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I haven't paid for cable in years — here's how I keep up with TV without it by Brandt Ranj on Mar 14, 2018, 1:29 PM The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. 
In order to continue to indulge my hobbies of going to concerts and restaurants, I made a compromise for the sake of my wallet and stopped paying for cable a five years ago. For me, a cable subscription is ultimately not worth it. I'm not a huge TV watcher in the first place, but I like to check out my friends' show recommendations from time to time, and I occasionally like to watch news and pop culture events in real time. My cord-cutting strategy has definitely evolved over the years, and I'll go through the hardware and software that does and doesn't work for me, because everybody's case is different. In some cases, you may be able to get away with paying as little as $50 to replace your cable subscription for good. SEE ALSO: The 32 best things we ever bought on Amazon for under $25 My streaming hardware of choice  If you're a big TV watcher, the first purchase you're going to want to make is a streaming stick or box (read our buying guide here). I've had one plugged into my TV since 2010, and I can tell you that this technology has improved significantly over the last eight years. These days I'm a big fan of Google's Chromecast. It's fast, cheap, and reliable, but it comes with a potentially deal-breaking downside. The Chromecast relies on you to stream media to it through your phone, instead of letting you navigate through a custom interface using a remote. That's fine if you're on the geekier side (like me) and don't mind navigating through streaming apps, but it can be tedious if you're not. For people who are more comfortable with traditional streaming hardware, I recommend the Roku Express. It's even cheaper than the Chromecast, but it has its own set of apps and comes with a remote. Roku's streaming boxes and sticks are the easiest to use in my experience; I use the higher-end Roku Ultra, but the software powering both is the same. To that end, if you have an ultra-high-definition TV, you should consider getting a 4K-capable streaming box like the Roku Ultra or the Chromecast Ultra.
My HDTV antenna of choice  In order to keep up with important news, sports games, and pop culture events, I broke down and got an HDTV antenna. I've used a couple of models over the past two year, but I've recently switched to a new model from Mohu, which has performed very well so far. An HDTV antenna connects to the same coaxial jack as your cable box, but gives you free access to any stations that it picks ups. You won't get premium channels, but if you're within range, you will get CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, local news affiliates, PBS, and a handful of other channels in HD — if available — without paying a dime. That means if your favorite shows always air on network TV, you can cut the cord without missing out on watching them live. The only factor that distinguishes lower-end antennas from higher-end options is their range, which matters quite a bit. If you're in a metropolitan area, you can probably get away with an antenna with a shorter range, but that's not the case if you live somewhere more suburban or rural. In order to make the right choice, I recommend consulting TV Fool and AntennaWeb, two free services that will let you know which channels you should be able to receive in your area. Of all the tech I've shown people, TV antennas always get the most positive response because they're easy to set up, save you money, and work surprisingly well. I brought one over to a buddies place to watch the Super Bowl last month and everyone kept asking how he was streaming it since he didn't have cable.
My favorite streaming services  Most people have a Netflix or Hulu account (or a generous friend, relative, or ex, with one), so you'll be able to transition right over into leaning on those instead of your cable box. In my case, I rely on Amazon Prime Video, which has a slightly smaller selection of streamable TV and movies, but comes bundled with my Prime subscription. I've also tried Sling TV, a service that lets you stream a set of premium TV channels live over the internet. The plans start at $20 a month for 25 channels, which you can augment with additional packages for around $5 a pop. Having a custom cable subscription you can access from any device at any time is really great, but it was ultimately overkill for me. Sticking with a video service that's bundled into my one must-have subscription has been just fine for me, but your experience may vary. And both Amazon Prime and Sling TV have free trials for new subscribers, so if you'd like to give each a try, I recommend signing up below.
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