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5 Common Cord Cutting Mistakes
More people are cutting the cord to cut costs, but is it right for you? Is your family ready to finally cut the cord and break up with a traditional TV service? Making the switch from traditional TV service to streaming can be overwhelming if you’ve never used Netflix or Hulu before, but it’s not as complicated as it seems. New cord-cutters make it out to be harder than it should be especially when certain family members rely on very specific channels for their favorite shows. Before you do something hasty and start making cord-cutting decisions, check out these 5 common cord-cutting mistakes.
1. Expecting Cord Cutting to Work Like Cable Does
No matter what anyone says, cord cutting simply is not the same as cable TV service bundles and it’s not meant to be. Yes, you can often find the same channels, movies and TV shows you like to watch, but they won’t be bundled up neatly into one package like with cable providers like DISH Network, Verizon, or DirecTV. It’ll take time to figure out what you truly need and where you can find it. Plus with streaming services, you’ll have access to plenty of original programming to that service you can’t get with cable.
2. Not Checking How Much Other Cable Companies Cost
Just because your TV bill is too high with your current TV provider, it doesn’t mean that your bill will be equal or more than their competition. It’s worth checking out what’s available in your area before making any quick decisions. There could be a cheaper TV provider out there that won’t force you to make a sacrifice in programming or empty your wallet. Plus many providers have special deals and promotional rates for new customers. You may be surprised at what you find.
Also keep in mind before you cancel your TV service, if you currently bundle your TV and internet together, unbundling them may make your internet rate go up. Shopping around first might really find you a better deal.
3. Signs Up For Everything
If you’re looking to cut cable out of the picture to lower your TV bill, signing up for every streaming service will not be the solution for you. In fact, signing up for all of them is guaranteed to make your total TV expenses higher than it ever was before. To minimize your total bill, you’ll have to identify what channels or TV shows are the most important to you and go from there. After assessing your situation, if you can’t get your total cost down far enough to make it worth dumping cable, streaming services won’t be for you.
4. Lowered Your Internet Speeds Before Cutting The Cord
In an effort to cut down on your monthly expenses, so you may be tempted to also cut back on your internet service. Wait until you’re settled on which streaming services you need and want before cutting back on internet service. What people don’t realize is the lower your internet speeds are, the more buffering your streaming video will do and if your internet speeds are too low, it may not work all together. Low internet speeds are especially problematic if you’re streaming live channels or utilizing a cloud DVR.
5. Blindly Follows What Everyone Else Is Doing
It’s always a good idea to ask friends and family for advice, but it doesn’t replace good old fashioned research. What channels and programming that you like to watch is probably different from what your family and friends are watching and that’s okay! At the end of the day, you have to choose a solution that’s right for you and what your friends have might not be it. Cutting the cord in general might not be it either. Doing your research now rather than just diving in head first can save you a lot of headaches later.
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