Cut The Cord to Save ~$100/month?

[SeekingWealth.ca]

How many of you have "cut the cord" from your cable and home phone providers? Did you replace them with Netflix and magicJack, respectively?

I recently wrote an article about it, and by my calculations the savings were over $1,200 per year. Just wanted to take a vote here to see if anyone has done it.

Thank you.

[thriftygranny]

I would love to but unfortunately my husband feels differently.So he now pays the cable bill!

[SeekingWealth.ca]

Is it because he watches most content live, or local? Netflix, etc. have a ton of things to watch and it's only $8/month. Just curious what the reason is...

[thriftygranny]

Yup, he loves watches live and local and he absolutely needs his hunting channel!! I love net flicks, but I am not a big tv watcher he does enough for both of us!!!

[Darth Penguin]

Live out in the sticks and cell phones don't always work...KWIM??

landlines are useful for some folks..

[SeekingWealth.ca]

Definitely useful for some people, but for some the home phone is redundant, so it's interesting that so many people keep it.

[blueeyetea]

but for some the home phone is redundant

Until the day they have an emergency and need to call an ambulance/police/firefigthers, and the cell phone service is down. Landlines will always work.

[lindseyc]

I have never had a landline, I'm 36 years old and have had a cell phone since I was 17 and lived on my own. I have also never had cable TV and didn't actually own a TV until my 34th birthday.

I have Netflix (Canada/US/UK) I use a Blackberry (with a kickass grandfathered plan) and I have cheap internet cable from Start. What I pay in a month for those 3 most people couldn't even pay their cable bill with. I have never felt like I was deprived but I am also not a big TV watcher.

[beckie.c]

We tried for a while to go without cable and home phone. Our MagicJack dropped calls all of the time (not sure if that was an issue with out internet or the device), DH didn't like that, so we hooked up the phone again. We also picked up the basic TV package for TV on promotion, but not sure if we will keep it.

[endi2000]

We have been using an antenna and for a while had Free to air satellite TV. Then we had Netflix for a while - but unless you have an internet provider who doesn't care how much bandwidth you use - that will affect your internet cost. We have a landline and a really cheap cell phone for emergency use. Until the cell phone companies start offering a cheap unlimited local phone line that doesn't cost more than the landline and pay as you go cell phone - we will be staying with that.

Problem is - as soon as we get rid of our landline - the internet cost goes up $5/month - so it is rather limiting. We don't use either the cell phone or land line very much - so I always feel like I am spending $ uselessly.

[CouponingQueen]

we are planning on cutting our home phone since we all have cell phones here and all that calls are telemarketers >

then we will change the internet to something better because right now it sucks!

[sunny3]

Can't cut landline due to life line service. Anyone try vmedia? It's peaking my interest.

[saundyl]

We havent. Due to Several reasons
1)Netflix would cost us too much in the end as we are limited to 100 GB a month for internet - which is the highest northwestel allows residential users.
2) Internet requires a land line through Northwestel unless you go with a mobile stick which is also limited data here...so we cant go with a VOIP phone.
3) PLUS only VOIP means no phone to call for help in power outages etc. (cell towers tend to fade in and out during those too)

[PurpleBunny89]

We cut the house phone. I did find it useful though in terms of having to call companies like Bell (which it seems I am always doing!) or government type things or just having the piece of mind knowing I wouldn't be charged per usage for local calls.

I would love to cut the cable but DH loves his tv. We don't really spend money on entertainment outside of the home so cable is DH's entertainment and internet is mine. Cable we spend $30 a month taxes included for 40-50 channels and internet we pay $50 a month.

Truth be told though that if we had a nice bit of property we would definitely cut the cable and use an atena (spelling?) because DH would be outside most the time. Additionally if I didn't coupon I'd most certainly cut the internet "cord".