5 Benefits Of Being A Cord Cutter Family

We’ve been a cord cutter family for so long, that I can’t even remember the last time we had traditional cable. I vaguely recall having it in the apartment we lived in before our daughter Marvel was born, but we really only had it for about a year, if that. We don’t really miss it though, except for when the Olympics comes around, we miss it then. Instead, we proudly exclaim “we are cord cutters” or “we don’t have cable” to the salesmen at Wal-Mart that represent the various cable companies and love telling everyone about why they should be a cord cutter too! 

Now I wish I could just tell someone “be a cord cutter” and they’d be like “YES!” But it’s not a perfect world, is it? Heck, being a cord cutter isn’t really perfect either and has its drawbacks. But I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. 

So what are the benefits? Well, that’s what this post is about so here we go. 

Having cable is expensive

Sure it may seem like bundling your internet and cable together is less expensive, and the cost of all the streaming sites that you have can add up since you’re paying for each individually. But most people who have cable also pay for streaming sites on top of it, especially when they want those exclusive shows. But when you cut out cable, you’re only paying for internet and the streaming sites. 

We currently pay for 4 streaming sites, though we do have 5. We pay for Netflix, HBO Now, YouTube Red, and Amazon Prime. Though the later we pay for to get the free shipping, so the streaming access is more of a perk. We also have Hulu with limited commercials that is paid through our cell phone plan.

Since I don’t count Amazon Prime as just a streaming service, nor do I count Hulu since it’s bundled in with our cell payment, we pay about 40 (give or take) for the other 3 streaming services I listed. That, on top of our internet bill, it’s still cheaper than if we included cable in the mix. 

No Commercials*

The other perk of being a cord cutter is no commercials! Commercials are annoying because they interrupt the action of the show and unless it’s an episode you recorded, you can’t fast forward through them.

*There is an exception to this, in that Hulu does have commercials if you have the limited commercials plan. You can pay for the no commercials plan for a few dollars more a month so you don’t have to deal with those pesky commercials. We actually had the no commercials plan before we had Hulu thrown in with our phone bill. It’s still more bearable though because commercials are typically only shown at the beginning and end of the show instead of 3 or 4 different breaks during one episode. 

Binge watching new episodes

Streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix put the whole season up on their sites at a time so it makes it easy to binge watch new episodes. But of course, places like Hulu (again) and HBO Now, release new episodes week by week for new seasons.

It can be a bit frustrating but it makes sense because for HBO Now, they’re released the same time that it’s shown on their cable channel. For Hulu, they get new episodes of TV shows that are currently on air on other channels so they have to wait for those to come out, typically the next day after airing. 

But at least for all the streaming services, you can binge watch old seasons of other shows (even completed shows like Friends or The Office!) so even when you have to wait for a week to watch the new episode of your latest find, you have a lot to keep you occupied. 

Now there is the rare occasion that a currently running TV show on a TV channel doesn’t show up on Hulu the next day. What you then can do is either see if you can buy the episodes on Amazon Prime to watch the next day, or you can wait until they show up on Netflix at a later time. Unfortunately, this isn’t uncommon with shows like The Big Bang Theory where it doesn’t ever show up on any streaming sites that are included with your subscription (well except for CBS Access), so you end up buying on Amazon Prime or buy the DVD after it’s released.

Don’t need to remember to record

I remember being out and about with my family or friends and one of us would remember that we forgot to record a show that we enjoyed in order to watch it later. We then had to hope they would show it again later that night or right before the new episode the week before. 

But with being a cord cutter, we can pause and leave an episode we are watching at any time! If you miss when it was added to the streaming service, no worries! It’ll be there waiting for you when you get back. 

Options for watching sports

I’m not really a sports gal, nor is my husband into sports (unless you count esports, which is competitive gaming). But I know a lot of guys who HAVE to have cable so they can watch their sports games. 

Well, guess what? You can still get your sports on without having to pay for cable contract! 

There are options out there like PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and Hulu TV. What these options are is basically like having cable. You can watch TV exactly like you would if you had traditional cable through a cable provider and they even have sports packages. 

We used to have PlayStation Vue, but we were only using it to watch a couple of channels (remember, we don’t watch sports, so it was Disney and Science channel for us), so we decided to forgo the subscription and save that money monthly for something else. But I think it’s an affordable option in case you HAVE to have a certain channel. 

And the biggest perk about these options? No pesky contract! You can cancel and join at any time. In fact. I had a free week trial that I used to watch some of the Olympics this past February, and then I canceled before that trial was through. 

Nobody tried to beg me to stay or sell me on a different package. I didn’t even have to call anyone to cancel. It was easy to do all on my own through the account. 

Becoming a cord cutter really has its benefits, and, in my humble opinion, those benefits definitely outweigh the downsides! I think you’ll find that as you’re not tied to any contracts and saving money, you’ll find that you’ll be telling others why they could be a cord cutter too.

Did I miss any benefits of being a cord cutter? Let me know in the comments below!