Financial tune-up: Cutting out cable TV to save money

Megan Brook unplugs theHDMIcable from her DVD player and plugs it into the family laptop. It takes a moment but then the screen is mirrored and displays on the larger TV screen in the Winnipeg family's living room.

A quick search on the internet browser through the database of the streaming service Netflix,and the kids are watching one of their favourite shows.

It's how the family has watched television for over fouryears now.It still involves cables and cords,but they officially "cut the cord" after deciding that they were spending too much money on a cable service they weren't using oftenenough.

"For us,it was the additional cost, it was an additional $130 every single month. We were working we had part-time, full-time income we were busy on the go, and that's 20 to 40 hours a week that we're paying for a service that we're not using," she said.

"So it was pretty easy to do when you start thinking of an extra $130.That's a grocery bill. That's gas for the month for some people.That's going toHeclafor the weekend as a family."

She added, "For some people,it's dance or swimming lessons for the kids. There [are]other places that money can go and we are a lot happier for it."

Trend may be slowly gaining speed

According toCRTCnumbers from 2013, the number ofsatellite subscribers dropped 4.8 per cent while cable subscribers actually increased 1.5 per cent.

• CRTC report shows cost of cable, telecom services increasing
• CRTC hearings: How the outcome could affect your cable and internet bill

However, if you combine the numbers for total subscribers in the country, 7,602 households dropped their traditional service.

Theyare certainly not huge numbers across the country,but itcould indicate that some people are looking for other options.

Lately,secondary options have been popping up all over the place.Netflix now has company in the on-demand streaming service market.Rogers and Shaw partnered this past year to launch theShomiapplication,with over 11,000 hours of content.

Or maybe you want to go a little more old-school.A digital antenna, no longer our parents' rabbit ears, can pull in all your local broadcasters and maybe even the odd American one if you are close enough to a transmitter in the United States.

Even if you can get most of the content you want from a digital over-the-air signal, it might be tough to shift away from having the convenience of aPVR. The pausing and rewinding and the option to record and watch later has certainly made consuming television easier for many.

An Ottawa-based company has thought about that and now has a possible solution.EnterTablo.Plug in the over-the-air antenna into theTablobox and an external hard drive, and then use a Wi-Fi connection to a smartTV,Apple TVor Roku box.

Once the setup is complete,theTablobox acts as a guide and menu and allows you to record the over-the-air programming.

A nice side to the device is thatonce your program is recorded,you can log in from a mobile device and access the content you have recorded on the go.

More time and money

Back at the Brook household, if it's a new show that they simply have to watch,they use"on-the-go" applications from the broadcasters themselves.They connect that through the laptop again to the TV.

They can't control the streamed content in terms of fast-forwarding through commercials, so they still have to watchads. But maybe that's the cost now. Either way,they are just happy to not have to pay for a cablesubscription any more.

"We've been able to pay off debt sooner.We've been able to have the additional time so we've been able to generate additional sources of income," Brook said.

"We've been able to work on personal business, personal goals.We have been able to become predominatelydebt-free besides a new house for us, having a new minivan one that fits all four kids and we can do those things."

Brook added that over the course of the time they have been without cable,they calculate that they have saved more than$6,000. As well,it has given them more freedom.

"We can pick up and go.We can go toHeclalike we just did last November, and we were there for two days played,water-slides, they have skating, everything else," she said.

"I can homeschool the kids.We can structure our time better. I can actually be a stay-at-home mom and not have to worry about child careand where I have to shuttle my kids to next," she added.

Click along as CBC Manitoba explores personal finances, budgeting, debt, money-saving tips and financial planning in this six-partseries.

• Part 1:Tough times and 'foggy money'
• Part 2:The importance of budgeting
• Part 3:Cutting out cable TV to save money
• Part 4:Slimming down the grocery bill
• Part 5:Family fun for less (or free)
• Part 6:Making your money work for you