In this spending diet post I will discuss how you could save around $500 every year by using Google/Android TV box instead of traditional cable connection.
For those new to this website, spending diet is how we could save hundreds of dollars every month from unnecessary expenses without losing our quality of life. The ideas here may help you to cut some expenses in your monthly budget.
You may take this as a financial education to improve your saving without losing your happiness.
In other words, so you could use these to ideas, do further research, save more money and reach your financial freedom faster.
Many of our long-term readers know that I am a middle-class income earner, but I have a big dream to become a millionaire in less than 10 years.
The only way we could achieve this dream by earning more, spending less and investing the rest for growth.
When I cut spending, I always ensure the quality of life shouldn’t be affected by the cut because “life is really short”, we shouldn’t let it pass without enjoy the present moment.
In July 2014, I decided to track and cut all my unnecessary expenses and noticed that I was spending more than more than $70 for landline and cable-TV connection. The cable TV connection alone was $40.
So, I was looking for an alternative to cable TV and found about Google/Android TV box. I did further research and purchased a TV box from Amazon for $85 (with free shipping). Now most latest version with more new features is selling at $94.99 on Amazon, it is worth for the price. Have a look at it.
You could watch hundreds of movies and TV shows. You don’t need to limit yourself with certain programs like traditional TV cables offer.
You can enjoy a variety of events using popular apps such as YouTube, NetFlix, Google Play, Crave TV, Shomi TV, etc with HD streaming contents. The simplified app home and app launcher make finding your favorite entertainment effortless.
It uses internet bandwidth to stream contents. So ensure you have enough internet bandwidth if you decide to purchase one for yourself.
Pros of Google/Android TV
- You may need to subscribe to use some apps such as NetFlix, Crave TV, Shomi, etc. the cost will be much cheaper than cable connection fees, and some apps are free (example YouTube). So, you could save hundreds of dollars every year but you could access thousands of movies and TV shows.
- Very less or NO Advertisements in middle of your favourite TV shows or movies.
- Watch your favourite programs anytime (no need to record or be on-time to watch them). There are you could access past seasons of hit TV shows and movies you love to watch – anytime.
- Able to watch thousands of movies in HD quality (You may need to purchase monthly subscription OR pay-per view for fraction of your cable TV cost).
- You don’t need to be technically expert to use this box. It works same as you Apple/ Android phones. All you need is a quality wireless keyboard instead of remote.
Cons of Google/Android TV
So far I discussed about all the benefits of this amazing TV box. Now let’s see what are the cons.- Even though you have access to a larger number of TV shows, movies and other videos, sometimes you may not able to watch LIVE events. You will need to wait for few hours or one day to access them through TV box.
- It may take couple of days to get familiar how to access your favourite TV shows. But after you get familiar, everything will be piece-of-cake.
- It is an internet based services. Therefore the videos will be streaming through internet. You will need to have high speed internet (works well with 25MBs speed internet) and enough bandwidth.
Currently my internet provider is Bell Canada and internet download speed is 25MBs and the bandwidth is 400 GBs. It works well with 25MBs, and we rarely reach 200GBs bandwidth in a month.
I purchased my Android TV box in July 2014, and it’s been working really well so far without any issue.
As you know, technology changes so fast. Now there are number of new TV boxes available in the market with more amazing features.
I went through the reviews on Amazon and noticed customers who purchased recently love the product. Please read couple of reviews on the Amazon.
Have a look at some Models on the Amazon website, read real customers review, and you may consider buy one for yourself and save money while enjoying variety of TV programs you love to watch.
If you had a chance to use or purchase one, please leave your comments below or if you have any other saving ideas, please discuss below. It will really help other readers to save money and achieve their financial freedom faster.
Please note the box that I purchased came with a remote, but we also bought a wireless keyboard along with the box for easy navigation.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase (at no additional cost to you).
Please note this post has been updated on August 26, 2016, based on readers comments..
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Shame on you Finance Journey – not only are you claiming to save money by switching to pirated media content, you are also encouraging your users to do the same.
Hello Not Impressed,
Thank you for stopping by,
As I know, the device is available to purchase at big stores like Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, etc, and the Android Box and similar products (Amazon FireTV and Apple TV box) produced by well-known and trusted companies like Google, Amazon and Apple.
In the post, I am discussing about using popular apps such as YouTube, NetFlix, Google Play, Crave TV, Shomi TV. Please advise if those Apps have pirated contents. Hope this make sense for you!
Cheers,
I see nothing wrong with having an alternative to paying ridiculous cable fees, where more than half the channels offered – I have no interest in. I use a myMatrixTV android box for streaming – similar to the Google TV box. I now have a huge selection of content, and eliminated one of my monthly bills.
If the cable companies prices were more reasonable, and changed the structure of their content offerings, these android boxes wouldn’t have become as popular as they are. People are pissed for paying inflated cable prices. I was one of them.
Hello Jake,
Thank you for stopping by,
I am with you. If the cable companies charge reasonable fees, then people won’t look alternative options.
Cheers,
Not sure if you know or care, but all of the “free” TV shows and movies are pirated. This is no different than when people used to “steal” satellite signals.
Hello Obvious,
Thank you for your comments and bringing this information to my attention. I’ve made some changes in the post to encourage readers to consider subscriptions services. This could benefit for content creators and network providers.
Best Regards,
The Android TV box actually comes with nothing on it. You are talking about apps like Kodi which some people pre-load to the box and sell — this is illegal.
If you use Kodi to stream illegal media to your tv then you are essentially stealing copyrighted material. Some say it’s in the “grey” area — it is not grey — it’s stealing. You might as well as suggest to your readers that they should rob a bank or steal clothes from a store — it’s the same thing.
Hello Obvious,
Thank you for your comments and bringing this information to my attention. I’ve made some changes in the post to encourage readers to consider subscriptions services instead of using free apps. This could benefit for content creators and network providers.
Best Regards,
Hello,
Thank you for very detailed information, really appreciated. My son recently gifted me a similar one. It is also good one. I was able to watch some American programs that are not available to Canadians. It was one of the best gifts I received from my kids.
thanks,
Hello Chris,
Thank you for stopping by,
There are 100s of similar one in the market, but the basic function is same – watch movies and TV shows without paying monthly subscription fees. All we need to have a reliable internet connection.
Enjoy!!
Best Regards,