Last week my wife and I decided to make a drastic and radical change in our lives. It was a tough decision but after much thought we decided it was what was really best for both our finances and our family. WE CANCELED CABLE! I know it sounds crazy but it turns out there really wasn’t any reason we had cable to begin with.
Think about it, why do you have cable? What do you really enjoy watching on TV? For us we love to watch shows like, NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Bones, Criminal Minds, and The Amazing Race. Do you know what all of these shows have in common? They are all big Network Television shows. Guess what folks, they still send that mind numbing goodness out over the air, and it is even in HD. I went out and spent $20 on an indoor lay flat antenna and I pick up ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Not only do I pick them up clearly, I get them in HD, FOR FREE!
To supplement our lack of cable television shows we did go ahead and sign up for NetFlix at the $8.99 per month pricing tier. With that we can watch unlimited streaming movies/television shows as well as have 1 DVD out at a time. So far it has worked out pretty well, we can watch movies and I have started watching Dexter and hope to start watching Mad Men shortly. The best part is I don’t have to bother with commercials and I can watch a season of the shows at my own pace.
Lets look at how much this drastic change is going to save me over the long run. I was paying an eye popping $197 per month for Cable and internet. We reduced that to $45 by eliminating cable and knocking our internet bandwidth down one tier. That is a per month savings of $152.00 which works out to $1,824 over the course of a year. That is a HUGE savings for not really much of sacrifice at all.
Why do you keep your cable or do you?
Many consumers are finding that there’s power in numbers. Group buying sites, such as Groupon.com, LivingSocial.com, and BuyWithMe.com, offer steep discounts on local services that are being promoted that day. Local merchants get a burst of new traffic that will hopefully lead to new customers and consumers get great deals. You might have seen recent stories highlighted on CNN, USA Today and other media outlets, heralding them as a the new buying revolution, the Web’s latest retail craze.
But it’s not as simple as you might think to cash in on these deals. Group buying sites vary in their business models. Some require a certain number of takers before validating the deal, while others let you click to buy immediately until all the vouchers are sold. Some sites offer an incentive to share the deal. Others use the threat of losing the deal if enough people don’t sign up. The more you share, the more likely the deal will go through.
Many of these deals come with some fine print. Here are some things to watch for when using group buying sites:
- Check Out the Deal – Sometimes merchants run different deals on different sites. Don’t settle for the first deal you see. Check out other coupon and group buying sites before committing.
- Know the Restrictions – Some deals are on valid certain days or for a limited time. Tax and tip may not be included. Most of these deals do not give money back if you change your mind.
- Read Reviews - A deal is only as good as the product or service sold. Make sure this is something that you’ll want to use, and check out the place using review sites like Yelp, Google Maps, or ConsumerSearch.com.
- Make Sure that You Can Afford It - Sometimes you can buy deals, such as get $50 worth of food and drink for only $25, but after adding the entrée, dessert and drinks, you might find yourself above that $50 budget. Make sure you know what the typical dinner or service costs before signing up.
Most of these sites offer a “How It Works” section. Read the rules before you start using a group buying site. Because these are local offers, make sure that the site offers deals in your area. If they’re not, you can sign up for the waiting list and when they add your city, you’ll start receiving emails.
These deals change often so you’re encouraged to check back daily or sign up for alerts to see the new deal of the day. As you get more friends involved with your group buying, you start getting peer pressure to buy into their favorite deals. Remember, it’s only a deal if you save money, not spend it. If you weren’t planning to buy that product or service then you’re wasting money on services and products that you don’t need.
Buying the cheapest thing you can find certainly isn’t always a great idea. It is good to be frugal but quality is equally as important as price. I fell game to the cheaper is better trap the other day when I was in the market for a cornhole set. You know the bean bag game where you toss bags at a wooden board trying to get them in hole. I used to own a set I built myself but they were to big and bulky so I ditched them.
I went out to buy a set and was presented with two choices, one at $79.99 and one at $99.99. The $79 one was built out of wood and the more expensive one was molded plastic. The frugalite in me decided the cheaper one was going to be the better deal so I bought it. This was actually very out of character for me. I typically research everything to death before I make a purchase. This was a spur of the moment deal and I went with the cheaper option on gut.
Turns out there is a reason I over research everything before i make a purchase. When I make a spur of the moment decision to buy something it is a bad deal. I picked up the cheaper version and was sorry the first time I went to use it. The bags were like paper, too light, and the boards were cheaply made. If I wasn’t sorry the first time, I was crazy sorry the second time when the board actually fell apart. I tried to fix it but it was the cheapest, most worthless, piece of crap I have ever purchased. I don’t know what I was thinking. I returned it the next day and I plan to build one from scratch.
The point I am trying to make with this lengthy diatribe is that just because it is cheaper doesn’t mean it is better. Especially if you are making a purchase of something you really will use regularly. I didn’t do what I knew I should have done and I bought a lemon. The more expensive option was better but even it wasn’t the best way to go. Looking back at it the best way to do it was to make my own. That way I know it is done right and better. Cheaper isn’t better, but sometimes more expensive isn’t so much better either. Weigh your options accordingly and then make your decision. Not much comes from split second decision making.
Photo: (GoMattOlson)
