Five reasons to cut out cable

Do you open your cable and satellite bill each month and cringe at the balance due? Do those taxes, fees and other charges feel like you are being nickeled and dimed to death for something that you don't need anyway? You're not alone. Increasingly, people are ditching their cable and satellite providers in favor of other forms of entertainment. Here are five reasons to cut the cable.

1. Try streaming services for more affordable TV viewing. Internet streaming allows you to watch the shows that you want for a fraction of the price. If you have a computer, game console, or a box such as Roku, you can catch most of the popular shows on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. Netflix and Hulu Plus are now only $7.99 a month. Compare that to your cable bill of anywhere from $50 - $100 or more.
2. Get what you pay for. Programming on cable TV isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Sure, you may be promised 140 channels by your provider, but what they fail to mention is that 30-40 of those may be music channels, many are duplicates, just with different time zones, and some don't offer 24-hour programming anyway. Are you truly getting your money's worth?
3. Stop wasting time on commercials. Commercials waste time that you can never get back. While we all could spend our time doing something better than watching TV, a little time to unwind at the end of the day isn't so bad. That said, you could watch your shows much faster if it weren't for all the commercial interruptions. During a typical one hour program, close to 20 minutes are designated for commercials. That's absurd. Watching TV on the web reduces or, at times, eliminates the commercial problem altogether.
4. Bring back bunny ears. Since all TV programming has made the digital switch, those in metro areas can often pick up clear (even high definition) networks for free with the use of an antenna. You'll still get many of your local channels this way and may not require services like Hulu and Netflix at all.
5. Spend that money somewhere else. Seriously, what could you do with an extra $50-$100 each month? Save it, put it toward paying off debt, or just spend the money on more worthwhile pursuits like saving for a vacation, helping a charity or indulging in a few books.

Have you gotten rid of your cable or satellite service? Do you miss it? 

Image courtesy of user mcconnors via morgueFile.