We finally eliminated cable earlier this year. Cutting the cable cord wasn't hard due to the fact that we have a digital antenna.
And, guess what?
We haven't missed it one bit.
According to NPD Group (a market research company), the average monthly cable bill in 2015 is expected to be $123. By the year 2020, the average cable bill is expected to be around $200 a month.
That’s A LOT of money!
In fact, that’s $1,476 for 2015 alone. By 2020, the average annual cable bill would then be $2,400.
Who wants to spend that much money on TV?
I know I don't!
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I know there are some out there who prefer to have cable because they watch sports, but I doubt that is the norm. I believe many have cable just because it's an expense that most people have and are “used to.”
However, that money could be used for something else. Perhaps a vacation, retiring a little bit earlier, paying off debt, and so on.
One of the main ways I recommend cutting the cable cord (and making it a bit easier) is by purchasing a digital antenna.
Related money saving tip: You can also ditch cable and get Hulu instead. It's as low as $5.99 and a great way to save loads of money each month on cable.
Cutting the cable cord is easy with a digital antenna.
When you think of TV antennas, you probably think of the classic rabbit ears that are big and ugly. You probably also think about how the picture is never perfect and how channels can get blurry and almost completely fade away.
Well, these days antennas are no longer like that and this makes cutting the cable cord much easier. Digital antennas are sleek looking and allow you to watch your favorite TV shows with no problem at all.
Digital antennas are also cheap. They start at around $29.99 on the Antennas Direct website and go up from there. There is no monthly cost to use a digital antenna, so you can still receive many of your favorite local TV channels (that's all I ever watched anyways!) and never have to pay money again.
Just think about it – around $30 for a digital antenna and be set for a really long time, or spend thousands of dollars on cable that you probably don't get full use out of?
Seems like a clear winner to me!
Related: 16 Alternatives To Cable TV That WILL Save You Money
Our digital antenna.
We recently got a digital antenna (you can go to this website and find many great digital antennas – this is an affiliate link, but I didn’t find out I could be an affiliate until after I was already using their digital antenna. I truly enjoy this product and recommend it!) and it has been working well for us.
We have the ClearStream™ Micron Indoor Multi-Directional Digital TV Antenna.
It’s an indoor one that sits behind our TV, there is no ugliness that goes along with it, and you can’t even see it.
The digital antenna gives us around 14 channels and they are all of great quality. I've even heard of others getting 50 or 60 channels. The antenna we bought was around $60 and it will allow us to save hundreds of dollars a year for years to come, so it was a great deal.
Do you have cable? Why or why not?
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Priscilla S. says
October 18, 2015 at 9:58 pmWe have the basic package but plan on cutting the cord soon. When we really looked at our typical viewing habits we stream more than anything else. I’d like to give SlingTV a try too!
Natalie Brown says
October 19, 2015 at 2:55 amI do have cable and it’s just okay. It’s so expensive though. This is a really cool product! Thank-you for the helpful information & generous chance. 🙂
david says
October 19, 2015 at 10:18 amNo, I do not have cable. Too expensive.
Lyz S says
October 19, 2015 at 10:57 amCable is too expensive for us, so we haven’t had it for years.
Kay says
October 19, 2015 at 11:39 amYes, I do have cable. I guess I don’t feel tech savvy enough to have anything else. It’s soooo expensive though! I’d like to try other options but I just don’t understand them.
Sharon Kaminski says
October 19, 2015 at 12:42 pmWe do have cable. We do like it because we love football.
jimmy Rector says
October 19, 2015 at 1:54 pmwe have dish getting higher every day
Edmond says
October 19, 2015 at 10:18 pmRE: no cable. Can’t afford it. Pick me, pick me! Your next winner!!! Show me the money!!! It would be a dream come true and means more to me than anyone else to win. Starving artist here desperately needs the prize $50 and eat. Winner, winnner. Chicken dinner. A life changing experience. Top of my bucket list. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. Dear Santa: I’ve been nice. My X-Mas wish this year is to win this contest.
Kelly Nicholson says
October 19, 2015 at 10:22 pmhave direct tv..i really need this
christopher h says
October 20, 2015 at 1:32 ami do not have cable anymore, I found I was spending too much money on something I wasn’t watching that much
Carlos says
October 20, 2015 at 12:13 pmIndeed, we still have cable as some of the shows we are currently hooked on are exclusively on it, like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead…
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
October 20, 2015 at 3:15 pmWalking Dead is on Netflix 🙂
Horace says
October 20, 2015 at 12:28 pmOur family does not have cable. We cut the cord to save money about a year ago.
sarah s says
October 20, 2015 at 1:32 pmWe haven’t had cable for a little over two year, we use mainly the free version of Hulu and free episode selections on the main cable channels.
David says
October 20, 2015 at 2:29 pmWe don’t have cable. It is too expensive and there are plenty of free channels.
LindaG. says
October 20, 2015 at 3:25 pmWe have cable now, but we want to try the indoor antennas, so thank you for the review.
Wanda Bergman says
October 20, 2015 at 4:00 pmWe do have cable so we can gain a few more channels.
Jack says
October 20, 2015 at 4:15 pmRight there with you. We’ve saved thousands of dollars so far by cutting the cord and switching to Netflix and Roku. Best of all, no commercials!
I do miss Mythbusters, but if I missed it that much, I could always buy it on Amazon.
Anita L says
October 21, 2015 at 7:09 amYes, we have cable because without it, we would not be able to watch television!
wudstock08 says
October 21, 2015 at 9:03 amnope we dont have cable. just an antenna to save money
Sharon says
October 21, 2015 at 2:49 pmNo, we don’t have cable, and we need a digital antennae to get local and more channels better! Thanks for an Awesome Giveaway!!
Anna says
October 22, 2015 at 11:58 pmWe don’t have cable because it is too expensive!
Stacy says
October 23, 2015 at 4:14 pmWe do have cable, but I have been trying to convince my husband to cancel it so that we can save money. His two excuses are that he loves watching the History channel and that since we bundle our Internet and cable that we will end up paying more for the Internet. But we have Netflix and everything else we watch can be picked up with a digital antenna so I don’t know why he is resisting.
aaron wells says
October 23, 2015 at 8:52 pmno cable here as its not available in new zealand
Allyson Bossie says
October 24, 2015 at 7:17 amWe currently have cable. Husband works 14 hour night shift, and on his nights off, he is awake all night. He likes watching tv during those hours.
Robin says
October 24, 2015 at 12:47 pmI have cable only until the contract is up. It is just too darn expensive for me to continue. It’s higher than my power bill and that’s nuts.
Jenny S says
October 24, 2015 at 12:58 pmWe’ve been thinking about getting rid of cable. It would save so much money.
Tonya Flores says
October 24, 2015 at 1:09 pmWe don’t have anything but we need something. lol
rajee says
October 25, 2015 at 1:04 amI dont have cable as it is so expensive but kids love to have it
denise low says
October 25, 2015 at 7:06 pmWe got rid of cable because it was getting to high. Thank you for the entry.
mysweetiepiepie says
October 25, 2015 at 8:42 pmNope, we don’t have cable because I can think of about a million other things I could spend the money on.
Amanda Sakovitz says
October 26, 2015 at 2:37 amI do because I havent researched other options yet.
Ruy M. says
October 26, 2015 at 8:53 amI don’t have cable, but I watch Netflix and Hulu on a regular basis.
Betsy Rubendall Barnes says
October 26, 2015 at 4:41 pmWe do not have cable. About 4 years ago, we decided to cut the cord because the cost was rising constantly, plus, we were not watching a lot of the channels we were paying for. We have been so happy since. We have Netflix and catch up up on our favorite shows from network websites. We watch when we have time, so nice 🙂
Tracie Cooper says
October 26, 2015 at 7:34 pmYes we have cable but I would love to try this antenna!
Thomas Murphy says
October 26, 2015 at 11:21 pmI do because I have been to lazy to switch it up.
Kelly says
September 14, 2016 at 8:33 pmWe had to cut cable due to the expense. My fiance did a little go ogling and watched some you tube videos and put a few ideas together and made this antenna from wire hangers in a zip zag patern all the way down a 3ft maybe 4ft board and back fed the whole house somehow with it got 40 channels! Way more then the 13 channels with the $60 antenna we tried first! It works perfect and clear and FREE
Diana Mota says
January 12, 2017 at 4:45 pmI looked into quitting cable, but the Internet, which I would want and is currently is part of a package, would by itself be almost as much as the package is currently.
Angela says
January 23, 2017 at 3:17 pmI do have cable because I am retired and I watch Hallmark and other stations you cant get on regular t.v., plus I have the Internet and home phone on my plan. I do plan on getting just the basics though.
JYDB says
August 22, 2017 at 10:10 amI understand about the cost of cable but what I don’t understand is how to get rid of cable if it also includes your internet access. My cable company will charge me $75 for my fast internet connection and only an additional $15 for the cable TV with HBO. I don’t know how to get rid of that since all 5 of us use the internet. Please let me know of your recommendations.
Thanks!
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
August 22, 2017 at 12:38 pmNot all cable companies do this. You may want to look around and see if you have other options.
VANESSA says
January 29, 2018 at 3:11 pmhow do you suggest cutting cable if you want to keep home phone and internet? Tried to get rid of cable but Comcast was then charging just as much with home phone and internet
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says
January 29, 2018 at 6:03 pmDo you need a home phone? Also, are there other internet options in your area?
Ron Hill says
February 20, 2018 at 12:48 amAfter reading some of the comments here, I’ve decided to do some research about the internet cause that’s the only reason we have stuck with cable.
Thanks
Renee Lindsay says
September 10, 2018 at 9:45 amI have tried cutting cable before but I definitely need wifi, when comparing cost it never seems to be that cost effective to just pay for Wifi so I always just get the bundle. Any advice?