In recent posts, we have talked about REAL ways you can save money.  And in that pursuit, we created a sister site that focuses solely on that…Ways To Save Money! It’s called….All Ways to Save.com. Over the past year or so our family has been getting very serious about finding ways to cut costs. In a recent review of our expenses, we looked at our cable bill and weighed cost versus value.  It was an easy decision…Bye Bye Cable! We had previously done the usual price negotiation, and plan changes, but then got serious and really looked at the channels, i.e. “infomercials” and thought why are we paying $70.00 a month for this?

Now you may be thinking….NO TV!  Are U Kidding Me?  Well, you and I are both smart enough to know (or at least remember our parents telling us) there probably are many more rewarding ways to spend your time than to spend it in front of the TV all day.  But, with that being said, I, like the next guy or gal, still like to watch a good show or a movie every now and then so we didn’t completely get rid of TV.  We just said goodbye to the BILL. We switched to a great alternative  – Free TV.

Yes, I’m talking about an antenna. Now if you’re thinking a gigantic metal antenna, you would be mistaken. The Antennas of today have better reception and are much smaller than those of the past. When we decided to make the switch, I researched Antennas and found one for under $60.00 (less than my cost of 1 month of Direct).  This antenna performs unbelievably….REALLY!  I now get over 50 Digital and various HD stations.  Most of them with shows I would actually be interested in watching. The picture is clear, there is a variety of shows, and the best part is IT IS FREE!

Now if you are thinking that the antenna installation probably was a hassle, it wasn’t.  Actually, it was very easy. I purchased a RCA ANT800 Outdoor Antenna from Menards. As I said, I researched Antennas and this one was rated very high. Click Here for one of the reviews I found. Here are a couple of considerations regarding your choice of Antenna; First, to choose the right Antenna go to http://www.antennaweb.org We live near the Chicago land area and selected this Antenna, a “small multidirectional antenna” based on the recommendation for my location at antennaweb.org. Second, follow all manufacturer’s instructions for location and mounting of your Antenna.  I have provided some pictures below so you can get a general idea of my system. Also, if you are looking for other ways to save money you can CLICK HERE.

Do you have any other tips for saving money on cable? Let us know.