💰 Cable vs Streaming: How Much Can You Save?

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💰 Cable vs Streaming: How Much Can You Save?

Cable television is one of those expenses that’s easy to stop thinking about.

The bill arrives every month. You pay it. And after a while, it simply becomes part of the household budget.

But if you’re retired—or simply trying to make better use of your money—it’s worth asking:

Am I paying for more television than I actually use?

Switching from cable to streaming can save money, but there’s an important catch.

Streaming only saves money if you keep it simple.

Let’s look at how to figure out whether changing your television setup could actually save you money.

Start With Your Real Cable Bill

Don’t rely on an advertised cable price.

Take out your actual bill.

Look at the total amount you pay each month, including:

  • Television service
  • Equipment or box rentals
  • DVR charges
  • Broadcast or regional fees
  • Sports fees
  • Taxes and other charges

If your internet and television are bundled together, you’ll need to determine what internet would cost by itself.

That’s important because you’ll probably still need internet if you switch to streaming.

Internet Isn’t Really a Streaming Savings

This is something that’s easy to overlook.

Suppose you’re currently paying for cable TV plus internet.

If you cancel the television portion, you will probably continue paying for internet.

So don’t compare your entire cable-and-internet bill with the price of Netflix.

Instead compare:

What television costs you now

with:

What your streaming services would cost you after canceling television service.

That’s a much more realistic comparison.

A Simple Example

Let’s use an imaginary household.

Suppose their cable television portion, including equipment and fees, effectively costs $110 per month.

That’s:

$1,320 per year.

Now suppose they cancel the television service but keep their internet connection.

They subscribe to two streaming services costing a combined $30 per month.

That’s:

$360 per year.

Their potential television savings would be:

$960 per year.

Over five years, if prices never changed, that would theoretically be $4,800.

Of course, prices do change, so I wouldn’t treat a five-year calculation as a guarantee.

But the example shows why reviewing your television expenses can be worthwhile.

The Streaming Trap

Here’s where cutting cable can go wrong.

You start with one streaming service.

Then you add another.

Then there’s a program you want on a third service.

Football season arrives, so you add a sports package.

Then you subscribe to a live-TV streaming service.

Before long, you’re paying almost as much as you were for cable.

I call this subscription creep.

The solution is simple:

Every few months, look at every streaming service you’re paying for and ask:

Did I actually use this during the past month?

If the answer is no, consider canceling it.

Free TV Can Be Part of the Solution

Not everything has to involve another monthly subscription.

Depending on where you live, an over-the-air antenna may provide local broadcast stations without a monthly television charge.

There are also legitimate free, ad-supported streaming services.

You won’t necessarily find every program you want, and you’ll generally have to watch commercials, but free services can supplement one paid subscription without increasing your monthly expenses.

What About Live Sports?

Sports can make cutting cable more complicated.

Different leagues, teams and games may be carried by different networks and streaming services.

Before canceling cable, make a list of the sports you actually watch.

Then determine how you would receive those games without cable and what that would cost.

Don’t cancel first and discover afterward that you can no longer easily watch your favorite team.

For a sports fan, keeping cable—or choosing a live-TV streaming package—may sometimes make more sense than juggling several different subscriptions.

Don’t Forget Convenience

Saving money matters.

But so does enjoying your television.

Suppose changing your setup saves $20 a month but makes watching television so complicated that you’re constantly frustrated.

You may decide the $20 isn’t worth it.

That’s okay.

The cheapest option isn’t automatically the best option.

For those of us over 60, I think there’s real value in finding a balance between:

Cost + simplicity + what we actually enjoy watching.

How to Calculate Your Own Savings

You don’t need a complicated spreadsheet.

Write down these three numbers:

1. Your current monthly television cost

Don’t include internet if you’re going to keep paying for it.

2. Your expected monthly streaming cost

Include every paid streaming service you plan to keep.

3. Any one-time equipment costs

Perhaps you need an antenna or legitimate streaming device.

Then subtract:

Current monthly TV cost − New monthly streaming cost = Estimated monthly savings

Multiply that number by 12 for an estimated annual savings.

That’s your number—not somebody else’s advertised savings.

Try Before You Cancel

I strongly recommend testing your new setup before canceling your current television service.

Make sure you can:

  • Watch your favorite programs
  • Find local news if it’s important to you
  • Watch the sports you care about
  • Operate everything comfortably
  • Live with any advertising
  • Get the channels or programs your spouse also enjoys

Use the alternative for several days.

If you’re happy with it, then decide whether it’s time to cancel cable.

Sometimes Keeping Cable Is the Right Answer

I don’t believe everyone over 60 should cancel cable.

If you watch it every day, enjoy the programming, know how everything works, and the cost comfortably fits your budget, there may be no reason to change.

The purpose isn’t to eliminate cable.

The purpose is to stop paying for things that aren’t providing enough value.

That’s an important distinction.

Final Thoughts

Could you save $500 or $1,000 a year by leaving cable?

Possibly.

Could you save almost nothing?

That’s possible too.

It depends on what you’re paying now and what you replace it with.

Before making the switch, do the math using your own bills.

And remember that streaming isn’t automatically inexpensive.

The biggest savings usually come from keeping things simple and refusing to collect subscriptions you don’t use.

After 60, saving money doesn’t always require giving something up. Sometimes it simply means paying closer attention to what we’re already paying for.

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