by Hope
I recently published my latest budget. And frankly, I’m pretty proud of how thorough it is.
While the categories are general, they work for our life. And I know my numbers are right after months of tracking every penny spent after reading Your Money or Your Life.
As I was doing some planning, looking back and looking forward, I remembered my Universal and Netflix line items on my last budget update. And I never gave an update on my decisions for those two items.
Universal Passes Cancelled
With Universal, I completed my year long commitment and cancelled the passes. I struggled with it for a little while as I was holding on to my dream of how I want things to be, or the life I thought I would have. But in the end, I know it was the right decision financially. And more importantly is reflective of our life changes.
I can no longer cling to the lifestyle I hoped for. I have to accept the life we lead now. Rather, I do accept the life we lead now. And I’m now able to embrace that in all aspects. Cancelling the Universal passes was just a sign of that growth and change in me.
Netflix
I cancelled our Netflix subscription in June, just before the kids left for camp. While it was not cost prohibitive, it was no practical anymore. The kids were going to be gone a great deal over the summer with camp, trip to Texas and sports training. I decided it just made sense to take a break.
We’ve rented Redbox movies a couple of times but have otherwise been without any “TV” type entertainment this summer. To be honest, I’m not sure we miss it at all.
That being said, Princess has recently asked if I would get Netflix back. Evidently there’s some new seasons or series she would like to watch. I’m considering it.
TV Alternatives
Cancelling Netflix and Universal shaved right at $70 off my monthly budget. And we haven’t missed them. But during the winter months…it’s nice to have something to veg out too.
We haven’t had cable since 2007 when my husband and I split. Over the years we have had Netflix, Amazon Prime and used free TV channel apps on our iPads and computers, along with an occasional DVD rental from the library or Redbox.
While I’m not sure that’s the norm, I definitely think it’s a growing trend. Do you have TV service? What about the TV alternatives? What is your favorite and why?
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
We do not have cable or any TV download services. My husband and I just don’t feel the need. I sometimes look up things on youtube to watch, especially British mysteries or history shows. I have some Instagram accounts I look at, I read the news occasionally, and I also like to look at pretty pictures on Pinterest! (antiques, recipes etc.)
Hi Hope,
Can you rent DVDs for cheap at a local library/at the kids school?
We watch lots of college sports, so we jump between Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling, and Playstation Vue for our TV watching. We will occasionally also add in Netflix or HBO if there is a particular series we are watching. The best thing is we can usually subscribe for a month, watch the show, and then cancel again!
You gave yourself $250 a month for kid s. I’d discuss this with the two kids. I ‘d let them know that getting net flix might mean a trade off at some point. Your budget for Princess and Gymnast should fall within the parameters of $250 though. Teenagers will want all the things, it’s your job to teach them that more often than not they will need to make choices about what they want their life to look like within the parameteTrs of a budget. It also sounds like when considering Christmas you might consider “gifting” netflix.
As far as our household goes we have a sweet deal with our satellite TV because our son works for a satellite TV company. We have all the premiums which son pays for and in exchange we cover his data on the phone he has on our family plan. He also shares his Netflix account since Netflix allows more than 1 device. Personally I mainly watch food network of hgtv with an occasional prime time sit .com throw in.
We have Sling, Netflix, Amazon Prime and an antenna. That gives us more than we need, and was a good transition when we cut cable.
The past couple of months we added Amazon Prime and then the UP channel to our streaming. We now have a second vehicle, as my husband’s shift change doesn’t allow us to be a one car family any longer. 🙁
I plan to cancel those services today. We will keep Hulu. My boys mostly watch YouTube, so Hulu is basically for me. ?
Great job cutting expenses from your budget, Hope!
Good job on making the hard decision to cancel the passes and Netflix!
We do have Netflix and Hulu. I don’t watch much TV and would be ok without them, but my husband and son do and at $19 / month it’s not breaking our budget.
Hope man, you gotta slash that budget.
I believe food stamp recipients are able to get Amazon prime for $5.99 a month and prime comes with access to shows to stream. I think it’s significantly more for people who don’t qualify but while on food stamps this could potentially be an option for you. It even comes with a free 30 day trial of you have not had prime before.
The title of this post is “No More Universal or Netflix”. Yet before you even reach the end of the post you are talking about how you are considering getting Netflix again?