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Frugal Friday- Cutting the Cord on Cable



I used to love watching cable, but the truth was that I only watched about three or four channels, along with the cartoons that my kids watched almost constantly. Seven months ago we cut the cord on cable and have not looked back since.  Here are some tips that made life easier for everyone while cutting the cord on cable.


1.) Internet
Though we cut the cord on cable, but didn't go completely "off grid". We discovered that with high speed WiFi there still are many options for entertainment if you are willing to be flexible.



Movies and TV**

 The obvious options for movies and TV shows online are Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.  All of these are paid subscriptions if watching recent shows is important to you. So far we have tried to stay away from a subscription and have opted for free services such as tubitv.com and YouTube. Tubitv.com is a website that hosts older TV shows, I was surprised to find a few shows that I used to watch on cable, and many more I had never heard of.  One benefit of YouTube is the variety of content available for a variety of ages.  My older girls really enjoy watching educational videos, cooking videos, and cartoons.  My son pretty much just watches cartoons. There are so many creative, fun, and educational videos available.  I have found many options for myself for personal improvement and entertainment.  My favorite type of  video right now are vlogs  about freezer cooking, canning, and preserving. I also enjoy videos about saving money, and home management.


News

 Two of the major cable news networks like CNN, and Fox News both have online talk radio, and sometimes rebroadcast some of their regular shows online, in addition to their regular programming. There are also many other sources for news  They also show a great many clips of their shows, on their websites.

2.) DVD'S- You may already have a good collection of DVD's for your family that everyone loves to watch.


3.) Digital converter box/ or digital antenna: I have not had the opportunity to try these options, but my parents have a digital converter box, and are able to pick up three or four local channels.



4.) Get  a library card- Your local library is  wonderful source of entertainment and information. In addition to their regular book collections, libraries often lend our DVD'S and audio books.

Cutting the cord on cable may take some getting used to, but there are plenty of options to provide entertainment for the entire family. So cutting the cord doesn't necessarily mean going dark in the digital entertainment arena. It actually gives you many options to choose from.

** Note there are many, many options to use if you want to cut the cord on cable. Except for the example of the digital converter box,  these are the options that we have tried and seem to work well for our family.

Have you cut the cord on cable TV? What do you do as an alternative?





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