Many of us grew up with an in home cable box connected to our TVs that allowed our families to watch local and national television shows from the comfort of our living rooms. Is that really necessary in the modern era?
A basic cable subscription can cost up to $125 per month. Being a college student, it is oftentimes difficult to save money to buy more than the necessities. Cable seems to take the backseat to things that are more necessary and important to living life.
There is good news for all you penny pinchers that want to watch your favorite weekly shows but don’t want to pay the high price of a cable subscription. There are many alternatives out there!
Of course, as many know there are the basic streaming venues such as Netflix and Hulu to gain access to some great shows. For around $10 a month these seem like the way to go, but Companies like Hulu and Netflix don’t give you exclusive access to shows that having a cable subscription might. Not all shows are available for steaming on these channels and more than often you are forced to wait months before you can watch the latest season of the shows that have recently aired on TV.
There are better options! One of which is called Sling TV. Sling TV is a cable streaming service that runs directly through your Internet. So no need to worry about any pesky cords running to your television. Even better, with Sling TV you have the option of watching shows from your tablets, laptops and cell phone. The best part, Sling TV starts at $20 per month! This package gives you basic access to over 30 popular television channels and sports channels!
While Sling TV does seems to be the cheapest alternative, you will have to pay extra if you would like to watch any specialty channels. If this service is appealing to you this might be a good time to check out some other options. Similar to Sling TV you can subscribe to DirecTV Now or Playstation Vue. These two options are a bit pricier, but they give you more options on channel sources. Plus, all of these options are usually still cheaper than cable, and there are no boxes involved! You will need to already have access to a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro to be able to sign up for PlayStation Vue.
If you find that you’re paying for an entire cable package when you really only watch one or two channels, having an individual subscription to each channel may be the right way to go. Save yourself some money! You can subscribe individually for basically any channel you would like. For example, HBO Now cost $15 per month, Stars cost $9 per month and Showtime Anytime cost $11 per month.
If you only watch TV for the sports you also have the option of subscribing to your favorite sport network for much less than the cost of an entire cable package. MLB, NFL, NBL and other sports websites will fulfil your sport needs.
It seems as though overpaying for cable is a thing of the past. What was covered in this editorial isn’t even the full extent of how to replace your cable with a more cost efficient method. Do a little research and then treat yourself to a nice meal or a new pair of shoes with all the money you’ll save! Ditch cable television!
