Why we DITCHED Cable Television!

Let me start off by saying that I was once you. The person who couldn’t “Live” without my cable TV shows on their air dates. On a cold & Wintery day, we opened our Mailbox to find our cable bill. My sister and I were splitting the costs, but this bill had a little extra surprise for us… A notice that the bill will be raised by $15-$20. It may not seem like much to many of you, but for this out of work mommy
it sure was. Not only was ditching our cable bill going to save us more
than $100 a month, but we could still get our favorite show fixes
through Cheap monthly streaming services!

I pay for Netflix ($7.99/mo), my sister pays for Hulu ($7.99/mo), my siblings and I split the Amazon Prime cost ($99/year ; $33/each), and we each invested in a Smart TV. That leaves us with a total bill of roughly $290.76 per YEAR compared to ~$1,440 a year for cable (certain fees not included). To me, that’s Crazy!


Let me tell you a little about Netflix.

It’s a monthly subscription streaming service that always has an array of movies and shows in all categories for children and adults. It features an incredibly functional search function. My favorite features are the separate profiles you can create for each member of the family (Up to 5).

I love that I’m able to select my daughter’s name from the list and it will open up a whole bunch of children picks tailored to her depending on what she’s watched. Same goes for the adult profiles. I’m able to get shows and movies tailored to my liking! For only $7.99 a month, that’s something I could be happy about. My only Dilemma is that Netflix doesn’t add previous seasons of shows until
the new season of a show begins. The time frame for new seasons can range from three months to a whole year later based on agreements Netflix may have with the
studio that created the show. 

Let’s say you really can’t let go of your profound cable love, then Hulu may be for you. Hulu is also a monthly streaming service. Unlike Netflix, you won’t have to wait a whole months or a year for the New episodes to be added! Typically 1 day after the show airs, it will most likely be on Hulu. The ability to catch the newest shows right away at your fingertips does come with one huge flaw: commercials. Anyone who pays for Hulu Plus will have to endure a stream of ads (Sometimes 5-8 per episode!) To make matters worse, many of the ads are on repeat for the entire series. What that means is that you will more than likely get the same 1 or 2 commercials for the entire season or series of that show. I’ve memorized quite a few thanks to Hulu and although it is annoying, I don’t mind having to endure the commercials to see my favorite shows.

Amazon Prime Instant Video is the last of our streaming service. The Amazon Prime membership bundles Video streaming services with free, two-day shipping, prime music, Kindle lending library, and prime photos. Amazon represents the best overall value, especially if you are a student. When I first joined Amazon prime in my first year of college I was able to pay $49/year! It would be that rate for 4 years, then you’d have to pay full price or prov you’re still in school. Amazon’s service can also get you some nice deals on current seasons of shows you can’t find on other sites. Once you buy a season, It will automatically show up in your library as they become available. 

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick provides oodles of features that will actually enhance any
instant streaming service: including Disney Junior App, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, CNN, and most importantly…Amazon’s.