Hustle Hoarding: Top 10 Reasons to Cut Cable

I love this hoarding tip, because it is so easy, yet so few people do it because they feel they cannot live without this time-wasting luxury.

Dude, cut the cable.

Do you really need all those channels? Can you possible watch them all? Here’s Da Hustler’s reasoning: you buy unlimited internet access because you want to go on the net anytime, without having to wait for dial-up. You don’t pay per site, and you don’t pay for the length of time you are on the internet (but Comcast and others are using deceptive practices to seemingly penalize you for downloading too much — which is a whole different topic altogether). The same goes for your home phone service: nowadays, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services such as Vonage charge you a low flat rate for unlimited calls to the U.S., Canada, and sometimes other countries — many times lower than the phone companies themselves! No more paying per call or per minute.

Right now we are just waiting for the whole cellular phone industry to catch up to this new way of thinking. Greed and contracts make it to tempting to convert to the Metro PCS way of doing business, but it will be coming soon, to a city near you.

With all of this knowledge, why do you continue to pay for “packages,” “bundles,” and all the other crap that they try to include to make it seem like you are getting a deal? You’re not!! No human can possibly watch every single channel of cable television, and you can’t even TiVo all of them either. You are paying for something you can’t use: when you leave the room, go check your mail, go to work, go to the bathroom, go workout, power goes out, hurricane blows away your house, etc., the bill still keeps on coming.

And in the case of the hurricane, a bill will still generate even if you have no mailbox. But nice try!

I know some of you have to have your ESPN (yeah!) and Lifetime TV for women (barf!), but really examine how much you spend on these services per year: a $50 cable/satellite bill is worth $600 per year for something that is intangible. Something that is temporary. Something that used to always be free! Take a look at some common excuses, and see if you fall into any of these categories:

I save by bundling the package with my phone and internet	Drop cable/satellite, get a VoIP package and get a $20 unlimited internet account
My favorite shows only come on cable/satellite	Download them from the network’s website and watch them anytime
I have cable/satellite because it offers great reception/crystal clear picture	Save your monthly fee for a high-definition television (HDTV), and get free digital over-the-air broadcasts with the same clear digital reception (and you don’t have to pay extra for cable’s HD service
My town is boring and I’d have nothing to do if I didn’t have cable/satellite	Get off the couch and go do a hustle to be productive, make money and move to a bigger city
I currently have a special and it only costs me x dollars a month	That money could still be used to start a business or pay down debt
DUDE!! On-Demand rocks! I can see all the cool movies for one low monthly rate	DUDE!! The more you watch, the more lethargic (i.e. fatter) you may become. Go to the theatre and see a matinee for $5, then buy the DVD if you just want to see it again when it’s on sale for less than $10. (I don’t recommend Blockbuster because if you rent twice you could have bought the movie)
My kids love the shows that are only found on cable/My kids are the only reason I have cable	Send your kids to someone else’s house that has cable. It gives you more time to spend with your spouse and encourages and teaches sharing to your kids
I would download the shows, but I have no computer OR I don’t like sitting at my computer to watch them…	Connect your computer to your TV with a video cable to see the shows on a bigger screen. If you have no computer, save the monthly cable/satellite fee to buy one: you’ll spend less time watching TV, save on fees (more income), and have more time for a hustle (even more income).
Cable/satellite offers the video channels — MTV, VH1 & BET — and they often shows the newest videos FIRST	myspace.com and other websites often premiere the artists videos FIRST to attract a wider audience. Plus the networks have a backlog of videos so you can see them almost anytime online and send them to friends, a feature not included in cable/satellite choices.
I’m locked into a contract and can’t get out until the end	Depending on how far away the end is, you could either pay to break the contract and save the rest of the money, or switch to the lowest plan they have available, then wait until your contract is up to end the service.
My cable/satellite is included with my monthly lease/association fee payments	Stop bragging!
I own the cable company/I’m Bill Gates	OK, you are a certified and bona fide hustler! Congratulations!

Stop making the cable and satellite companies rich, and take back your life and finances by making this smart and simple change. I can almost promise you that you will not miss a thing.