Streaming Savings

    When we first launched this blog in an effort to save $10K in a year, one of the first things we did was get rid of home internet. That saved us about $50/month. Honestly we have not missed it much in the last 2 years. With internet access at work and on our smart phones, there really was no need to have it at home.
   Advances in techonology have changed the game. You can now stream shows and movies from your TV using Netflix, Hulu, etc. We have had several friends cancel their TV packages and just use these new avenues to watch home entertainment. We hardly every watch live TV - everything is DVR'd anyway and we watch days or weeks later. (We are busy parents) Our smart phones have hotspot capabilities so we can watch Netflix on the laptop while connected to the hotspot. The problem with that is it drains your data allowance very quickly if you're watching a lot.
   
Here's how the game has changed in our favor and you can save some money:

YOU CAN'T GET ALL THIS :(

   Our current Dish Network package runs us $92.50/month. You can get **almost** all the same movies and shows by streaming with Netflix and Hulu. There are a few you can't get that might break your heart like Discovery. My husband is an avid fan of all things Alaska, digging and axing so this would be a gut punch.

You will need unlimited internet usage to do this or you will likely go over every month if this is the primary way you are watching TV. Comcast, Cox and Brighthouse offer comparable internet service for around $40/month plus tax. This is JUST for internet, no phone or TV service. Although you will get basic cable channels - they are required by law to provide news in case of emergency, evacuations, etc.

YOU CAN GET ALL THIS! :)

Netflix will run you anywhere from $8-12/month depending on which options work for your needs. The Roku device is about $50 but this is a one time purchase. There is no reoccuring fee with the Roku.

For around $60/month you can watch unlimited movies and shows using this method. Let me say this in closing. All of this research was done in vain because none of the internet providers I mentioned service our address. The only one that does (Marion County Cablevision), charges a lot more for the unlimited internet package and you have to pay for 100 channels you can't even DVR. So we would end up paying much more for TV than we currently pay with Dish. Booo. But I hope this post is helpful to some of you who CAN get service from one of those providers!