Think about how much money you’ve paid to your Internet and cable service provider over the years. Each and every month you cough up $50, $75, $100, $150 or even more for your home Internet, television and phone service, but a big portion of your bill isn’t even for those services. You pay extra for equipment, and what cable companies don’t tell you is that you don’t always have to. And while the services themselves are necessities for some people, cutting the cable TV cord and going with Internet service only can save you even more cash.
Best of all, the more money you save each month, the the more money your cable company will lose and the angrier they’ll get. Here’s what you need to do…
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First and foremost, stop paying $5, $10 or more each month in cable modem rental fees. It’s preposterous. Return your cable modem to your ISP immediately and purchase this one instead:
ARRIS SURFboard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem: $69.95 with free Prime shipping
This modem supports speeds up to 343 Mbps download and 131 Mbps upload, and it works with most major service providers other than AT&T and Verizon, including Comcast/Xfinity, Cox, Charter, Time Warner Cable, Mediacom and Bright House. Make sure you call your cable company to let them know you’ve switched to your own modem so they can finish activating it, and DO NOT forget to return the modem they gave you.
Next, if you’re using a separate Wi-Fi router your cable company gave you, return it immediately and buy one of these instead:
Amazon’s best-selling wireless routers
Some cable companies charge an extra monthly fee on top of your modem rental fee if you use their wireless router. It’s ridiculous.
Now, if you really want to save money then it’s time to cut the cord, and there are two things you need to buy to get started. The first is an indoor HDTV antenna, which will let you get all of the broadcast networks like NBC, ABC and Fox for free. Here are a few good options, and they vary based on range:
AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna – 25 Mile: $14.99 with free Prime shipping
AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna – 35 Mile: $24.99 with free Prime shipping
AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna, 50 Mile Range: $39.99 with free Prime shipping
Last but not least, you’ll need a smart TV or set-top box with all of the popular apps that let you stream movies and TV shows. Here are some good options:
Amazon Fire TV: $99.99 with free Prime shipping
Roku 3 Streaming Media Player (4230R) with Voice Search: $87.49 with free Prime shipping
Amazon Fire TV Stick: $39.99 with free Prime shipping
Roku 3500R Streaming Stick: $45.85 with free Prime shipping
