Over the last few months, I kept debating on getting rid of cable. I rarely watched it. I spent a ton of money on it. What was the real reason? I was just throwing money away. Well, the time has come. Goodbye Comcast. It was nice horrible being your customer.
Crappy, Expensive Service
My problems with Comcast started day one. They didn’t show up for my first appointment. When I called, I was told that they did show up and called me to get into the building, which had a fully staffed office that they could have easily walked into, but didn’t. The reason I didn’t get the call? They called my social security number. So much for identity theft security.
They didn’t set it up right, so I had to pay them $22 to get the cable working in my bedroom. They showed up late for that appointment too, so I got a $20 credit for the installation. It was only a pain in the ass and $2 to get that TV working.
Last month, I got a postcard in the mail from Comcast. My bill was going up. After tax it was going to be $67 per month! Enough is enough, I said. Time to cut the cord.
Working out Alternates
I already have a Roku player in my bedroom and an Xbox in my family room, so I have been using Netflix streaming for my primary TV for a while. I am rarely home on week nights, so I always caught the few shows I care about on Hulu anyway.
I came to realize that the only time I watch TV is in the morning getting ready for work. I watch the same local news channel every day to check on the traffic and weather. I can get that channel for free, so I went and got an antenna.
I ended up having to get an expensive antenna, for $40 instead of $15, because of where in the building I set the antenna. It worked well enough for a week that I was confident making the call.
Goodbye, Hope to Never See You Again
So yesterday, I made the call. I was watching Lord of the Rings on TNT when I called. About ten minutes later, it went black. I packed up the cable boxes and dropped them off at a Comcast customer service center.
I have one $67 bill left to pay and I will wash my hands of Comcast. I get cheaper, faster internet from the local phone company. Price for life is $40 a month for 12 MBPS. That is plenty fast for Netflix and Hulu.
Now I have a new problem. What should I do with the extra $804 per year?
Having an extra $804 a year is not a bad problem to have! I recently cut cable as well, and don't plan on getting it again. Like you, we didn't use it enough to justify the expense. I'm happy with the move. 🙂
You had a great post on it. Great minds think alike. Great Yakezie minds think alike and save money.
Great move! We haven't had cable for a couple of years now and I don't miss it at all.
Ironically, I'm going back to cable internet. Hopefully it will work well this time and we wouldn't have to cancel.
Maybe write the comcast guy above and tell him you'll come back if Comcast advertise here. 🙂
Good for you! I did this a few months back. For sometime it was weird, but I think this was one of the best decisions I took! I did buy a Roku box and rabbit ears though!
We are on the same playing field now. Which Roku do you have? I have been thinking about upgrading to the XD on my LCD 1080px TV and moving the HD to the old giant tube TV.
Love your title! LOL! We recently downsized our Dish Network package – I'm tired of the increasing prices and lack of decent programming anyway. Have fun deciding where to spend all that new found money!
Glad you like the title. I think the new money will help me pay down my student loans faster and increase my savings.
I've been a comcast customer for over 8 years now. It's a love-hate relationship. I loved it because I got a great deal ($70/mo for 3 premium channels+internet) for 12 months. I was able to renew that promotion for the next two years. Since then i've been heavily considering cutting the cord myself. I've been struggling to lately because once you have it, it's oh so hard to let it go.
I can relate. I have been going back and forth on cutting the cord for about six months. I realized I just don't watch TV that often and I can get local news for free. It cost $40 one time for a digital antenna. And I gotta love me some Netflix and Hulu streaming.
That is a ballzy move, but good for you! That'll add up to some serious coin over the course of a year.
Heck, you can watch just about any primetime show on the Internet, so why not!
The only shows that I really watch anymore are on NBC, so they are on Hulu. As long as Comcast doesn't shut that down, since they now own NBC, I'll be just fine. And they still make ad revenue from me watching online.
The shows I care about are all on Hulu, so no worries. I have a cord to hook my laptop to the TV (less than $5 on eBay) so it is like TV, just on demand with fewer commercials.
I agree JT, just not worth the money anymore.
My best advice to your company is to keep prices lower for the basic and mid-range packages (not just for six months) and to remember that customers have other options. Service was generally bad and prices kept rising.
Thank you for stopping in to comment. I appreciate it.
It is like a drug, but I have weened myself off, mostly by spending more time with friends outside of the apartment.
I'm with you on this one. The only time I care about cable TV is for sports, which I can easily find at a friends house or a local bar. Definitely worth not having cable to distract you though. As for the $804, vacation or Roth IRA are my suggestions.
Nice.
I don't pay for cable either, and I also utilize Netflix.
I'm still a Comcast customer for my internet connection, though.
I was able to drop Comcast 100%. My internet is through Qwest.
I've never had cable since I moved out on my own and there are a lot less options here in Canada than you have in the USA. I honestly don't know why anyone has cable in the USA other than maybe for sports. I've written two extensive guides on the subject myself:
How To Save Money On TV
A Guide To Free Internet TV
Those are helpful tips. Thanks for the comment.
What a good problem to have! What are you going to do with sports?
I am not a huge sports fan, so I can live without ESPN. I get the local teams over the air most of the time. If I am missing a game I really care about, I can always head down the block to a sports bar or a friend's place.
Cable is such a ripoff especially here with the monopoly. Sometimes I do enjoy watching some of those random shows and some can be quite interesting, but in the end it's too much of a time suck and it's very expensive as well. There's now plenty of legal avenues to watch TV on the Internet which is great. 🙂
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I will miss my Law and Order marathons, but now I can do them on Netflix streaming without commercials anyway.
We're going to cut back; we pay too much for the few channels we watch regularly. Thanks for reminding me to check into it.
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Good post. I'm still trying to talk the rest of the family into cutting the cord, but will eventually get there. I did go over the bill recently with a fine tooth comb, and cut it by 20%.
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Good job Andrew. Keep at it!
I did the same last year. Cable is almost like an addiction, but once you're free, you realize you weren't missing much. A bunch of my friends asked me how I did it, so I started a blog at http://kickoutcable.com
I know the feeling. I put off cancelling cable, and just said I was going to do it, for about six months. Getting out was a big win.
We just made a link to your post on our blog, http://cablecutter.tumblr.com/. We cut cable on Feb. 26, and have already saved $150 without missing any shows!