Cable Bill went Up Again

This is why I switched to YouTube tv. It’s 73/month and you can share it with a friend. I did this and we split the cost. There’s no downside to sharing as it doesn’t affect what you can watch. You are allowed 4 devices to watch tv so neither of us has more than 2 TVs on at once.
 
Murrmurr said:
Type "Affordable Connectivity Program" and "Internet senior discount" in your search bar. You'll probably find some way to reduce your monthly service bill.
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I read the ACP program is finished in April unless new funding comes thru.
 
I already looked into the ACP, but I don't qualify. Just because I have a moderate income doesn't mean I don't mind spending money. I also called them and they said because I have the minimum tier of service, they can't go any lower on service charges and there's no senior discounts available with Spectrum. A man I deliver meals to was griping about the increased cost this week. He says he only watches basketball games but needs cable TV to do that. I need TV it to fall asleep. I only watch a few hours in the evening, then fall asleep. I also watch an hour or so in the morning

I went through this a few years ago with the. Someone then suggested I call their bluff and tell them to come and get their equipment and discontinue their service. When I said that, the agent said, "We'll be up this afternoon." I hung up. Like my parents would say, "They got you where the hairs are short." I think it's because so many people are cutting the cord, the cable company has to make the loss up on their remaining customers.
 
Our services also went up this year....about $6, for TV, landline, and internet. That works out to be less than 1%. I wish similar "rates" of inflation were occurring at the grocery store and gas station, etc.
 
I would call your provider first and ask if there's a reduced package and ask if you qualify for the ACP program. They can tell you instantly and, if you do, they'll get you in the program. I'm saving $30/month on internet. Hopefully it gets funded but I'm not holding my breath.

When hubby was alive, we were paying for 120 tv channels that we never watched only because he was a NASCAR fan and it was only on network channels. I was paying $145 then it went up to $168 for internet and tv. After he died in October, one of the first expenses I cut was 120 channels of tv.

I called and got a better deal. I still have 60 channels for $25, internet is $55 and I got a landline for $15/month. I also get a $5 discount for auto pay and $5 discount on landline for promo. I mostly watch Netflix, Prime, and Tubi (free), FreeVee (free) and Youtube (free). I don't mind watching a few ads. They're usually short ones.

You've complained about this for months. Why don't you ever do something to help yourself?
 
debodun said:
I already looked into the ACP, but I don't qualify. Just because I have a moderate income doesn't mean I don't mind spending money. I also called them and they said because I have the minimum tier of service, they can't go any lower on service charges and there's no senior discounts available with Spectrum. A man I deliver meals to was griping about the increased cost this week. He says he only watches basketball games but needs cable TV to do that. I need TV it to fall asleep. I only watch a few hours in the evening, then fall asleep. I also watch an hour or so in the morning

I went through this a few years ago with the. Someone then suggested I call their bluff and tell them to come and get their equipment and discontinue their service. When I said that, the agent said, "We'll be up this afternoon." I hung up. Like my parents would say, "They got you where the hairs are short." I think it's because so many people are cutting the cord, the cable company has to make the loss up on their remaining customers.
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Prior to my cutting the cord. The bill was $135 for nothing more than basic cable, & internet that buffered all the time.
 
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debodun said:
I already looked into the ACP, but I don't qualify. Just because I have a moderate income doesn't mean I don't mind spending money. I also called them and they said because I have the minimum tier of service, they can't go any lower on service charges and there's no senior discounts available with Spectrum. A man I deliver meals to was griping about the increased cost this week. He says he only watches basketball games but needs cable TV to do that. I need TV it to fall asleep. I only watch a few hours in the evening, then fall asleep. I also watch an hour or so in the morning

I went through this a few years ago with the. Someone then suggested I call their bluff and tell them to come and get their equipment and discontinue their service. When I said that, the agent said, "We'll be up this afternoon." I hung up. Like my parents would say, "They got you where the hairs are short." I think it's because so many people are cutting the cord, the cable company has to make the loss up on their remaining customers.
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Consider getting an antennae for your TV and just keep internet and phone service.

If your TV is near enough to your computer to connect them with an HDMI cable, then you don't even need an antennae; your TV would pick up programming and streaming that's available online. A lot of it is free.
 
Murrmurr said:
Consider getting an antennae for your TV and just keep internet and phone service.

If your TV is near enough to your computer to connect them with an HDMI cable, then you don't even need an antennae; your TV would pick up programming and streaming that's available online. A lot of it is free.
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Unfortunately, they are on opposite sides of the house - about 30 feet apart.
 
I wonder if Deb has T-Mobile 5 g service where she lives. If she did her astronomical cable bill could be a thing of the past.
 
Is the $7 wifi charge for the wifi router? You could maybe buy one on Amazon for the equivalent of a year of renting that, though I don't know how many years it would be good for, plus it is a hassle to figure out exactly which type you need and to get it hooked up right (won't help save money if you wind up hiring your internet provider to send someone out to do it).

I really think the best option for saving money would be to get a smart TV (such a Roku TV or a Fire TV). You could buy a small Fire TV (like a 32 inch one) for less than a hundred dollars and watch Freevee for free (has commercials tho).

You can use your internet wifi to stream the TV programming to the smart TV and that way you can experiment and see if you like it and only cancel your cable portion of your service after you are sure you'll be happy.
 
Deb,

I found this pretty good YouTube description of what to do. But, I'm surprised how much people pay for premium streaming channels. I don't pay anything except for the Amazon Prime membership (which I was paying for anyway), but I'm not too much of a TV watcher.

 

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