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Cutting the cord was the best thing I have done to save money. There are so many options out there now that it’s pretty easy to find something that works for you that could save you money. When I first started thinking about it, it was really scary. What if I missed a show I really like? Or what if I don’t like it? I just told myself, it’s only TV. Wouldn’t you like to save a little more money so you can go out of the house? Maybe it’s a chance to reduce how much into TV you are to spend more time with your family. And if you don’t like it.. there is no contract so you can always go back or try something new.
What I did to find the right package…
Made a list of all my shows that I really liked to watch and what channels they were on. Then I prioritized them by ones I really wanted to watch as they came out and ones that I could wait till the season came out and catch up on my own time. While doing this research I made a rule to not start any new shows. This way if we did switch and it was only available by the season or not available at all, it wouldn’t add to our list.
Once I did that I checked each of the streaming services to see what I could and may not get. We did have a couple of priorities that made it hard to fully switch away from live TV. Even though 99% of our shows we always recorded and watched the next day there were a couple we didn’t. For example: Walking Dead.
Everyone is going to be different and one package may be perfect for one person but not someone else. So the researching did take me time.
The great news is, that most of the services offer a Free Trail. This gives you an opportunity to experience it without losing what you already have going and without paying extra. We did a free trail to overlap our cable and tried to use that trial only and pretend we didn’t have cable. Really gave us an idea on what we could get vs what we are missing. We learned we really weren’t missing much, and anything we might be missing wasn’t that important to us.
We do have a smart TV which gave us access to Netflix and Hulu but not all the available apps that would be useful. Like Sling TV or PS Vue. We ended up buy this firestick which has been working great for us. There is also a Roku or FireTV
Here is a break down on some of the things we tried so far.
Playstation Vue
Starting at 39.99
Playstation Vue was my favorite live streaming option. For me personally it had the best channel line up for the basic package plus a DVR option. You can read more about my experience with Playstation Vue here. There are multiple package levels so if you need more sports or maybe more movie channels there is an option to upgrade.
This is a great option to start getting used to not having cable.
Live TV
Multiple Packages
DVR
On Demand
Hulu
Starting at 7.99
If you have Playstation Vue then you may not need Hulu. What’s great about Hulu is it almost works as a DVR for you. Shows are available the next day! Be careful though, some shows are available on Hulu but not until the season ends. So far AMC and CBS shows are what effected me here. CBS shows was a lower priority though. Some shows expire on Hulu so keep an eye out on expiration dates.
Streaming Service
Shows Available next Day
Live Option (Additional Cost)
Hulu Original Shows
HBO Option (Additional)
Multiple Package Options
DVR
Other Add Ons
Netflix
Starting at 7.99
We were already paying for Netflix when we had cable so I don’t really count this in our cost savings. But, there were a lot of shows we watched that were already on Netflix if we just waited a little longer to watch them. Keep an eye out on what shows are coming and going on Netflix, so if they are going to expire you can get them in.
Full Seasons Available after they Air
3 Levels, all levels include the same amount of access, what changes is the quality of the picture and how many you can stream at one time.
Some Other Options I looked into, but I have not tried yet.
Direct TV Now.
Seems to have a great amount of channels and actual good channels for the price. However, it doesn’t have a DVR at this time. If you have an AT&T plan they offer discounts for having both. May be worth looking into if you are not as worried about a DVR.
Sling TV
Sling TV has the cheapest package that I saw, but it seemed to come with the least amount of channels that I was looking for, without buy both the Orange and Blue. Also, at the time it did not have a DVR. It did just recently release a DVR so it could be back in the running.
All of these have great options but will really depend on what you are looking for. What’s great is that none of these have a contract, so you can try different things and see what really does work best for you. Or if you know you watch more in Fall when all the shows come out and less in Summer then you can subscribe for the time of year you use it.
What we are currently working with
I will admit, currently we do have the most basic cable you can get, no HD, no DVR, only a few channels. We only did this for a promotion that cable + internet package was actually cheaper than just having internet alone. So it saved us $10 on our internet plus we got some channels. This may be a good option if your cable company offers a discount for cable + internet. What is good about this, is having the basic cable, even though the TV quality isn’t great and there is no DVR option, it does give you access to a lot of the cable TV apps.
We only use the Cable for FOX News, Current AMC(Walking Dead), and FX(American Horror Story) shows.
For everything else we are using a combination for Hulu and Netflix which AMC and FX shows are both on eventually. If you are willing to wait for them.
With Hulu and Netflix. I feel like I have more TV than I ever did with cable. With access to shows I may have missed when they were on, and Original Shows each platform has to offer.
Here is a breakdown of my channel comparison to get you started. I really recommend looking by show when considering Hulu and Netflix. They may have some shows from a channel but not all.
| Playstation Vue (Live) |
Netflix (Stream) |
Hulu (Stream) |
Hulu (Live) |
Sling Blue (Live) |
Sling Orange (Live) |
DirectTV Now | App | |
| ABC | Yes | Yes | Yes (Next Day) |
Yes | No | No | Yes | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| AMC | Yes | Yes | Yes (After Season Ends) |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| CBS | Yes | Yes | Yes (Older Episodes) |
Yes | No | No | Yes | Subscription Required |
| CW | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes – Free |
| Discover | Yes | No | Yes (Older Episodes) |
No | No | No | Yes | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| FOX | Yes | No | Yes (Next Day) |
No | No | No | Yes | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| FreeForm | Yes | Yes | Yes (Not all Freeform Shows, some next day, some later) |
Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| FX | Yes | yes | Yes (Older Episodes) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| MTV | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| NBC | Yes | Yes | Yes (Next Day) | Yes (On Demand) |
Yes | No | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| SyFy | Yes | Yes | Yes (Only some, Older Episodes) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| Travel | Yes | No | Yes (Older Episodes) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| HGTV | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| History | No | No | Yes (Older Episodes) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| USA | Yes | Yes | Minimal | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
| Disney | Yes | YEs | YEs | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Mix Free and Cable Login Required |
| Fox News | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Cable Log in Required |
Comment what you have tried and works the best for you!
