Is My Charter Cable Bill Too High?
Posted by jefferson on May 30, 2012 in Saving Money | 34 comments
Part 1 in the “Our Bills” Series: Cable TV/Internet/Phone
Today here at See Debt Run we are starting a new series where we will discuss some of our monthly bills, how much they are costing us, and steps we could take to potentially reduce them. We welcome you to join in and compare our bills to your own, to see if perhaps one of us is getting a raw deal!
First up in this new series is our Cable Television/Internet/Telephone bill, which we get through Charter Communications. As a company, Charter has taken a beating in recent years, even declaring bankruptcy in 2009. They were getting barraged by complaints of poor customer service, random rate increases, and sub-par offerings. As such, we actually switched away from Charter to a competitor for a few years, but within the last year we came back on another two year contract. I can honestly say that the company has cleaned up their act, and our dealings with them since coming back have been almost entirely positive.
That said, let’s crack open the bill:
Total Bill: 147.48/month
While this number is higher than I would like, it is at least $30 cheaper than what we were paying a competitor for similar services. Both the phone and internet are requirements for my job, but the television is certainly a luxury. We could certainly achieve our debt goals more quickly by reducing or eliminating this bill, but we justify the cost by considering that we very rarely go out, and almost never go to the movies.
I should note that the price for all of the items below is lower because we have them together in a bundle. If we were to drop one or more of the services, the price of the others would go up.
—-< BREAKDOWN >—-
Television: 84.99/month
Charter Digital Plus w/2 HD Receivers, 1 DVR Rental, Digital View Plus, Showtime, TMC, Starz, & Encore
The television is so ingrained in the lives of Americans these days. Nobody in my family watches a ton of television, but I will say that it is very nice to have at the end of a long day, when the weather is bad, or when your team has a big game. We do also enjoy DVR’ing several of our favorite shows, and my kids enjoy watching kids shows and educational channels.
We don’t really watch the movie channels at all, but they are actually included for free in the price shown above (with a promotion). If they were ever not free, we would certainly drop the movie channels immediately.
We could get this portion of the bill down another $10/month by taking back one of the HD receivers, and we will likely go this route in the near future. Beyond that, this is about as cheap as Charter gets if you want all of the following channels (favorites of various members of my family): ESPN, Fox Sports Channel, Bravo, TLC, HGTV, and the Discovery Channel.
I still hope for a pay-per-channel model of TV subscription to be released at some point, but I doubt it will ever happen.
Internet: 31.99/month
Includes Internet Cable Modem Lease
Charter has a reputation as a great high-speed internet provider, and I think this is pretty accurate. We opted for the lower-speed tier, and still get nearly 15 mbps download speed. This is considerably faster than the similarly priced option that we had with a competitor.
We use the internet connection for many things, including the writing of this blog! More importantly, I work in technology, and having ready access to a high-speed connection is a requirement for my job.
Phone: 14.99/month
Unlimited long distance, voice mail, caller-ID.
I am sure that some of you frugalistas out there will tell me that this is the best way for us to shave some money off this bill, and you would be right. We could certainly follow trends and go completely cellular, but as of yet– we haven’t been ready to make this leap.
Charter knows that land lines are on the way out and as such- has priced their phone service very competitively. We don’t make a ton of long distance calls, but it is great to have when we need it.
The sticking point for us has been the quality of signal that you get on a land line when compared with cellular. We have tried multiple cell companies, and none of them get a perfect signal in our house. Since I have to be able to to make work calls from my home, and occasionally sit in on long conference calls– signal quality is very important.
Taxes, Fees, and Wire Maintenance: 23.84/month
Rebate: -8.33/month
We received a $200 gift card for signing a 2 year contact
————
I am curious to hear how this compares with your cable/internet/phone bills. Are we paying too much? Do you have any tips for saving any money on this bill?
34 Comments
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We pay $45 for internet only. We actually sold both of our TVs in a garage sale this weekend and won’t buy a new one until we sell our house.
We’ve done well with not watching TV for the last few years and we haven’t owned cable in over 2! It has saved us a ton of money and a bunch of time. While most people do like to click on the TV, I’d prefer to open up a book, sit on my back porch, and read a bit.
Jason @ WSL recently posted..Recipe: Greek Quinoa Salad
I think that I could have gone this route before I had kids, but now it just isn’t realistic. I can have the Cardinals game on in the background when playing a game with the kids, but I can’t really read a book.
I love to read and wish I could do more of it, but it sometimes takes me weeks (or even months) to read a book. It is just difficult to carve out the time to do it.
Yeah I think you are spending too much but I have no room to talk because we spend about the same. I can’t get myself to drop cable because then I wouldn’t have ESPN. No way around it for me.
Sean @ One Smart Dollar recently posted..What is a 529 College Savings Plan?
I wonder how many folks out there are like you and I, Sean.. only keeping cable because of our sports addictions. No wonder those TV contracts with the NFL and MLB are so ridiculously high.
We pay around $120 for all of that, and we get HBO and all the other movie channels. I’ve found that Charter is a little more expensive, but I would prefer that over the big dish that I have on my roof.
You must be getting a great deal on the TV service through your dish, if your bill is that low (with phone and internet). Perhaps we should comparison shop a little more, once our contract is up.
I think we have Dishnetwork (I always confuse Dish and DirectTV). But yeah it’s a pretty good deal!
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When I read the title, without even reading the post, my answer was “yes.” Cable across the board no matter where you live or how you “bundle” packages, it’s always too high. So you really just have to weigh out in your mind if the cost is worth what you’re getting. Honestly, for my family and me, it’s worth it, becuase I love it and I love watching my sports teams. BUt I know it’s not worth it for many others. Like Jason up there from WSL, sounds like he’s happy without it and doens’t regret pulling the plug. Ya gotta decide what’s important to you and what it’s worth!
TB at BlueCollarWorkman recently posted..It’s Time to Speak Up
Well said, TB. I would love to “pull the plug” as well, but my family does get some enjoyment and relaxation out of watching TV from time to time.
Well I feel like I’m getting an awesome deal now. I pay just under $70 for those 3 services bundled together, but I don’t think I have unlimited long distance. In fact I don’t even have a phone plugged into the landline. My cable company just had a promotion where it was significantly cheaper to bundle all 3 together. I just have to remember to cancel that portion of it in 9 months. In my case I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends from high school working there. So he’s always letting me in on the best deals.
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$70 for all three, Jeremy?.. Holy cow, that is a great deal. It is hilarious that you don’t even use the landline…
I think these types of prices are very local as they depend on whether or not there is viable competition by other providers.
We pay $60 for internet and don’t have cable or a landline. We think that’s way too high but our efforts to reduce the bill have so far been unsuccessful.
Emily @ evolvingPF recently posted..My Dream in 23 Years – What’s Yours?
I am sure that this is correct, Emily. I think our internet costs would be much higher if we didn’t have the “bundle”.
Call charter and ask them if they have any deals, I beleive they have $29 deal right now.
We are aiming to get rid of cable. Lots of money, very little worth watching. One challenge we have is a short-term rental apartment in our home from which we generate some passive income. I’m not sure how much the lack of cable might affect our tenancy rate. But I think we’ll offer alternatives and other amenities and see what happens.
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We considered this for a while as well (dropping cable), but it just isn’t realistic for us. I kinda think Netflix is terrible (just an awful selection, especially on instant), and there are a few shows that I would miss.
Honestly, if they hadn’t invented the DVR, I doubt we would keep cable. We rarely, if ever, watch anything live (except sports).
Our monthly charter bill is $102. This includes 1 HD receiver and internet. As much as I liked DirecTv, I really have no other option where I live to get internet from a different company. So it was cheaper to go back to Charter and bundle our internet/tv. I wish there was an option to cancel the TV portion of it when football and hockey season was over and pick it back up later on. Like you, I would rather have a pay per channel where you could pick what channels you wanted and have that in a bundle, I can see that happening in a few years.
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I am with you there.. For the first few months of the year, waiting for the hockey playoffs, there are no sports at all worth watching, and I really don’t watch much TV.
I’d say that’s about standard for a bundle package with all three elements. You know, if you got rid of your phone your bill might actually increase. That’s why I still have basic cable…it makes my internet bill go down.
femmefrugality recently posted..Turn Your House into a Social Butterfly Haven
Yep.. I think you are right. And we do use all 3, pretty much every day.. So we are getting some value.
I still have yet to hear anyone say that their bill is MORE than mine, which is a little concerning!
We pay about $150/month for DirecTV (2 HD rcvrs) and high speed internet thru Comcast. We probably don’t have a channel package as large as yours. Our previous Comcast bundle was pushing $200/month. It was $20/month cheaper for one year due to a promo price. You are probably about as low as you can get without cutting services.
John @ Married (with Debt) recently posted..Beware of Debt Relief Scams
Providers are so different and prices swing wildly between locations! Plus I have generally coasted on always having a new resident special since I didn’t live in the same place for more than a year for the first 5 years out of college. But now I am in one city and there are no more specials. I pay $40/month for internet, which is still a discounted rate from the TimeWarner standard $52/month rate. I paid $30/month for the first year, then $35 for the next 6 months, and they have said I will only get the $40 rate for another six months. I’ll visit that bill again when it jumps to $52! I haven’t had cable TV since October 2010. I don’t miss it because it was at least $80/month. That’s just too much for me.
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My husband works for Charter. He is the guy who comes to your home and hooks it all up. Here are the facts even though you have a decent deal….they DO NOT want to lose you as a customer. Ron said to call them. Tell them that you enjoy their service but are looking at competitors to cut monthly costs down. It is likely they may shave a couple dollars to keep you as a customer.
we have direct tv and our internet/cable is $120 but we have BK house phone. We would have charter IF they came out to our house. Plus since my husband works for them we would get 1/2 off!! So I wish they come out to us soon.
BK house phone is actually no house phone. Sorry!!
I pay around $130 total. $80 for Directv, $30 for the phone, and $20 for internet (AT&T) I am find with phone and internet, but I think the Directv bill is a rip off.
We’re about to dump cable, even though (like you) we enjoy several tv shows. However, because of the XBox, we now can watch Hulu Plus, Netflix, MLB Online and as of last week Amazon Instant because we have all of thos subscriptions. So we’ll spend money on our subscriptions, but cut the cost of cable and the 1000 channels of stuff and nothing on….
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We have a great TV deal -$17 a month. I recognize that not everyone would be able to get this. It is through out condo association. Our internet is $59 a month. We don’t have a home phone and use our cell phone for everything. So, to answer your question, I think your bill for TV is a little to high. My highest ever was $50. I refuse to pay more than $50.
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We pay $40 for internet, $8 for netflix and use cellphones, no landline. I don’t feel like we are trying to be frugal. I really feel that telecommunications is over-priced because of high demand and I strongly dislike forking over money when I don’t feel it’s worth what they are charging.
Cellphones are even worse, but I haven’t figured out how to deal with that bill yet.
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My wife and I have been Charter cable TV free for about a year. We bought an over the air antenna and pick up 23 channels FREE! We love RTV and ME TV ANTENNA TV, TUFF TV, Plus all the local stations including FOX. All FREE!!! We did keep Charter internet. We rent the Charter wireless router. I also have wire maintenance insurance. I am not sure if the insurance is worth it. I may cancel the insurance.
I also have Charter and I went to internet only for $49.99/mo, then added NetDUO+ for phone at $29.99 per YEAR(no problems at all with this service BTW). For TV I use Netflix and Hulu+ at $7.99 each/mo plus an antennae for local, which includes HD that most don’t realize broadcast has HD over the air now in all major markets. I never want for something to watch and am much more happy than paying $181.67 a MONTH ARGHHH!! that I was with Charter only.
I am currently paying $154.00 per month for the “Bundle”. I have two cell phone accounts and don’t know why I am doing this. I just checked the internet and it looks like I can only get one digital channel from an antenna. I watch very little tv so that will probably not be a problem and plan on buying one of the new blue ray players that have wireless built in.
I am glad I found this site to see that I am not alone in feeling this way.
Charter just told me that when our current 24 month price expires my phone/tv/internet will go from $150 to $204 a month. There will be no contract.There would be no discounts. I was told that there was no longer any 24 month plans. There are 12 month plans for new customers only.
We have been with Charter since the 1980s. I figure they think we won’t leave cable since we have been so loyal. NO WAY! I don’t care if I have to pay more, I am cutting the cable. Uverse, Dish, local internet, whatever.
I am getting ready to cut back to internet only too and just received a bill for over #$150.00. That is more than my electric bill! I have blueray for movies and some shows are on there too. I now have the suddenlink bundle and very seldom use the phone.
Actually Id rather stream. I let my cable go last summer, I seriously just watch all I can online now. Streaming is the way to go, my provider just kept increasing the bill month after month anyway. It was b.s. Heading into baseball season, Ill just shell out $20 a month to watch my games, its all I need it for , the rest of my shows I Hulu or stream on other channels online already, who needs cable anymore? http://www.real.com/resources/listen-watch-mlb-online