my SO (aka the television addict), I find myself watching so much mindless tv instead of reading or producing art or any of the other far more productive things that I did while I didn't have tv.

Good for you. If you are happy doing that. Don't your cable offer basic hookup for about $15 month? That way you would have movies, news, weather channels and more. I know they do in some places. Good luck and continue to be thrifty and you two will be happy for the results Good luck.

You know what I did? I signed up for high speed internet through the cable company and the basic cable channels signal comes through as well. I just hooked up a tv and I get the internet and the basic cable all for the cost of the internet. If you have high speed cable internet you may want to see if you can get the cable signal for your tv.

I think Netflix would be a good alternative. Not only do they have movies, but they also have shows. However, one of my friends cut cable, and now they buy like $200 a month worth of DVDs instead. So much for saving money. If they believed in doing some things online, they could save money. But instead, they fear the internet and would never use a credit card online.

That is actually a great idea! We have cable with two premium channels, plus a movie pass amd game pass though blockbuster. That's rather ridiculous isn't it? I let the kids talk me into this crap. I think I'll cancel cable to, atleast the premium and extended channels. We never watch them anyway. What I waste! We could have been saving all that money for Christmas shopping or something. A family vacation even. Thanks for the idea; I wish I could have seen what is right in front of my face, I appreciate you pointing it out. Acuity

One thing we did for awhile when we didnt have cable, we went and bought a few board games for the same price of the movie channels, and spent one or two nights a week with "family night" playing board games, it was much more fun and we bonded alot more than we ever did on movie nights!! Perfect for rainy spring days and icky cold weather nights too!!

I cut the cable about 3 maybe 4 years ago now. I put the money towards my internet bill every month. At first the kids missed it but they are both getting into the comuter now so they keep busy. And we've got a video machine and a dvd with a ton of movies for them to watch.

That's what my boyfriend and I are thinking of doing when we move in together! I don't watch enough TV to justify getting cable and it seems silly to pay so much just for Comedy Central. My parents have a Netflix subscription and they like it.

I also don't have cable, because my apartment building is not wired for it. It's really expensive anyway...and there's still usually nothing on anyway :-) I love netflix. I really like watching series shows like LOST, Deadwood, or nip/tuck on DVD. I love LOST but get so confused and miss lots of the little hints. Watching it on DVD helps me keep track of things better. I go through alot of netflix movies so I know I am really getting my money's worth from them...and it's so convienient.

I'm doing the same thing! Not because I wanted to save money, but because my building is so old that we cannot get cable. Rather than spending all the money on a dish, we also have netflix. It's great because now we hardly ever watch commercials and get to watch an entire season of a television show all in order. In fact, I think in some ways I prefer it over cable. The only funny thing is that friends will be like "Did you watch [insert show name here]? You won't believe what happened!" Then I panic and stop them because I am still trying to catch up on the ealier season. My new saying is "Is it on netflix? If not, I probably haven't seen it."

You can watch most of the shows on tv now with the internet.. Sounds like a good idea actually.

Wow that's cool savings...I would want that for us..but for now I am contented connecting with our neighbor in regards to the cable.

I usually don't watch even free airwaves TV though for the 2nd time in 10 years I bought another small black and white television (the first one broke a few years ago) But now I'm on the computer most of my free time, I only watch it with irregularity. I find things on the net more entertaining than the mainstream stuff on the public airwaves anyway.

Well, getting rid of the cable seems like a radical but practical idea. I personally have not done this, but I know many who have either cut off or cut it down. Sometimes, the low end with just a few channels costs only about 1/3 of what you were spending. I have satellite and find it to be a good value for our home because it gives us programming options that far exceed it's cost to us. My wife and I went for the first 5 years of our marriage without even a TV. Sometimes, I think those times were far better. We read more, talk more, and entertained friends more. Since we rarely watch a movie, some form of provider is our only option if we're going to watch TV because we really can't get a decent signal from an antenna.

yea, that's true.....