Before working from home, I spent a ton of time in the car and could justify XM Radio. After a long day on the road, I wanted good television or a movie available on a whim. That led me to investigate Netflix and finally sign up. At that point, I had two subscriptions monthly: XM and Netflix.
That was just the beginning.
I love the Tour de France, so when changing my cable over to dish, I signed up for a premium package. At the time I felt lucky. The total number of channels I was about to receive dwarved the cable lineup and the price stayed exactly the same. Bonus!
Oh, but I wasn’t done.
We’re Detroit Tiger baseball fans, so through our Xbox (and its Gold subscription annual fee) we sprung for the MLB Baseball season ticket so we could watch our favorite sports team. Of course, ESPN shows a full slate of sports over my satellite provider, too, also through the Xbox.
In short: I’m wired to the gills…and paying for it.
Paring down my electronics
You may think, “Man, he’s wasting money hand over fist!” In the old days, when I owned my business, nothing could have been further from the truth. Sure, I was spending every month on subscriptions, but I was also able to justify the expense by the large sums of money I was bringing home. Now, as a financial writer, I don’t see that same level of income. I also find that because I’m wired to the internet constantly, my needs have changed. I enjoy reading blogs and perusing Flipboard.
It’s time to cut back.
First, I need a plan. This is the plan:
Satellite
It’s time to broach the subject with Cheryl: I’m investigating options such as Roku, that would allow us to stream channels via the internet over our television. I also have discovered that I can get the Tour de France over the internet. If I’m streaming this event over the internet, I can save tons of money.
Cost of Roku (x2 for two televisions): $160
Cost of Hulu Plus: $8 / mo.
Cost of Tour coverage: $20
Savings from Cutting Satellite: $80 / mo.
Total Savings: (COST of $80 first month, then monthly savings of $72 per month – July, which will be savings of $52)
XM Radio
This is a no-brainer. We have XM in two cars now…we’ll pare it back to a single vehicle. While I can hear the frugalistas yelling, “Get rid of it completely!” I travel too much to do that. We’ll keep it in the car we constantly travel across country in, but dump it in my car. I’ve gone from 45k miles per year in the car to less than 5k, while our primary car has already been driven 55k miles in just over a year.
A holdover from my working days: I have the expanded sports package to hear every sport, rather than the ½ and ½ (they totally rip you on this) in my existing car.
XM Radio Subscription cut savings: ($14.50/mo.)
Total Savings: ($14.50 / mo.)
Netflix:
If you listen to our podcast, you’ll know how much I enjoy movies. I saw 72 films last year alone. However, the disc service isn’t getting the use from me that it once did. Sure, I want it around Oscar time to watch my favorite flicks, but now I can stream videos for a low fee through the iTunes store or Amazon. There’s no need for Netflix on my monthly subscription. I love the original programming and access to older television series available through Netflix, so I’m holding onto that subscription for now:
Cutting to Streaming Only Savings: ($12.00/mo.)
The Big Finale
Total Savings: $98/mo. (except the first month, when I’ll pay $180 for two Roku boxes and July of each year for Tour de France, when I’ll only save $78 on July bill).
Not bad….nearly $1,200 a year and I’m not missing out on any of my entertainment options!
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Nice savings there, Joe! And 55K miles in a year on a vehicle? Holy cow! I thought Mr. PoP drove a lot, but that’s nothing by comparison!
Yeah, I killed it. I can’t imagine NOT having XM when I drove that much.
Reviewing your expenses and making smart decisions is a great way of saving money! I wrote an article called “10 Changes Can Make Millions” to illustrate saving and investing can add up to millions.
Definitely agreed about the radio – it’s a must for those who are constantly driving!
I should have dumped the XM in the 2nd car a year ago…but better late than never!
Well, you can’t complain with those savings. Nice work Joe. Nice to be co-hosting the giveaway with you.
Have you ever used mlb.tv? Easiest way to watch the Red Sox from the Bay Area!
I have used it. We can watch a few games a year for free that way, plus a few on ESPN or FOX, but we probably watched 75 games last year.
Joe, that’s why I’m talking about! Cut that cable bill! It’s all available online for free… but some folks still prefer Roku or Netflix I suppose. Nice work man!
Hmmm…I’d love to hear how I get the current television series and films for free (and legally).
Wow! Great job on the paring down, especially on driving your vehicle. You must be saving tons of money in gas and maintenance.
…well, I pared down by not being a financial advisor anymore! The paychecks aren’t nearly as good, but it was a nice payday when I sold the company.
I just wrote a post about streaming video options, scheduled for early this week. The only issue for me is that access to news and live sports is limited. I am looking at the Roku also.
That’s frustrating for us, too…especially the news. I’ll get the sports I like by paying extra, unfortunately.
An ambitious savings plan, but definitely a realistic one. Great to be co-hosting with you!
I did a lot of the same stuff you did, but I had no idea that itunes had a streaming option! I’ll have to check that out because like you I LOVE movies. Oh, and go Red Wings! 🙂
I still miss my satellite radio, but can’t really justify it because I’m not driving that much. My husband uses his smart phone and I believe Pandora in the car to listen to music, and it seems to work fine. I’ll be curious to see how the Roku works out. Please update when you have tried it.
We discussed these changes (step one) and Cheryl’s okay with trying it. My son is frustrated that we won’t have ESPN and CNN anymore. He’ll learn a good lesson in coping with first world problems ;-).
Totally understand about needing to watch your sports, Joe! Me too 🙂 We hardly ever go out, so watching sports is a big thing in our household!
On the topic of watching at home: it was a blast watching my Red Wings beat your little Duckies last night.
Hi Average – as a new reader of your blog I though I’d just hop on and leave a quick comment here to say I’ve been reading a few posts and enjoying them very much. Cheers! Shaun