5 Ways to Cut The Cable Cord and Save Over $800 a Year!

We’ve been cable-free for the past 6 years. Getting rid of cable was one of the best things we did. Like most families, we have a pretty good idea of what we want to watch on TV.

We like to watch things like cooking, DIY, family-friendly TV series, and sports. One day we were re-evaluating our budget and we realized that we were paying $120 a month for cable TV.

We knew we had to do something, it just wasn’t worth the cost to us. So we decided to cut the cord and look for cable alternatives.

It may seem difficult to get rid of cable because you want to have something to watch. We started looking into options to cut the cord and thankfully found some great cable alternatives.

Cable Alternatives

The first alternative to cable we found was Netflix. It had really great options for the TV shows we liked to watch.

My favorite part is it has the complete seasons of TV shows we like to watch and no commercials.  We decided to keep Netflix because we liked that they would constantly add new TV shows and movies.

Our next obstacle was “how were we going to cut cable and still watch sports?”. My husband loves to watch sports and I felt bad that he didn’t have the option to watch them on Netflix.

One day, we saw an ad for SlingTV and decided to try it out.  With SlingTV you can cut cable and still watch sports. So we decided to give it a shot.

We’ve had SlingTV for about a year now and it’s been working for us. The combination of Netflix and Sling TV has filled the gap of not having cable TV.

Instead of spending $120 a month on cable, we are now spending $40 a month. That’s a huge saving for us.  We’re saving over $800 a year just by cutting the cable cord!

Since we are living successfully without cable, I’d love to help you accomplish the same thing. My goal is to help you save money so you can live your life to the fullest.

How to Cut the Cord

If you are ready to find a cable alternative, follow the steps below to make sure you have what you need to go cable-free.

Step 1. If you decide to cut the cord, you need to be sure you have a good internet connection. Most people have internet service already. If you don’t have internet service, you’ll need to get it. Check with your local provider and get internet service.

Step 2. The next thing you will need is a way to watch TV. If you get rid of cable, you will be watching TV through an app. If you have a fairly new smart TV, it should have the capability to stream through apps.

If you don’t you can get a device to plug into your TV.  It will save you money to purchase a device rather than buying a new smart TV. There are many different streaming devices to choose from.

We use a Roku Streaming Stick. It’s around $30 and works awesome. This is the only one I recommend because we have personally used it and haven’t had any issues.

Best Alternatives to Cable TV

There are many cable alternatives available and you need to find what’s best for you. Our family is perfectly fine with Netflix and SlingTV.  Together they fit all the needs of our family. Check out the list below for some of the best cable alternatives.

1. Netflix

We love Netflix. We’ve had it for over 4 years so I guess that’s a good indication that we like it.  Netflix has a lot of great features. Here are some of my favorite features:

• You can cancel anytime. There are no contracts. You are on a month-to-month subscription. If you want to stop for one month and then start again later, you can. There are no penalties. They have great plans to choose from.

• You can watch it anywhere. You can watch Netflix on your TV, tablet, computer, phone, etc. Basically anywhere there is internet available.

• You can create your own profile. They even have kid profiles so you can protect your children from grown-up shows. Once you create a profile and start watching stuff, Netflix will customize your profile to what you like to watch.  I love this because there is a lot of variety on Netflix. It gives me good suggestions for what I might want to watch.

• You can download shows. Yes, you read that right. Many of the shows and movies are available for download. This is perfect for long road trips or camping trips where you don’t have internet service.

There are many more benefits to having Netflix. You can check it out for yourself. They are currently offering a 30-day free trial to try out their service.

2. SlingTV

As I mentioned above, we’ve had SlingTV for a year. It’s easy to get rid of cable with great options like this. We really like it because it allows us to pay for the channels we want. It features the same TV shows as cable. If it’s on cable, it’s available on SlingTV.

SlingTV is a streaming service, not a cable service. It allows you to pick a package with the channels you like most. You end up paying less because you are getting rid of channels you don’t watch.

We don’t need 100 channels, we are fine with 25 channels. It’s a great way to watch “live” TV for less. Here are some of my favorite features:

• You can pick which plan you want. They have basic packages to choose from. Each plan shows you the channels included with that plan. The least expensive plan is $30 a month and the most expensive is $40 a month. You also choose to add a specific channel for an additional charge. Don’t overdo it here. You can easily get back to cable prices. We have the $30 package and when football season starts we add that package. This is only a good idea if you know the basic football rules otherwise, it won’t be fun to watch. Check out the SlingTV package options to see what works for you.

• You can cancel anytime. No contract is required to have SlingTV. It’s a month-to-month plan. You can change your add-ons and channels anytime.

• If you miss a show you can watch it later. There are specific shows that we like to watch but we can’t always watch them at the time they air. SlingTV allows you to watch the show later. This is true for most channels. Sometimes the option isn’t available. It has worked for us every time we need it.

• You can watch it anywhere. You can watch SlingTV on your TV, tablet, computer, phone, etc. Basically anywhere there is internet available.

3. Hulu

We tried out Hulu and found it to be very similar to Netflix.  You can create profiles, you can cancel anytime and the pricing is the same as Netflix.  They feature different shows and movies on Hulu. One thing that sets them apart from Netflix is that they have a “live” TV package.

We had this for a few months and then decided to cancel because the costs were adding up again. I didn’t want to get back into cable tv pricing.

I recommend that you do the free 30-day trial for Hulu and see if it has the shows you like to watch. You can compare it to the free 30-day Netflix trial and see which one you like better.

We tried Hulu “live” and love it. It’s a little pricey but it has one of the easiest interfaces for live TV. You should try it for yourself with the free 7-day trial of Hulu Live.

4. TV Antenna

One other great option is a TV Antenna. We don’t personally have one because we live at a high elevation and it doesn’t work.  My in-laws have one though and it works great. When we stay at their house we watch it. It comes in really clearly and has some great channel options.

The only thing you need to do to get started is to purchase the TV Antenna. You set it up and instantly get TV. It doesn’t require internet service. This is a great option if you want to cut cable completely. Your monthly service fee will be $0.

5. Amazon Prime

We have been Amazon Prime members for the past several years. One of the main reasons I’m an Amazon Prime member is for the free Prime shipping.

We live in a mountain community that doesn’t have everything we need. We order on Amazon to make up for what we are missing. You can read more about my favorite Amazon Prime benefits.

One of the benefits of Amazon Prime is Amazon Instant Video. They have a lot of free TV shows and movies for Prime Members. If you like a variety of tv shows and want to cut the cord, this may work for you.

You can check out what they have to offer with a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. They also have “add-on” channels. Example: If you want to watch a specific channel you can subscribe monthly to that channel. It’s a great option that we use.

Have You Cut The Cord on Cable TV?

Those are my suggestions for the best cable alternatives.  I hope this list is helpful to you. I know there are other cable tv alternative options available but I like to speak from experience. You should check out my list of ways to watch free movies online.

It’s easy to suggest a service but I feel like it isn’t helpful if I don’t have experience with it. We’ve tried a lot of different tv services and these are our favorite. We bounce between Hulu and Netflix a lot. It really depends on what shows they have to offer.

My ultimate goal is to help you save money. Cutting cable has helped us save a lot of money. Now we can put that money away or use it on something else.  You should definitely try it.

If you got rid of cable, I’d love to hear about your experience.  Let me know what streaming service you are using and how you like it in the comments below.