Wrap Up

Freedom from cable

Your New Cable Free Life is Within Reach

We covered a lot over the last few pages, but freedom from cable is within reach.  You’re now prepared to cut the cord from cable or satellite TV. You now have the tools to be successful and the conidence to lower the price of your TV package.

Let’s quickly summarize the process:

  1. Step #1 – What is Your Monthly TV Bill? – Determine how much you’re currently paying per month for your cable and satellite TV.
  2. Step #2 – Understand Your Content Footprint – Review and understand the different types of TV/video content that your currently watching.
  3. Step #3 – Building Your New Content Strategy – Identify the programs/channels you need to have, and determine the most cost-effective way to access.
  4. Step #4 – Buying and Installing a HD Antenna – Identify and install the right HD antenna for your living situation.
  5. Step #5 – Purchase a Streaming TV Device – Select the right device to me your streaming needs.

That’s it!  That’s all there is to it. Complete these five steps and your free from your cable bill.

What is the Cost to Get Started?

You will have some up front, out-of-pocket costs to get started on your cable free life. Knowing this is an investment in your future cable-free life, lets review each of these expenses in more detail:

  • Purchase a HD Antenna – ($25 – $200). Yes, you will need one of these.  This one-time cost can be as low was $25 or as high as $200.  Check out our HD Antenna guide for the specifics.
  • Purchase a Streaming Device – ($0 – $100). You will need a device to stream your new content. This one-time cost can be as low as $0 (if you leverage a special like Sling TV deal, which gives you free Amazon Fire TV stick) or as high as $100 if you purchase one of the set top devices. For the sake of this discussion we’re not including gaming consoles (PS4) as a viable option because of their large initial costs.  Check out our Streaming TV guide for the specifics.
  • Other Start Up Costs – ($0 – $100). While not mandatory, you may have some additional expenses prior to starting your cable-free life. You may need to purchase an additional coaxial cable, a HD antenna amplifier or a new wireless router (this is very rare)

For me all of the above cost ~$220.

  • $150 for my HD Antenna
  • $40 for Amazon Fire Stick TV (and we got one stick free when signing up for Sling TV but subsequently bought a 2nd for another TV or to use when traveling)
  • $30 for few basic accessories (30 ft coaxial cable, coaxial cable splitter, AAA batteries)

What is Your Total Monthly Savings?

This is the last thing you need to do before calling to cancel your cable/satellite service.  Determine how much your saving per month and how many months it takes to return your initial investment.

  1. Add up how much you used to pay per month for TV and video.  For me it was ~$110 per month.  
  2. Then add up how much you will spend per month with your new content strategy.  For me it was $29 per month.
  3. Subtract #2 from #1 and this is your total monthly savings.  For me it was $81 ($110 – $29)

I am saving $81 per month on my new TV content package.  My initial out-of-pocket costs of $220 are more than paid for after three months of my new content plan ($81 x 3 = $243), so my payoff period was less than three months!

This was a no brainer!

Ready, Set, CUT

Let’s do this.  You’re prepared, you’re confident, you’re excited.  You’ve checked all the boxes and plugged in all the wires.  You are ready to move foward!

Call your cable provider and cut the cord…welcome to the world of cable free TV viewing!  How much money are you saving per month?  Leave a comment and tell the world how much your saving!


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