Every year I take a hard look at my monthly expenses and try to figure out a way to reduce them. Last year I used Verizon’s triple play special as my leverage to cut my Comcast bill for Cable TV, Internet and VOIP from $160 to $99 per month. I also gave Allied Waste the boot and replaced them with a local trash hauler. Allied kept adding fuel surcharges and raising the rate every quarter by $10. The local company only has once per week pickup versus two for Allied, but we don’t generate much trash anyway. I saved about $250 per year.
January arrived and my special pricing with Comcast expired and they jacked my monthly fee back to $150. I called them and asked why I shouldn’t switch to Verizon FIOS at $85 per month for two years. Usually they send me to someone who offers me a great deal to stay. This time they said they couldn’t do anything for me. Thirty minutes later Comcast had lost a customer they had for 17 years. I’m sure they know what they’re doing.
The conversion to Verizon FIOS went smoothly. I have more stations and the all in price is $112 per month. Getting a better offering and saving $440 per year works for me. The only downside is that the email address I’ve used for a decade is now deceased.
Anyone trying to reach me will need to use my new email address:
I also refinanced my mortgage, which will save me $1,550 per year. Life is about cash flow and what you do with it. I’ll be using it to prepare for the coming storm.
Bostonbob says:
Admin
My kids still give me shit about the day I cancelled cable. I actually reduced it to basic after they re-tiered the rate to an amount that astonished me. Sorry Mrs. Moore did the bills and I found out indirectly. To this day they still thank me. I did really miss the History Channel.
Bob.
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16th February 2013 at 5:57 pm
Razzle says:
I dropped comcast about 18 months ago. I continued with their email service after the fact. I assumed that they would continue my email service via profits from clicking ads et al. 11 months later I went to log on my email account and was informed it was locked. I chatted with an online representative who informed me they had just completed a ‘sweep’ and had deleted my email account. All info was lost, no access. I was told I could reup or tag on a family member or friend to retrieve my information…..Whatever.
It is interesting to note that many people could share a wifi hotspot, divide the cost among all and depending on the band width enjoy the world wide web. I guess it works, as my post has gone through.
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16th February 2013 at 5:58 pm
Bostonbob says:
The first three years we were married I was to cheap to pay for any cable. We did not miss it at all.
Bob.
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16th February 2013 at 6:01 pm
Llpoh says:
What is this thing “cable”?
We had cable, once, several years ago, for one year. Fuck TV. Haven’t missed it.
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16th February 2013 at 6:10 pm
Administrator says:
BostonBob
I do like my Flyers and Philles. I also like watching old movies on AMC and Seinfeld reruns. With FIOS I now get the National Geographic Channel. I’ve had Doomsday Preppers on all afternoon in the background. It’s a hoot.
Tonight I’ll switch between the Flyers beating the Canadians and the original Planet of the Apes on AMC while trying to write a new article.
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16th February 2013 at 6:21 pm
Administrator says:
Razzle
I was able to transfer all of my contacts and old emails to gmail before Comcast pulled the plug.
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16th February 2013 at 6:23 pm
Chicago999444 says:
I never have had cable (have never owned a TV).
Ditched my land line 5 years ago.
I wanted unlimited local and long distance calling, a cell phone, and unlimited wireless internet, plus voice messages and caller ID.
So I got the Cricket wireless, $35 a month for unlimited calling in the lower 48, unlimited text, and voice mail, and $35 a month for the wireless card. No contract no credit check. I bought the cheapest flip phone with no “smart”features and no music player.
I keep looking for a better deal and so far have not found one.
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16th February 2013 at 6:26 pm
Bostonbob says:
Llpph
I grew up on TV in the 60′s and 70′s and sadly enough new the at what time any show was on during prime time. Funny thing was I still read a tremendous amount of books. I am sure I wasted many hours watching mindless TV, but there were worse things I could have been doing. Funny thing is my kids watch very little TV. I think it was the time you grew up in as well as the household.
Bob
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16th February 2013 at 6:32 pm
Bostonbob says:
Admin,
The first time I got cable was in college to watch Larry Bird and the Celtics in the early 80′s. The Bruins are looking good so far this year without Thomas. Rask looks to be the real deal. NY cousins lived in Philly during there hay day, don’t think I didn’t get shit from them. Espescially the one who is a Wall Street Bank analyst born the same year as me and who retired at 39.
Bob.
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16th February 2013 at 6:43 pm
Administrator says:
The good old days of rabbit ears and 7 TV stations
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16th February 2013 at 6:46 pm
Administrator says:
BostonBob
Sorry about 1974. I’m still waiting for the next one – 37 years and counting. I do see Bernie Parent in Wildwood. He still has a house there.
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16th February 2013 at 6:52 pm
sangell says:
I can’t cancel my cable as its part of the HOA payment. That said, there is no more History on the history channel, no Discovery on the Discovery Channel , no Geographic on the National Geographic Channel and no animals, except human ones, on Animal Planet.
What has happened is all these cable channels realized they didn’t have to cater to ‘niche’ audiences and could get as ratings as big as the networks so they copy and clone each other’s successful programming shamelessly. Discovery scored big with Deadliest Catch so NatGeo tried a low budget version with tuna fisherman in New England. Animal Planet has a show on tracking, believe it our not, a BigFoot creature. Alligator hunters, moonshiners, swamp people, rednecks chopping down trees. The shows cost next to nothing to make as there are no writers, no actors, just raw footage to edit into some semblance of a TV production. It is an insult to the mind.
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16th February 2013 at 6:56 pm
Razzle says:
@ admin.
Thats why I commented. I wasn’t sure when you did this. Just letting you know how it worked out for me. It took 11 months, glad you have taken the bull.
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16th February 2013 at 6:58 pm
Bostonbob says:
Admin,
I had Bobby Orr hockey skates at 11 years old. We skated on the pond behind the elementary school down the street from my house. There were some epic fights, but all was forgiven in the end. By the way I was a terrible skater, but the cousin on Wall Street was grreat, I would often go to watch him at Amherst College. They had a great team in the early 80′s for there division. Amherst had a great rink, UMASS alas at that time had eliminated its college hockey program.
BOB.
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16th February 2013 at 7:13 pm
Razzle says:
@BostonBob
Parry Sound Ontario will never be the same. KW myself I remember as a kid havindg a Bobby Orr Poster on my bedroom wall, I think it was Lowney chocolates but, that was 35 years ago
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16th February 2013 at 7:24 pm
Jackson says:
Re Administrator’s “Every year I take a hard look at my monthly expenses and try to figure out a way to reduce them.”
If, come next year, you still need to save money, Administrator, I have some suggestions based on what I’ve gleaned from this blog about your location and situation. 1) Move to an apartment in the 30 Blocks of Squalor. Rent should be much cheaper than your mortgage payments. Maybe you can get subsidized housing. 2) Maintenance expenses would be minimal as few in the area see the need to keep up their houses. 3) Electricity costs could be close to zero if, like many who have no lights in the evening, you don’t pay your light bill. 4) Trash collection costs should be low as well if, like others, you use “street service.” 5) Your commute will be shorter. You may not have tolls to pay. You may even be able to bike to work using city bike lanes.
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16th February 2013 at 8:32 pm
Administrator says:
Jackson
I’ve got my eye on this fixer upper on the Squalor.
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16th February 2013 at 8:35 pm
Llpoh says:
What is this thing “reduce expenses”?
Each month I try to figure out how to spend our last dime with our last breath. Kids do not need inheritances.
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16th February 2013 at 8:41 pm
AWD says:
I didn’t think anybody still had cable.
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16th February 2013 at 8:49 pm
majormocambo says:
I just bought my daughter a antennae for her hd tv. It gets her 30 hd channels. True digital hd, not lossy compressed comcast shit.
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16th February 2013 at 12:56 am
anotherjuan says:
i got a trac phone at target for $29.99 + a 200 minutes card with double minutes, good til june. it’s my emergency phone only, don’t call me. want to contact me quickly, send me a message on FB. i don’t make a habit of watching tv. except sabado gigante, a variety show like the old ed sullivan show.
i grew up with 3 channels, they went off the air at 11 pm. i wish tv still went off. there is not enough creativity to fill 500 channels 24 hours a day. while i have not been cutting back expenses systematically, i have been cutting channels from my old tube tv in the bedroom. hillbillies? delete channel, rap? gone, house flipping? out of here.
i get most of my entertainment and news from TBP anyway
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16th February 2013 at 2:13 am
Bostonbob says:
Admnin,
Ultraman, Speed Racer, H. R. Puff and Stuff, Kimball th White lion and as labelled Top Cat with officer Dibble classic Hanna and Barbera.
Bob.
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16th February 2013 at 5:24 am
thetruthonly says:
I left Comcast for Direct TV’s recent special deal. It now costs about 1/2 of Comcasts previous bill for 1 year, will be about 2/3′rds for the next year with multiple more HD channels, channels period, and some seriously advanced DVR (and a $150 Best Buy gift card).
The only down side is it is a 2 year contract, and in many ways, the customer is responsible for the complex equipment which better not break although they fail to really mention that.
Still, ya gotta play the game, take some risk, and shop around. Savings are out there and maybe in 2 years some other provider will have another deal.
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16th February 2013 at 10:25 am
flash says:
ah…the glory daze..Puf-n-Stuff with Witchy Poo …”what is Witchy Poo?” you may be inclined to ask….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDoSl-M5tmM
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16th February 2013 at 10:47 am
Avalon says:
Ultraman and Speed racer were the best!
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16th February 2013 at 11:01 am
DaveL says:
I was ready to make the switch from Cox to Century Link/Direct TV for TV, Internet and local land line. Two days after I signed up the news comes on and tells me Century link is going on strike, so I cancelled. I’ll wait until they get their house in order.
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16th February 2013 at 11:05 am
Gubmint Cheese says:
Those Sid and Marty Krofft shows of that era sure look like they were created under the influence of LSD or something.
I’ll take Rocky, Bullwinkle and friends anyday.
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16th February 2013 at 12:31 pm