Debt Reduction 101

Last week, Wise Bread featured an article that talked about how “easy” it is to give up cable when there are so many other options to get your TV fix out on the Internet or through alternative means like Netflix.

While reading this article, I remember a conversation I recently had with my friend Edie – a stay-at-home mom who recently gave up cable.

The bold parts are my questions and Edie’s answers are below.

Why did you give up cable? How long ago was that?

We decided to give up cable last fall. After moving to a new home in January, we hooked up cable and Internet in February ‘08, thanks to a package deal that was good for 12 months – $60 for both. Six months went by and I get a bill from the cable company for $130. WHAT!!??!?!?? They said that my “deal” was only good for 6 months, not 12. Now, I would swear on my mother’s life that it was for 12 months and if I could remember the name of the cool guy with the strong English accent that hooked me up, I might be able to prove it, but I can’t. So basically we gave up cable because we were angry about getting cheated …but also we were looking for ways to save money. I am a stay-at-home mom with 2 small children. My husband works as a project manager in the construction field and business has been very unstable lately – with no sight of getting better. Nowadays some people see cable as a necessity like water and heat, but it isn’t. It’s another way to save a few bucks every month.

My husband wanted to keep the cable coverage until after the election was over. So around about November 10th we went from approximately 125 channels to 20. Still seems like a lot right? Well, considering 9 of those are QVC, public access or city information channels – it’s really only PBS, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, CW, FOX, and maybe 1-2 others. Still enough, we thought.

In the time since you’ve gave up cable, how much have you saved?

I figure since we shut off cable and went from $130 ($80 for cable, $50 for Internet) per month to $50 per month ($20 for cable and $30 for Internet…we also went to a slower speed.) So that’s $160 so far, and over the course of a year we’ll save $960.

What do you miss most about cable?

I can tell you right now – my husband misses ESPN. I guess the thing I miss the most about cable is the options I would have. The only time I really get to sit down and watch TV is between the hours of 1-2:30 (naptime!) and 8-10 at night (after the kids have gone to bed). Now I have it one at other times of the day, but only either to watch the news, catch up on the weather or have it on while making supper or cleaning. I don’t like soap operas or trashy talk shows so there isn’t anything on in the afternoon.

What are some of your favorite shows? How do you watch them without cable?

Thanks to the glory of the Internet, I can watch some of my favorite shows online. “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” is a must see. I can watch that in the quiet of afternoon naptimes. And without commercials, it’s a lot easier to watch. I also love “Jon and Kate plus 8” on TLC, but can learn to live without it. The kids are getting older and it isn’t as cute anymore. I enjoy the Home and Garden Channel too – like to see things people do to their houses and how people buy and sell them, but again – it’s something I can get along without if it means saving serious money.

Do you utilize any other forms of entertainment, i.e. – Netflix or Red Box to rent movies or watch TV?
For the time being, we do belong to Netflix. So for $14 a month we can get an unlimited number of DVD’s – two at a time. I plan to use this tool to catch up on shows that I will miss too. I really LOVE the HBO series “Entourage”, and can get the entire season from Netflix. I just have to be patient … it usually takes 4-6 months after the season ends to get them on DVD.

You have kids, right? What do you do for children’s programming?
Luckily the only thing I would let me kids watch was PBS. And, we still get PBS. I try to keep it to 30 minutes a day – so far that works. I really hate commercial kids programming. All the advertisements for things they don’t need!

Do you think you would ever go back to watching cable?
If the price of cable was cut in half, I would probably go back. Or if they ran another package deal…maybe. But then again, I think it’s a welcome time saver. Not only am I saving money, but finding more time in the day to do things where I may normally have been sitting in front of the TV.