Free & Easy Living has a new location!

That’s right Readers! We’re moving to new real estate. All the same great deals, coupons and freebies, and all future blog posts can be found at freeandeasyliving.net. The Facebook page has also been upgraded and can be found here! (Don’t forget to “Like” the page!)

I won’t be making any new posts here, but this blog will remain intact as it is. So be sure to bookmark the new site! Thanks for your patience and making the switch with me!

Happy Savings! ❤

Always Free: Why you don’t need cable!

Wait! Don’t run yet. You’ll want to read this. I’m not advocating giving up television. After all, it’s America’s favorite pastime. Nor am I going to talk about things to do instead of watch TV (though it could never hurt to cut back). Instead, this post is about getting by without that expensive cable bill.

My family and I live a cable-free lifestyle. A lot of people constantly tell us we’re crazy, and ask us how we manage to get by without television.

The truth? We don’t. Just because we don’t pay for cable anymore doesn’t mean we never watch television! Indeed we still watch all our favorite shows. Getting rid of cable didn’t really change much about our TV habits actually. Instead, we just tried to find cheaper ways to enjoy the same experience.

One of those ways, is with a Netflix subscription. When most people try and save money they usually chuck the Netflix subscription and keep the cable. Personally, I think that’s crazy. Cable usually costs 3+ times more than a simple Netflix subscription! We decided $8.99 a month was definitely the better price for us.

But how does a DVD subscription replace cable? Easy. With unlimited access to the Instant Watch library (this comes with the $8.99/month subscription, you also get 1 DVD out at-a-time which you can exchange as often as you want.).  If you have an HDTV with HDMI port, or own any of these devices, you can access Instant Watch directly on your television as effortlessly as cable.

Other sources we use for entertainment are:

Thrift store movies – we still own a VCR just so we can watch all the Disney movies I constantly find for under $1)
Hulu – we just connect our laptop to our TV via HDMI, it sounds over technical but it’s really very simple (Watch this video, OR if your TV and laptop don’t have HDMI, consider these options)
Cable network websites – Many networks offer the last few shows in a series on their website in case you missed them. This is a great way to watch an entire series if you don’t have cable, or catch up on shows if you do. (Examples: Syfy, Nickelodeon, and Discovery)
Children’s sites – Sites like Sprout, Kids AOL and Nick Jr are all great sources for children’s shows. (Oh and did I mentioned that the Netflix Instant Watch Library has a plethora of Barney, Kipper, The Backyardagins, Wow Wow Wubbzy, Wonder Pets, Dora the Explorer, Bob the Builder, Caillou, Spongebob, Thomas the Train and more?)

But what about the news?

Everyone knows you can read the news from your favorite paper or station online, but did you know most of them offer videos of the broadcasts as well? If you’ve become attached to a certain station or news anchor, you can bet they have an online news presence as well. These can be found with a simple internet search!

Still not sure you can survive without cable? Don’t cancel just yet. Try using alternative TV sources for a week (or even 30 days) and see how you like it. If you find it’s as satisfactory as cable, that’s one more bill you can get rid of! Frankly we find it more enjoyable because there tend to be no commercials when you watch through Netflix and other websites. Even Hulu (which does have ads) doesn’t have as many commercials as the average half hour of basic television.

Does your family have cable? Are you thinking of taking the Alt-TV challenge? Leave me a comment and share your thoughts and suggestions!

Happy Savings! ❤

P.S. If you came here looking for the Always Free series, you didn’t come to the wrong place. I decided even though I advocate Netflix (which isn’t free) many of the resources listed here are Always Free. Even if you don’t make a change in your cable habits, you’ve now discovered new free entertainment resources!

Always Free: iTunes U

Today is the first in a series of articles about things that are Always Free! Hot deals, coupons, and free samples are amazing but they come and go quickly and it’s nice to know there are companies out there that offer free products and services year round.

Today’s article is about iTunes U. I’m choosing this as my first Always Free spotlight because I feel like it gets little recognition by other freebie blogs and it really is a wonderful resource. iTunes U is much like it sounds, an iTunes based university. They offer a plethora of educational podcasts and videos on every subject imaginable. They are always free and aren’t just for students! Anyone can download from iTunes U.

Topics range from foreign languages, to history, to space and beyond. Any subject you could think of, iTunes U has at least a handful of video and audio podcasts available for free. The wonderful thing about these podcasts is that many of them are offered by respected universities around the world. Think Yale, Harvard and Oxford. That’s right. You can listen to an Oxford professor teach Critical Reasoning from the comfort of your living room. Have an iPod? Even better, you can take them with you and listen in the car, at the doctor’s or while you run on the treadmill.

They also offer K-12 learning! One of my personal favorites in the K-12 section is Teacher’s TV.

To access iTunes U, just open iTunes on your computer and go to the iTunes store link. From there, look at the tabs in the black bar running across the top of the store. (Music, Movies, etc.) Click on iTunes U and you’ll be taken to the homepage. The iTunes U homepage highlights the newest and most popular additions to the library. If you’re looking for a specific college, or campus, you can use the links in the right hand side bar. Looking for a specific subject? Just use the search bar inside of the iTunes program.

iTunes U has a goldmine of fun, free, educational programming. Apple says, “iTunes U — a powerful distribution system for everything from lectures to language lessons, films to labs, audiobooks to tours — is an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of students.” Apple also boasts that iTunes U has over 250,000 lectures, films and other resources! Now that’s a great freebie.

To see more about what Apple has to say about iTunes U click here, and if you don’t have iTunes on your computer just scroll to the bottom of the iTunes U Apple page and you’ll see a button where you can download it.

My family and I use iTunes U as a part of our cable-free life and we love it. What did you find at iTunes U? Share in the comments!

Happy Savings (and Learning)! ❤