Today is a funny day.
It’s Labor day here in the States (and up North, Labour Day) which would lead you to believe that we’re all laboring here, only that’s actually not the case.
Nope, today we do the opposite of that – we take the day off :) It’s kinda like celebrating Beer Fest without the beer, or enjoying Christmas without the part with Christ (oh wait…).
So while y’all are out there anti-laboring, I’m going to sit here and type some things to you… I don’t know what will spew out, but since no one’s really reading anyways does it matter?
Let’s see here…
Ooogie boogie woogie!!!!!
sajfoiH(QW#Y(R*#WY%*)-UIsjsijijsasdj..asf eouR#@)@&#)%&@#
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!
WarrenBuffettForPresident.com
A picture for you, using only $ signs:
La la la – this is fun :)
Actually, here… In the off chance some of you really are reading this, let me give you a juicy tidbit to marinate on… Are you ready for it? It’s a good one!
WE CANCELLED OUR CABLE!!
BOOM!
We’re part of the cult now y’all – where’s my badge??
The wife and I finally decided to give it a trial run after Verizon jacked up our bill from $90’ish all the way up to over $150 again, and figured enough was enough. And after one week without it so far we haven’t died – imagine that!
Our bill is still around $100/mo unfortunately, but at least we can say goodbye to surprise rate hikes and calling in every handful of months. We’ll lock in a contract later to hopefully drop it lower too once we know where – and when – we’ll be moving (the wife’s on the prowl for a new job). By then we’ll see if cable is gone for good, too, or if we’ll end up crawling back ;)
Oh, and the nice part is we still have our land line too since we picked up Ooma last year when trying to wean off! Only costs us $3.00/mo and gives us the peace of mind knowing we still have it for when our cells die or our kids want to talk to grandma (no way in hell they’re getting our cell phones!).
Here’s my review on them when I thought I was clever and tried gaming Verizon’s Triple Play, haha… How to get basically free home phone service with Ooma.
So that’s my secret today. What you got?
Tell me something good, no one’s reading! :)
——
Photo by ttarasiuk
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I have 4 Turkish coins that you may or may not have already in your collection :-) . No one’s reading! Happy Labor day!
oh how you speak my language, girl.
Happy Labor Day… I don’t miss cable at all and I certainly don’t miss the bill!
We’ll never cut the cable cord, I fear. In a lot of ways that feels like an awful secret. But we’re well on our way to a $200 grocery budget. So maybe I can keep my blog after all? ;)
haha… you won’t get excommunicated for having cable, don’t worry :) I told everyone for 7 years I would never cut cable and then all of a sudden – BAM – here I am! I think for me it’s more about challenging all of the stuff I thought I just had to have over the years and now realize I can do with a lot less. Even though there are still things I put my money towards that I perhaps shouldn’t :) It’s all about being happy with our setups, eh?
Yes J Money, we’re here. We know we can count on you bright and early Monday morning for a post even if it’s labor day. Aw, the power of habit!
Congrats on canceling Cable!
I’m loving labor day. I’ve finally got time to sit down and read some blogs! Nice job quitting cable. I’m sure in the next few years Apple TV will figure out how to get local channels and then that’s all you’ll need.
I think it’s funny that cutting cable is the “weird/strange” option now, especially when cable costs so much!
Yeah, “weird” to the outside world but almost required it seems as a financial blogger – hah!
Well, just a regular working day here :)
Would ditch cable in an instant, but mother-in-law is addicted to the TV. Good thing, the cable actually costs very little, so it’s still OK. We keep her happy and don’t break the bank for it :D
I would say that’s some good evaluating :)
RAMONA, get her addicted to the Crack that is Netflix and Hulu. She can watch marathons of her favorite shows.
That’s what we’re using! Well, also Amazon Prime…. we just started testing Hulu Plus and so far so good…
Daughter (8): Is Aunt Diane having her baby today?
Mother: Why did you think she is about to give birth?
Daughter (8): Because you said today was Labor Day!
Wha wha
We cut cable about a month ago. We have a 2 year old and the Disney Channel was keeping us strapped to the $100 cable bill…and it was about to go up again, so instead I found out about Sling TV and now for $24.99 (I added the $5 children’s pack), we get the required disney channels and a handful of regular channels for us adults. We haven’t missed regular cable at all!
nice! so far our 3 y/o has been pleased with Netflix’s selection, but we’ll see what happens as he continues to grow :)
(J)Money never sleeps. Working on a family friendly version of the BoxxoTV as we speak. Should have one ready for you by the end of the month. Now go take some time off! – Matty B
Rock on. Ready to test it once it’s live, good sir!
We cut cable three years ago and have never looked back. Love the savings. Get an antenna like the mohu leaf and pick up a ton of local stations for FREE. I love sticking it to the cable man!
The Mohu’s didn’t work for us when I tested like 3 of them last year, but I have heard good things about them. Glad they’re working for you!
Our secret? We ordered a pizza this weekend–a one-day reprieve from cooking every dinner at home. Ha! Ok, now back to frugal mode! :) Congrats on joining the cord-cutter club!
We finally did it a couple of months ago, too! We kept it for the walking dead and college football, which is a lot of money to pay for two silly things. Right now we are on sling TV for football season, and then we are going to drop that from January to august again. I don’t know why we didn’t do it sooner!
I’ve heard people add and then drop stuff for seasons, haha… smart as long as you remember to drop ’em! :)
What do you think of LOYAL3? We don’t know much about stocks but would like to learn more and invest a little. Thank you!!
The only thing I’ve heard about them is that you can buy stocks SUPER cheap :) But really if you don’t know what you’re doing and just starting out, I would stay far far away from individual stocks and look into “index funds.” Or even mutual funds in general (ie groups of stocks vs single ones).
It doesn’t matter so much *where* you pick them up than it does *what* your money is invested in. Gotta find the plan that works best for you and then start dumping it in :)
I’d call up http://Vanguard.com and speak to one of their advisors – that’s where all my $$ is – or check out http://Betterment.com or http://Acorns.com. All will help point you in the right direction for sure…
Good luck! An exciting path you’re about to go down!
Apple TV is a worthwhile expense for us. It allows us to keep Netflix and HBO Now. $10 and $15. That’s really all the programming we need. Congrats on cutting the cord it’ll save you lots of money down the road. Keep up the good work!
We will probably cut the cord after another year when our direct tv rates increase and they annoy me with their rate hikes, etc… I’ve been hesitant because trying to find live football is still a bit of an issue, but maybe they’ll have something figured out by then.
Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?
He didn’t have any “body” to go with! Haha
Can’t make any *bones* about it ;)
Someone wanted to have a call today. So I accepted and now I’ll put in an 8-hr day.
Thank you for the picture. :p
We also canceled cable this week! They raised our phone, Internet, cable price another 40$ and I said enough. Should be about 90$ less a month to drop it. Yeah, it’s been weird for the first few days but I think we’ll be better for it. Also called my Insurance agent to shop out our policy, we’ve been with the same company for 10 plus years and as I’m learning, loyalty no longer pays.
You’re on fire over there! Gotta hit up all the bills while you’re in the mood, right? Nice to be joining the club with another one this week :)
No one is reading? Well then, the other day I _______…wait, I think people are reading. Im laboring today. Booooo! Congrats on the anti-cable! Enjoy, or, er don’t. :)
Congratulations on quitting TV. We have haven’t had television for perhaps a decade and never really missed it :-)
We cut the Direct TV cord a couple of years ago. Found a great little company (Channelmaster) that sells DVRs, antennas, and antenna boosters. And they have a channel guide available for free (unlike TiVo). We broke even on the equipment in 3 months and now we have all the major networks, and then some, in HD with no monthly bill. It’s been a great solution for us.
Rock on! I love one-time purchases that pay dividends like that.
I’m confused…..If you “cut cable” how come you still have a “$100 bill”? Don’t know if it helps BUT we got internet and “Cable TV – Lite” for $58 …..”soup to nuts” from Comcast. It ends in February ’16 so we’ll see what happens then. I do have antennas for other TVs and I get about 24 channels on “a good day”.
The REAL pain is getting a cell plan from Verizon. DD recently moved out West for a new job and they have the best/only receptive cell service. LIKE $65-70 A MONTH for BS service…. And cable/internet is “off the chain”….Century Link and Charter are “equally disappointing”……
I’m so glad Republic Wireless works in my area! $25 and we’re done :)
(I cut cable and phone but still need the internet… and for decent speed – 75/75 since I work from home – their rates are still the best around. Though if I could sign a 2 year contract it would go down a bit, which I can’t)
MAN….that sucks….DD won’t try the Republic Wireless….
I don’t think Mr Tre would ever agree to cut the cable. He seems quite happy to argue with them every few months to get the bill back down.
That’s kinda how we roll, too, with the cable.
I’M reading on Labor Day, J. Money—sometimes these days off are the only chance to think and plan!
Our BIGGEST money saver is: Cars. We buy them old, and keep them forever. We’ll take an old car off a friend’s hands for the dealer trade-in and everyone is happy. As the heirs-apparent reach driving age, we will teach them the joy of having no car payment. :)
Yes – love that so much!! Old cars are the best. Run them into the ground and then start afresh with a newer old one :)
Happy labor day! We are all labouring in the UK :).
Haha… indeed.
Hmmmmm, not sure how much J. Is laboring. Me thinks he wrote that post a while ago and set it to publish today … :)
Hah! I wish I were that smart :) I like my posts like I like my women: nice and fresh!
I was worried you wouldn’t post today! We cut cable about 4 years ago and bought a Roku, then added Netflix and Hulu Plus for $7.99 each. My whole household adjusted quickly which I was surprised about. My guys even found sports channels.
All is right with the world.
Happy Labor Day J!
Favorite day to labor is during the holidays! Don’t have to respond to as many comments and can write whatever I want :)
It’s a hustler’s paradise :)
We never had a cable bill but Mrs. Budget is constantly calling our Internet provider and having them lower the bill if she sees it creeping up.
Living in a condo complex isn’t all bad and my neighbor two doors down has basic cable which doen’t pay for. Cable company never disconnected the line so several years ago (in my single days before Mrs. Budgets) I dug a trench along the sidewalk and ran a coax cable on over. Spliced it and waaa-laaa..I have cable! We rarely watch TV these days so who knows if it still works.
Don’t tell anyone..Please!
OMG haha… now THAT is a fun secret!
Hahah! Can you please make a badge because I really want a “I don’t have cable” bade LOL!
I am laboring today. I work for the State of Texas and we get to use the time later if we work it. I try and work 5 random holidays then take those comp time hrs and take a whole week off. Beats getting a 3 day weekend and I scam an extra week of paid vacation a year. Gotta know how to game the system, also I’m the only one here so the peace and tranquility I have is amazing.
Work it! Literally! :)
Congrats on canceling! I have the most very basic cable still because if I cancelled it my internet would go WAY up. But it’s been YEARS since I had more than a handful of channels to choose from and I don’t miss it a bit.
Isn’t that funny how it works? They offered me to keep everything – TV, internet, phone – for $80/mo – $20 less than just internet! – but I had to sign a 2 year contract which I can’t do… So we killed it once and for all and will sign one once we’re in our new spot as the wife finds a job… it is kinda nice not having to worry about the “extras” though :)
Congrats on cutting your cable bill! We did that and haven’t been happier!
I haven’t had cable for close to ten years. I don’t miss it a bit. I was tired of PAYING people to propagandize myself and my kids.
I’m wearing a tinfoil hat right now. Good thing no one is reading this! :)
Your blog/story is so fascinating!! I can’t believe you live in a van! (Which your tinfoil hat would surely match, haha…) Thanks for the smiles/motivation today :)
My niece is labouring today :-) We are waiting on baby news.
When my father in law died, in with his coin collection was a coin from France in the 1700s. I forget offhand which it was. I was super excited to find it then disappointed when it was worth less than $20 on the coin collecting sites lol
That’s stilll a pretty cool coin to have!! Amazing how many hands it must have passed through over those 200-300 years… I love thinking about that :) (And early congrats to your niece!!)
While you just ended one of your relationships with a company, I have begun cultivating my relationships with a company I use frequently. I wrote an email expressing my disgust with one of the products they were selling, and they recognized that it was not a product in line with their values. For pointing it out, they offered (and I obliged) to send a free gift worth $80 with my next purchase. W00t! Free Money!
Wow! What a great response, and obviously well written letter on your behalf – way to go :)
Labor Day is officially fall up here in Alaska. We took our last family bike ride as a family on Saturday and we take today to put the bikes away and ready our garage for parking the car in the winter. It’s a transition day where the kids all try on snowsuits to see which ones will fit and we fill in where needed. My kids don’t love it since they are still excited about school (since it only started two weeks ago!) and they get a day off already! So that’s what we’re up to on this Labor Day up in the Great White North. But thanks for the random thoughts and congrats on ditching the cable. Way to break free, man!
I kinda miss my parents buying all my clothes and worrying about that stuff for me, haha…
It’s cheaper for me to have cable right now. Last time I tried to cancel cable but keep internet they offered me a bundle package that was cheaper than internet alone and it came with HBO!
It’s only good for 12 months but I’ll take it for now.
I still have my library cards from four different cities where I’ve lived in the past, and I’ve used them all (after living there- including to get E-books). Thrifty or theft?
Thrifty!! :)
I haven’t had cable in 7 years and don’t miss it. I actually haven’t had a TV for the past 6 years. I sold the TV in a yard sale and invested the money. But I have Amazon Prime and I get to watch movies almost every night. Also if I want to watch a movie that was recently released, I use Red Box. It is $1.50 for a movie and most of the time Red Box sends promo codes for free or discounted rentals. Congrats on cutting the cable cord, I think soon you will see how much more time you will have to do other things.
“I sold the TV in a yard sale and invested the money.” – BAD ASS, haha
Sadly I’m working from home despite the holiday, but my partner and I were able to make some delicious lemon ricotta pancakes this morning since we weren’t rushing to work.
Re: cable, haven’t had since I was a kid. Roku+Netflix = more media than time I have time to waste watching TV.
I totally hear you. There are so many options that I am never short of movies or documentaries to watch. I also feel I have control over what I want to watch. Once I cut the cable I stopped making evening dates with a specific channel just because they wanted to show me a certain program at a certain time of the evening. I go do what I need to do, walk in the park till sun goes down during summer, and live my life, then when I feel like watching something I do it on my own time.
I wish just like you I didn’t have cable since I was a kid. It really is not a necessity. Not even a little bit.
Yuuummm lemon ricotta pancakes. :) I got to look up the recipe and try them, they sound good.
Look at all these comments from people not reading today. We haven’t had cable for years and recently got rid of even the local stations. We are strictly Netflix only now. We don’t miss it and I have two teenagers. They’d rather binge watch shows on Netflix they like than all the trash on regular tv anyway.
I agree. I have watched more movies since I disconnected my cable than when I used to have it. I have read more books too in the same time period since I sold my TV all together. I know people who rush home at a certain time of the evening just to catch a certain show. I really can’t wrap my brain around it. Before I retired, I had a staff member that used to watch “Amazing Race” and would come and ask if she could go home early on the evenings that the show aired so she would have time to pick up dinner and get to her show on time!
I really feel you are doing your teenagers a favor by giving them the chance to consciously choose what they watch.
We cancelled cable not because the price (which was WAY too much) but because we kept getting jacked around. It made you feel dirty you know. We do miss cable at times but it’s all good.
Dirty! Yes! Great way to put it.
Welcome to the cable cutting club, I’m glad to call you a member! We officially cut it last January and I haven’t missed it for a day since. Although, I used to complain about all of the time I wasted surfing the channels for something to watch and I had to crack up because Saturday night I wasted a bunch of time surfing Hulu, Netflix and Amazon for something to watch. At the end of all of that effort, I ended up watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and found myself craving bbq at midnight.
Yes, I’m reading. Not about to cut the cable cord because basic cable is part of our condo fee. We’re paying for it whether we use it or not.
I did read another part of your blog about microfiber clothes. Yesterday, my cousin told a story of wiping up a full bottle of red wine that lay broken on the vacation home floor. With wringing, he used just one towel, the only one he had with him, to suck up the sad wine,
Using your link, I brought a stack of towels, in hopes of reducing our paper towel and chemical habit.
Thanks for the hint.
JB
Nice! Way to give it a shot man. They’re super soft too – my 1 year old loves wiping his entire face into them whether it’s dirty or not, haha… Let me know how it works out for you!
Dude, you have over 70 comments on this post. Who would have thought. :-) A post about…well…a sentence that says you’re now part of our “no cable” cult. I haven’t read the comments but I imagine they’re all like, “yeah, we don’t have it either, we now use….[substitute your favorite $10 monthly subscription streaming service]. You definitely have Super fans.
By the way, we’ve got Netflix for those days when we just want to binge watch an entire season of “House of Cards” :-P
haha…. I love my crew!
Working (on my 15 right now) and have cable.
Went without for 7 years and missed it terribly since what I like to watch isn’t Netflix/Hulu available.
Moved back with my parents 20 months ago to take care of my Mom (Alzheimers) and took over their cable bill and added internet cause I NEED my internet.
Mom passed away 3 weeks ago and honestly, having cable is sorta saving my Dad and the rest of us right now. Maybe as time goes out we’ll get out more…but for now cable is helping us cope. Especially sports for Dad. #GoDodgers
Happy Labor Day :-)
Awwwwww, so loving of you to move in with them for so long! Yes – Cable is PERFECT for taking your mind off things for sure. Very very smart to keep. Sorry to hear she’s up in the heavens now :(
I haven’t had cable in years. In fact..decades. Good thing too. Last week, (on my birthday), I was with the kids in San Fran. Car got towed. Who knew that certain streets open up parking lanes from 4-6 p.m? First time that ever happened in my life. Cost: $541.00 to get it out of the city pound. Ouch. Not to mention a $91.00 ticket on top of that. Oh well.
Freaky!! I remember streets in NYC sometimes getting pretty wonky too when I was living there… though fortunately with no car :)
I labored today and lived to tell the tale! I paid off a credit card yesterday, too! :D
oh, does’t that feel SO GOOD!!!
Bad ass – congrats!
Secret:
Part of my inheritance from my mom is three quarts (she put them in a pitcher) of various coins she saved over the years, and I have no idea what to look for before simply dumping them in a bank coin counter.
:)
ACK!!! that’s my dream!!!!! haha….
first – look for any dimes, quarters and half dollars dating 1964 and under. Those all have silver in them and worth a lot more than face value :)
for anything super old or unique looking, just type them into eBay to get an idea of what they’re worth, or buy a copy of The Red Book on Amazon (or rent from library?) that you can use to check them all out. It’s a pretty easy price guide coverall coins from the U.S. over the centuries…. Takes some time to do, but if you’re interested in learning/having fun it could be worth it :)
FINALLY!
We just called Comcast again and got our rate back to the promo ($40 per month) and they upped us from 25MB down to 150MB down. No additional charge. Much better than Verizon!
Nice! I’m considering upping ours from 75 to 150 w/ Comcast too actually which is cheaper than Verizon, but still more than $100 that we’re paying now for 75. Just can’t stomach the idea of calling up another company anytime soon haha…
Wahoo! Congrats on Cable TV freedom!
You can make brandy from peaches. All you need is peaches, sugar, and yeast. WHO KNEW?
http://stephaniehenkel.hubpages.com/hub/The-Best-Homemade-Peach-Brandy-Recipe
You should try it and then give me some if it comes out okay :)
I have never had cable, don’t really understand that particular addiction. I do utilize my local library for new DVDs releases (this is free). I can even reserve the movies online and pick them up at my convenience.
As part of my decision in having a frugal life is not to have a cable. Up until now, I am still sticking to that decision. NO CABLE.
I haven’t had a cable for a long time. I use Antenna to get our local HD Toronto channels which is basically all I need for daily updates. Good job!
Cheers!
BSR
Here’s my dirty secret: my wife asked for cable. I told her “figure it out yourself, and you can have it”. Result: we never got cable.
(Note: English is not her primary language, so I’m not implying she’s dumb or lazy or anything. She just doesn’t even know where to start and is too busy figuring out. That was my bet, and I won)
Hahahaha….
I cut the cable cord a few years ago and never looked back. I have a lot more time, and after ditching cable, the noise that filled my brain was muted. We do have Netflix, but it’s like what I want to watch on my terms. My high speed Internet bill is $29.99 / month, I haven’t seen much better than that in my area. Oh and yes I labored today, you would think it was my intention to cut the grass and do yard work on one of the hottest days of the year. :-/
Andrew
SHM
Welcome to the dark side my friend. Glad to hear you took the leap. We’ve been without cable for about five years and don’t miss it one bit.
And, with $1,200 per year saved, we can fly to an additional fun destination for “free” each year ;). Ok, we’d do it anyway, but still…
YES! LOVE! Gotta equate the savings to something cool so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. And one free trip to somewhere awesome def. does the trick :)
We canceled our cable last May and the monthly bill went from $185 to $62 (for internet only). We can’t be happier – kids don’t really miss the TV programs and they go out more; hubby is trying to get me subscribe the basic cable so he can watch the games…the answer is, “well, what are you willing to trade off?”
Like you said, we didn’t die and the extra $123/mo gained went to our savings. I wish we had done this sooner..
better now than never :)