When I was writing "Super-Couponing 2: Saving on Everything!" one of the questions I was frequently asked was "How do I save on Cable TV?"

The simplest answer? By not paying for it.

(Breathe. It's okay. You're going to do just fine without cable... because I don't have it either. And I'm still watching all of my favorite shows... for FREE. Legitimately, too -- no illegal cable boxes or anything like that!)

I used to include this material in Super-2, but due to time (it easily took 20 minutes of the class to talk about!) I have removed it from the class to free up more time to teach more high-level coupon deals, sales cycles, and saving on everything else other than groceries too... but it's one of the topics I still get many questions, emails and compliments about, especially from people who've taken the no-cable plunge & never looked back! So, here in its entirety, straight from Super-2... how to save on television.

First off, you guys know by now that I don't like paying full price for anything :) Paying for TV has always seemed so counterproductive to me -- you're not even buying anything tangible that you can keep. It's a service. But unlike other utilities like electricity or gas, it's not one you -need- to pay for. It's not a necessity, especially since you can get it for free.

With the digital transition, over-the-air television has taken a big step quality-wise. Instead of the snowy, so-so reception that was common with an antenna, DTV is crystal clear, DVD quality... just like you pay for on cable. There truly is no difference quality-wise whether you receive your network channels via the air or via cable or satellite now.

In addition to the normal networks you'd expect (CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, Fox, etc.) there are lots of specialty channels too that you'll receive over-the-air for free. There are 24-hour children's and movie networks, lifestyle channels devoted to health and wellness, classic television networks, as well as cooking, craft, home and garden and travel programming. There are also 24-hour news and weather networks, and new channels are being added frequently to the digital spectrum too.

Just like with cable or satellite, you can get an onscreen programming guide with program descriptions, info, and reminders. This is a picture of the free programming guide on our tv - & it's nice! Remember, this isn't cable... this is coming over the antenna.

DTV channels are also broken into subchannels. You enter your channel number and the subchannel extension via the remote:

26-1 The U
26-2 MeTV
26-3 MeToo
26-4 ThisTV
26-5 ThatTV

We currently are getting over 40 channels for free here in Chicagoland.

So how do you get it?

If you have a new television purchased since March 2008, it has a digital tuner built in. You will need a television antenna (in the attic, or preferably on the roof for the best reception) to receive DTV over the air, just like old-style analog television. Enter your zip code at AntennaWeb and it will return you an approximate list of the channels you could expect to receive with an antenna at your address. Keep in mind that the list it shows you does NOT include the subchannels, only the first channel in a group, so you'll actually get many more than it shows.

Antennas aren't as expensive as you think either -- I've seen models at Menards ranging in price from $40-$120.

Depending on where you're located geographically, you may want to consider using a signal distribution amplifier too. This is the one we have -- it's not cheap, but it does enable you to bring in even more channels. With the amplifier, we can get over 60 channels at times, because it's able to pull in channels from Rockford, Wisconsin and Indiana too, depending on weather and atmospheric conditions. If you go this route, you want to have the amp plugged into the antenna line as close to the antenna as possible.

If your television is older, you will need a converter box to receive all the new channels. Even with a converter box, you'll still get an onscreen programming guide with a tv guide and channel info - here's a picture of one of our TV's onscreen guide from the converter box.

Once you’re receiving your free digital channels, you can say goodbye to your cable bill.

But what about all those good cable channels… and what about DVR / Tivo?

Many cable networks offer their programming online… for free.
Browse to your favorite channel’s website (ESPN.com, VH1.com, etc.) and watch your favorite sporting events and show episodes, either live as they air, or whenever you’d like.

As far as DVR/Tivos, again, I've never been a fan of paying for someone to record shows for me. Perhaps I'm a relic of the VCR generation, but you can get a digital recorder that's not dependent on a subscription fee to record things for you (again, I don't like paying for -anything- unnecessary) ... or you can do this:

Check out www.Hulu.com and www.Fancast.com. Both are fantastic sources for both network and cable episodes (and these are legitimate sites too -- Hulu is partially owned by NBC and Fancast is owned by Comcast.) Both are FREE to use and have hundreds of shows available at any given time. They’re updated daily and you can watch episodes on demand:

(Starting to look like you need that DVR less and less, isn’t it?)

If you’re a big fan of HBO, Showtime, and other networks’ original series that aren’t available for free on the web, Amazon.com’s Video On Demand offers episodes of cable shows streaming online for $1.99 each, as does Apple’s iTunes. It’s not free, but if your favorite show airs once a week, you’re only looking at $7.96/month vs. a larger cable bill.

So, you might be thinking... this is pretty good. But what if you don’t like watching the cable shows on your computer?

Go the next step and connect your computer to your television.

Most newer televisions have inputs that can receive video from a computer's monitor output, either via S-Video and/or VGA input. All computer video cards can output VGA video, and many have S-Video outputs, especially laptops.

With a set of video & audio cables, everything on your computer is sent to your TV. And this is how we do it at our place. With the computer set up near the television, anything on the computer screen is sent to your large, living room TV, and you can curl up in your favorite chair and enjoy. :)

Consider too that your library has boxed seasons of all the popular cable TV shows on DVD that you can check out for FREE. Or, for the shows you particularly like, doesn't it make more sense to pay $20-$30 to OWN an entire season vs. paying 2-3 times that each month to watch and not own it..? It always has to me.

And that's the easiest way to save on television. :) While not everyone may want to do this, with the economy in its current state, many do -- and if you're budget-crunched, eliminating the cable bill may help provide much-needed money back into your household's budget too. I remember volunteering at our food pantry one day in which a family was there picking up food and lamenting a recent job loss ... and in the same breath, one parent was complaining about their $100+ monthly cable bill.

If you're spending a hundred dollars a month on television but you can't afford to eat... ditch the cable.