UPDATES - We are still living without cable and loving it.

UPDATE 11/04/15:
My family and I cut the cable cord back in 2012. We have never rejoined the cable revolution, but I do have some updates worth sharing.

I wrote this initial blog post back when my family had just cut the cable cord. We were about a year in and loving it.  Well now we are 3 years in, and we are still loving it!! I thought it wasonly fair to update everyone with our current (3 years later if you will) costs to see if we are still saving a bundle, and it turns out that we are despite the rising cost of internet in this region.

In 2014, we invested in the Roku Streaming Stick (paid $40 - now it's cheaper) for our bedroom television, so now we have two! We also invested in two VERY CHEAP  Homeworx Super Thin HDTV Antenna (paid $9/each - now it's $7/each). This allows us to watch prime time television (American Ninja Warrior - my kids love this show) and morning and evening news when we want (like when it's snowing and we desperately want schools to close). We receive all of the prime TV channels (ABC, FOX, PBS, CBS, NBC, etc.) among several others we never knew about (CoziTV, anyone?).

This is what I currently pay per month to enjoy a cable free lifestyle:
Charter Internet - $69/month
Netflix - $9/month
Amazon - $9/month (annual fee of $99)

We are very fortunate that my parents share their cable login with us, so our family has access to these channel apps on the Roku (for free):
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
HBO Go
Showtime Anytime

In addition to these apps, we have lots of other free channel apps on our program list from Netflix and Amazon to Popcorn Flix and Jim Henson's Family TV.

So as time has gone by some costs have risen (mainly, internet), but I still save money each month by not paying for cable channels.

My current monthly spend for television entertainment is $87; this is a savings of $138 per month for us.

An added benefit that I would like to share is when you cut the cord on cable you also save yourself time and energy lost surfing channels and avoiding commercials. Our family is definitely more mindful of the time we spend in front of the television as a result of cutting the cord. Sometimes we decide that we are going to have the TV off for a period, choosing to read books as a family or do crafts. We also spend a lot more time perusing new movies and books at the library rather than searching for the next best thing to watch on TV. We waste less time searching for something intriguing because something has already been recommended for us on the Netflix, or there is a new episode of Homeland that my husband and I just can't wait to watch.

Cutting the cord is more than just cutting cable from your life; it is a lifestyle change and a good one. It leads to more family time and more mindful watching of the televisions. It may also lead to more frequent episodes of binge-watching; I am guilty of this (OITNB, can I get an Amen!?)

Thanks for reading and read on for more information about cutting the cord on cable in my original blog post from June 2014.

ORIGINAL POST:
Many of you have heard our tale of cutting the cord on cable and getting on board with saving money by investing in a Roku. A lot of folks ask me questions and wonder if they could really cut the cord, so to speak.

Well it's very easy, and it was one of the BEST INVESTMENTS that I ever made. I mean, seriously BEST INVESTMENT because not only do I save money each month by not paying for the high cost of cable/satellite, but I also spend more time with my family, and I pay closer attention to what my children are watching.

So I'm going to provide steps to saving money, but first my story:

GG and I were spending more than $200 (almost $300) per month for cable/internet/cell phone with AT&T U-Verse. I thought we were saving money at the time because we had discounts, free movie channels, and it was bundled, so I was truly saving, right? Totally WRONG.

We were in the process of selling our house, and I told my husband that if we ended up buying a house that was larger with (possibly) larger utility bills and such, then we would have to cut something out, so we decide to cut the cord on our cable.

I researched internet services in our new hometown and found that Charter had the best deal for $30/month. I set up time for the installation and purchased a wifi-router since I didn't own one. The one we had came with our U-Verse package, so I paid $8/month to rent our router for like 2-3 years, so about $288 over time, yikes! I bought one for $109 at Walmart, and done. I don't have to pay for another one until this one burns out. I've already saved some money for the future with one investment up front. --> There are less expensive routers out there, but I needed one with a high frequency to emit across our 2700 sq. ft. home. Big house = more power and longer reach wifi frequency = more expensive. Here are some cheaper options and mine: Netgear Rangemax, TP-Link Wireless N300, and Netgear N600 Dual Band Gigabit (that's the one I own).

Next, I cut the cable at our old house, so we had no TV or internet for a couple of days. We went to the library and borrowed some books and movies to tie us over while we moved stuff into our new (to us) home.

The first week that we moved in, I signed us up for Netflix ($9/month), Hulu Plus ($9/month), and Amazon Prime ($99/year) which includes Amazon Instant Video. Each of these services offers a FREE trial-offer time period to see if you even like their services, and well I fell in love RIGHT AWAY with all the tv shows and movies as well as the perk of 2-day shipping from Amazon.

I also invested in our Roku. I chose the Roku 2 XD ($56) because it was the latest model at the time, but I know friends and family who prefer the Roku Streaming Stick ($49), which is kind of the latest and greatest.

On our Roku we are able to stream our paid monthly subscriptions to Netflix (endless movies and TV series), Hulu Plus (mostly prime time TV series), and Amazon Prime (lots and lots of movies and TV series, they just acquired HBO shows, too!) as well as several other awesomely free services.

These are just a sample of the channels I have on my Roku:
-  Pandora - Streaming Pandora stations for free, I love Children's Indie
-  Crackle - Free movies with short advertisements
-  PBS - Free full episodes of shows and mini-series like Call the Midwife...
-  PBS Kids - Free PBS kids full episodes of shows like Sesame Street, Clifford, Arthur...
-  A&E - Free full episodes of shows like Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel
-  Lifetime - Free full episodes of shows and movies like Army Wives, True STori...
-  History Channel - Free full episodes of shows like American Pickers, Mountain Men, Ancient Aliens...

Know someone who pays for cable? Well if they let you borrow their account log-in you can also get these Roku channels for FREE:
-  Disney Channel - Free full episodes of shows and some Disney channel movies
-  Disney Junior - Free full episodes of Sophia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Rolie Polie Olie....
-  Disney XD - Free full episodes of Marvel Avengers, Phineas and Ferb...
-  HBO Go - I love me some GOT, Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood... not to mention all the awesome new release movies
-  Showtime Anytime - I can't get enough of Nurse Jackie, Homeland, Shameless...

Also, once you have an account with the above mentioned channels, you can stream them on mobile devices as well as iPad, Kindle Fire, and computers.

I found that after we cut the cord to cable, we were saving right away. Our AT&T U-Verse breakdown was about this:

-  $45 - internet
-  $180 - TV
   OR $225 per month
Our TV entertainment now costs us:
-  $30 - Charter internet
-  $9 - Netflix
-  $9 - Hulu Plus
    OR $48 per month, plus $99/year for Amazon
Total breakdown : $57 per month, a savings of about $168 per month, and I will NEVER go back to cable.

THAT IS HUGE SAVINGS!!!!!!

So if you want to cut the cord on cable and save money each month while still enjoying the same awesome shows and movies, you need to follow these steps:

1.  Sign up for the cheapest, best internet in your area ~$30/month (or more depends on your area)
2.  Invest in a wireless router rather than rent from your internet service provider, see links above
2.  Buy a Roku ~$50-60 (one-time purchase per TV)
3.  Sign up for Amazon ($99/year), Netflix ($9/month), Hulu Plus ($9/month)
4.  Enjoy your new TV service and put all the extra money you're saving each month towards your next vacation or rainy-day fund

**My blog post contains affiliate links, so I may be compensated if  you make a purchase after clicking one of my links.

School uniforms and frugal finds.

Uniforms can be quite expensive. This being our first year (and experience) with buying uniforms, I've been hunting high and low for the best bargain. Although I've found inexpensive pieces here and there (Goodwill, garage sales, Once Upon a Child), we do not have an established supply of uniform pieces, you know, tops, bottoms, jumpers, etc.

So I had this goal in mind that I would buy an entire summer/fall uniform wardrobe for less than $100, but I think that might've been too lofty; now my goal is to establish a full wardrobe (on sale and with coupons, of course) and a backpack for less than $150.

I'm doing good on my new goal.

I began Harper's wardrobe with three khaki jorts that I picked up from a local 'online' garage sale group. A cute navy jumper dress from Goodwill, and a pair of 'classic' khakis from Once Upon a Child. Total: $9.25

Today, I saw that Children's Place had specials running on their uniforms, plus an extra 30% off $60 or more (off everything in the store) with this code: savemore3, so I picked up: five ruffle uniform polo shirts, two skinny uniform pants, two crew neck cardigan sweaters, two uniform shorts, and two pairs of modesty shorts.

My total today was $86.73 plus tax. Shipping was free, whee! Harper still needs a windbreaker/rain coat and a khaki jumper dress. I saw that these were on sale at Walmart; downside is that I have to pay $5 in shipping, yuck! Why won't they ship to store? Just not sure. Definitely going to get the coat because it is marked down quite a bit, but I think I'll wait on the jumper. I'm sure I can buy one off someone or find one at Goodwill for cheaper than this price.

If you are trying to buy school uniforms on the cheap. I know that Walmart has a sale on their gear (polos are $21 per 4 pack, shorts are $7) as does Old Navy (polos are $5/each, pants are $10). The prices are comparable to the discounted prices I received today with Children's Place. To add to it, I love that Children's Place will accept/exchange my returns if they don't fit; their pants and shorts have adjustable belt loops, which is important to moms of skinny minis. It helps that I had some rewards points to use, and the quality of their clothing is great, IMO.

Thanks for reading today, and here is a lovely pic of the fam from a date with the local farmers market a few weekends ago (before I dyed my hair red). I used a fun filter on these photos, not sure now much I like it though. Hm.

School supplies and frugal finds.

I'm all about saving a buck, whether its on groceries, clothing, school supplies, you name it.

Despite all that, I've been really lazy about hunting down a deal and jumping on it. I mean to say that I haven't couponed in a long time (like 6 months), which is horrible, and I have no one to blame but myself. This is my confession (makes you think of that song, right?). I do continue to price match from time to time, but I found that I was spending too much time hunting down, printing and organizing coupons, so I just took a break, a long one.
 
Because Harper starts school in a month, I figured it was time to start stocking up on school supplies and uniforms the frugal way.  I found her list on the school website as well as a uniform list. Then I searched for upcoming discounts with the help of Moms By Heart. 

Tonight I found some pretty cheap prices (good through Saturday, July 26) at Office Depot and Staples. Some of the prices were not the cheapest (the notebooks at Walmart were $0.25, hindsight is 20/20), but they seemed good at the time, so I purchased them anyway. Also, did you know that Staples offers a 100% Price Match Guarantee. Yeah, I didn't realize till I mentioned something was cheaper in the Office Depot ad, and they gave it to me for that price, crazytown.

Additionally, our teachers are looking for extra Kleenex, a binder and a writing tablet.

Not all everything she needs, but almost everything for less than $10.00.

OFFICE DEPOT
White Glue, Bottle
1 @ $0.25
One Subject, Notebook
2 @ $0.40

Total: $1.05 + tax

STAPLES
Pencils, 12CT
1 @ $0.68
Pencil Box
1 @ $1.00
2-Pocket Folder
1 @ $0.15
Composition Notebook
2 @ $0.50
Glue Sticks, 4PK
1 @ $1.25
Crayola Crayons, 24CT
2 @ $0.50 -- FREE because the guy didn't ring these up apparently, oops!
Crayola Colored Construction Paper, 96CT
2 @ $2.00

Total: $8.08 + tax

WALMART
Roseart Markers, 10CT
1 @ $0.77

Total: $0.77 + tax

**Side note, I don't know what happened at Staples with the crayons. I put everything on the counter, and I even saw him ring them up. He had to update my receipt to do the price match guarantee on the construction paper ($2 @ Office Depot), so I'm not sure how the crayons were overlooked. I feel kind of bad about it, but I did not even catch the mistake till I looked at my receipt when I got home. Eek!! At least it was only $1, I guess.**

Well all in all, I spent about $9.90 + tax on Harper's school supplies. Now all I have left to buy is Kleenex, manila paper, a 1/2 inch binder with pockets, a folder with brads, scissors, water color paints, ziploc bags, writing tablet, and baby wipes.

My goal is to spend $20 or less on Harper's school supplies.

My next goal is to buy Harper school uniforms and a backpack for less than $100. Uniforms and backpacks can be expensive, but I am confident that I can get a good deal by shopping at Walmart and by using coupons, we'll see. Thus far I've picked up a jumper dress (Goodwill), three skorts (garage sale), and a pair of khaki pants (Once Upon a Child) all for less than $8.00, so I am on a roll.

I forgot to mention that the Once Upon a Child in our area was having a 70% off clearance sale, so I bought two shirts, a sweater, and shorts for Sawyer (fall/winter apparel) and a shirt, a dress and khakis (summer/fall/winter apparel) for only $10.79. I just love a steal, don't you?

Do you have an action plan when it comes to stocking up on school supplies and clothing for the upcoming year? How do you save a buck on these items? Do you frequent garage sales, Goodwill and other discount outlets for steals? I'm always looking for new ways to save money. I'd love to hear your strategies for saving.

Cut the cord on cable and save money, big time.

Many of you have heard our tale of cutting the cord on cable and getting on board with saving money by investing in a Roku. A lot of folks ask me questions and wonder if they could really cut the cord, so to speak.

Well it's very easy, and it was one of the BEST INVESTMENTS that I ever made. I mean, seriously BEST INVESTMENT because not only do I save money each month by not paying for the high cost of cable/satellite, but I also spend more time with my family, and I pay closer attention to what my children are watching.

So I'm going to provide steps to saving money, but first my story:

GG and I were spending more than $200 (almost $300) per month for cable/internet/cell phone with AT&T U-Verse. I thought we were saving money at the time because we had discounts, free movie channels, and it was bundled, so I was truly saving, right? Totally WRONG.

We were in the process of selling our house, and I told my husband that if we ended up buying a house that was larger with (possibly) larger utility bills and such, then we would have to cut something out, so we decide to cut the cord on our cable.

I researched internet services in our new hometown and found that Charter had the best deal for $30/month. I set up time for the installation and purchased a wifi-router since I didn't own one. The one we had came with our U-Verse package, so I paid $8/month to rent our router for like 2-3 years, so about $288 over time, yikes! I bought one for $109 at Walmart, and done. I don't have to pay for another one until this one burns out. I've already saved some money for the future with one investment up front. --> There are less expensive routers out there, but I needed one with a high frequency to emit across our 2700 sq. ft. home. Big house = more power and longer reach wifi frequency = more expensive. Here are some cheaper options and mine: Netgear Rangemax, TP-Link Wireless N300, and Netgear N600 Dual Band Gigabit (that's the one I own).

Next, I cut the cable at our old house, so we had no TV or internet for a couple of days. We went to the library and borrowed some books and movies to tie us over while we moved stuff into our new (to us) home.

The first week that we moved in, I signed us up for Netflix ($9/month), Hulu Plus ($9/month), and Amazon Prime ($99/year) which includes Amazon Instant Video. Each of these services offers a FREE trial-offer time period to see if you even like their services, and well I fell in love RIGHT AWAY with all the tv shows and movies as well as the perk of 2-day shipping from Amazon.

I also invested in our Roku. I chose the Roku 2 XD ($56) because it was the latest model at the time, but I know friends and family who prefer the Roku Streaming Stick ($49), which is kind of the latest and greatest.

On our Roku we are able to stream our paid monthly subscriptions to Netflix (endless movies and TV series), Hulu Plus (mostly prime time TV series), and Amazon Prime (lots and lots of movies and TV series, they just acquired HBO shows, too!) as well as several other awesomely free services.

These are just a sample of the channels I have on my Roku:
-  Pandora - Streaming Pandora stations for free, I love Children's Indie
-  Crackle - Free movies with short advertisements
-  PBS - Free full episodes of shows and mini-series like Call the Midwife...
-  PBS Kids - Free PBS kids full episodes of shows like Sesame Street, Clifford, Arthur...
-  A&E - Free full episodes of shows like Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel
-  Lifetime - Free full episodes of shows and movies like Army Wives, True STori...
-  History Channel - Free full episodes of shows like American Pickers, Mountain Men, Ancient Aliens...

Know someone who pays for cable? Well if they let you borrow their account log-in you can also get these Roku channels for FREE:
-  Disney Channel - Free full episodes of shows and some Disney channel movies
-  Disney Junior - Free full episodes of Sophia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Rolie Polie Olie....
-  Disney XD - Free full episodes of Marvel Avengers, Phineas and Ferb...
-  HBO Go - I love me some GOT, Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood... not to mention all the awesome new release movies
-  Showtime Anytime - I can't get enough of Nurse Jackie, Homeland, Shameless...

Also, once you have an account with the above mentioned channels, you can stream them on mobile devices as well as iPad, Kindle Fire, and computers.

I found that after we cut the cord to cable, we were saving right away. Our AT&T U-Verse breakdown was about this:

-  $45 - internet
-  $180 - TV
   OR $225 per month
Our TV entertainment now costs us:
-  $30 - Charter internet
-  $9 - Netflix
-  $9 - Hulu Plus
    OR $48 per month, plus $99/year for Amazon
Total breakdown : $57 per month, a savings of about $168 per month, and I will NEVER go back to cable.

THAT IS HUGE SAVINGS!!!!!!

So if you want to cut the cord on cable and save money each month while still enjoying the same awesome shows and movies, you need to follow these steps:

1.  Sign up for the cheapest, best internet in your area ~$30/month (or more depends on your area)
2.  Invest in a wireless router rather than rent from your internet service provider, see links above
2.  Buy a Roku ~$50-60 (one-time purchase per TV)
3.  Sign up for Amazon ($99/year), Netflix ($9/month), Hulu Plus ($9/month)
4.  Enjoy your new TV service and put all the extra money you're saving each month towards your next vacation or rainy-day fund

UPDATE 11/04/15:
My family and I cut the cable cord back in 2012. We have never rejoined the cable revolution, but I do have some updates worth sharing.

In 2014, we invested in the Roku Streaming Stick (paid $40 - now it's cheaper) for our bedroom television, so now we have two! We also invested in two VERY CHEAP  Homeworx Super Thin HDTV Antenna (paid $9/each - now it's $7/each). This allows us to watch prime time television (American Ninja Warrior - my kids love this show) and morning and evening news when we want (like when it's snowing and we desperately want schools to close). We receive all of the prime TV channels (ABC, FOX, PBS, CBS, NBC, etc.) among several others we never knew about (CoziTV, anyone?).

This is what I currently pay per month to enjoy a cable free lifestyle:
Charter Internet - $69/month
Netflix - $9/month
Amazon - $9/month (annual fee of $99)

We are very fortunate that my parents share their cable login with us, so our family has access to these channel apps on the Roku (for free):
Disney Channel
Disney Junior
Disney XD
HBO Go
Showtime Anytime

In addition to these apps, we have lots of other free channel apps on our program list from Netflix and Amazon to Popcorn Flix and Jim Henson's Family TV.

So as time has gone by some costs have risen (mainly, internet), but I still save money each month by not paying for cable channels.

My currently monthly spend for television entertainment is $87; this is a savings of $138 per month for us.

**My blog post contains affiliate links, so I may be compensated if  you make a purchase after clicking one of my links.

Get it. 20% off at Two Peas in a Bucket.

This weekend only, Two Peas in a Bucket has a 20% off store wide sale. I'm so excited.

I haven't purchased any new scrappy products in a long while, but I did see some really cute stuff that wouldn't mind finding a home in my scrap space. *wink, wink - Mr. Watson!

Products that I want are:

#Summer 12x12 paper pad - American Crafts

Cloud 9 wood veneers - Chic Tags

Cloud 9 flair buttons - Chic Tags

Wanderlust 12x12 paper pad - Studio Calico

Blue & Aqua 4x6 alphas - Studio Calico

Not to mention this

Autumn Crisp 12x12 paper pad - American Crafts

Autumn Crisp bits - American Crafts

and this

Shamrock Thickers - American Crafts

Close Knit 6x6 paper pad - Crate Paper

I also have a discounted shipping code that I don't mind sharing if you would like it. Feel free to send me a little message: tinyscrapper at yahoo dot com.

I love 6x6 pads because they are just perfect for little projects like my Mother's Day album, cards and project life. Also, I'm seriously a 12x12 paper addict, and well you can never have enough in my opinion. That #summer line from American Crafts, is so stinking cute! I can't wait to get my hands on it and get to scrapping this summer's adventures.

Have a wonderful weekend, and take advantage of this sale while you can. They are few and far between.  The Watson family and I will be spending time in our yard, spending time with friends and family, and hopefully setting up a new (to us) swing set in the backyard for the kids.

Feeling so blessed.

**This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking one of my links.