How to Break Up With Your Cable Provider

Now that I’ve been in my house for one year and 11 months, I’m only one month away from the end of my 2 year agreement with my cable provider. That means it’s time for us to start seeing other people.

I got the bundle deal with internet and TV because it was literally about $5 more expensive than just internet. Luckily the pricing models have changed and now I can get only internet for substantially cheaper than I could get internet and cable.

So how do you get rid of cable TV but still entertain yourself with some high quality visual entertainment? Let me tell you.

Things Have Changed

I actually wrote about this very topic a long time ago. Actually I rapped about this topic. However, that rap is a little outdated, as there is much better and cheaper technology available these days.

All you need is the internet and either your laptop or a very cheap device to meet almost any entertainment needs you wish.

Once you’ve gotten internet from an ISP, you’ll need to find a way to stream shows to your TV. That requires 2 things: a streaming service (like Netflix) and a device to play your shows and movies.

Streaming Service Options

There are still 3 main players in this world, and most of you are probably aware of them so I’m not going to go into much detail.

Netflix has TV shows and movies and is $7.99/month
Hulu Plus has mostly TV shows (more current options) and is $7.99/month
Amazon Prime gives you TV shows and movies along with free 2-day shipping, some free music, and other benefits. It costs $99/year ($8.25/month)

Streaming Hardware/Device Options

This is where there is a huge variety and I honestly haven’t tried a lot of them. The basic idea is that you can spend anywhere from $40 to $100 dollars and get a streaming device of your choice. You’ll have to do your own research, but here are a few of the most popular devices on the market today.

Google Chromecast – $35.00
Amazon Fire TV Stick – $39.00 (available on Nov 19th)
Amazon Fire TV – $99.99
Roku 3500R Streaming Stick (HDMI) – $49.00 (I own this one and really like it)
Roku 3 – $84.99
Apple TV – $99.00

Cut the Cable Cord

With just the internet, one or more streaming services, and a very convenient streaming media player, you can get rid of cable for good and still get plenty of quality entertainment.

Also, if you do decide to get cable one day these media players are actually pretty nice to work in tandem with your cable subscription. Most of the media players have apps like HBO GO and Watch ESPN, so you can get that content over your media player even if you aren’t pulled into the cable box.

James Hendrickson

James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.