How one consumer gave up paying for cable TV

Tired of spending so much money on cable or satellite TV? Take heart. Cutting the cord has never been easier thanks to the many streaming options now available.

Jeff Hardy, a Richmond, Virginia, resident who is in charge of technology planning and management at a large real estate company, decided to take advantage of one of these options after his cable bill increased to an unsustainable amount.

Paying $150 for TV Service

Hardy had a contract for a DirecTV "Xtra" package which included 205 channels, as well as HBO and Showtime. In total, his cable bill came out to approximately $150 a month.

"Of course, it didn't start out that way," Hardy explains. He says that his plan actually started out around $70 a month and grew to $150 after his promotions ended.

"Just to make it extra complicated, they gave me some things for free for three months while other things went up in price after 9 months or 18 months. I think they're just hoping you never call back and cancel anything or try to renegotiate after your term is up."

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Deciding to Cancel Service

Hardy was with DirecTV for almost two years when he realized he was paying so much every month for just a few channels he actually liked. He was also well aware of the variety of low-cost streaming options available via Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.

"I just got to the point where it infuriated me every time I paid the bill, particularly in light of the variety and amount of content available in other ways," he explains.

Hardy decided to stop using cable for a month to see whether or not he could live without it. After seeing that life without cable wasn't so bad, Hardy picked up the phone and cancelled his contract in December 2013.

"They tried to keep me by offering reduced pricing for a renewal, but again the reduction was only for a temporary time," Hardy explains. He adds that his contract wasn't up for two more months and it cost him $40 to get out.

"But that's a bargain considering it would have cost me $300 to pay for the service itself," he says.

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Evaluating Streaming Subscriptions

Once he was out of his contract, Hardy looked into streaming options.

He opted to subscribe to both Amazon Prime and Netflix, though he doesn't consider Amazon Prime a true "TV expense" since he pays for it primarily to get free two-day shipping on Amazon purchases.

"It also just happens to come with a bunch of great TV and movie options," he adds.

Hardy also pays for a la carte viewing of certain shows via iTunes. Hardy says that almost all the shows he would watch on cable are available for purchase as Season Passes. That means you pay a flat fee for all the episodes of a current season. For example, Hardy says you can buy the entire season of "Downton Abbey" on iTunes for $19.99. You simply pay in advance for the season and then watch the episodes as they come out.

"Even if you're watching four or five shows that way, you're talking a little over $100 a year for all that, rather than $100 or more a month," Hardy adds.

Hardy also pays for Netflix, which he believes is now offering content comparable to the quality of cable.

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Surviving Without Cable

"With so many other networks developing their own great content - such as "House of Cards" and "Orange is the new Black" from Netflix - I'm not missing cable at all," says Hardy. "There are just so many alternatives now."

And while he liked watching "Boardwalk Empire" and "Game of Thrones," Hardy adds that "neither are worth what it would cost me a year to be able to retain them."

So how much is Hardy really saving? According to his calculations, he now spends less than $20 per month to watch TV - down from $150 just a month ago. That $20 includes the monthly cost of Amazon Prime and Netflix, plus one season pass for a show from iTunes (which he still hasn't chosen).

Hardy also pays $50 a month for Internet from Comcast. For that, he gets a very fast connection of 50MB download speed, but adds that most people cutting the cord probably don't need such a high speed.

"I wanted very fast Internet for both business and personal use," he explains.

Aside from the monthly savings, Hardy says there's another advantage to cutting the cord: Giving up his contract has loosened the stronghold TV had on him.

"Without an endless supply of drivel to watch, I actually find myself only going out of my way to watch the best shows," he explains. In turn, Hardy says that frees up a lot of time to do other things which have been neglected in our lives: books, music, and family.

"It turns out there's actually a whole world of other things to do out there," he says.

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