No. of Recommendations: 15
Also, now being retired we don't drive the car much, but listen to SXM streaming on an Amazon Dot at home.
Luv it! I do the same. Bought a new Civic last year but didn’t have SIRIUS pre-installed like it was in my previous Accord — that’s really the only thing I don’t like about my new Civic. But, I just plug my Iphone into the USB port, and stream from the app, while also doing double duty by monitoring my driving via the USAA app. I scored their max 30% discount for being a good boy on the roads this past year, yielding another $300 in savings upon renewal.
SIRIUS is actually the catalyst that motivated me to cut the cord and rid myself of all paid cable/streaming TV. It took awhile to wean myself off the addiction of pricey subscriptions, because I simply found it too unpalatable to give up the handful of channels that I watch every day, mainly news, sports, documentaries, and oldies. When I started playing around on my ROKU, I discovered all the free content from their channel and other downloaded apps/tiles, much of which I was already paying upwards of a couple thousand dollars per year in cable subscriptions. Fun fact — all the wonderful baby boomer shows and movies that I grew up on from the golden age of television, that I still watch endlessly, and was all part of my expensive cable bill, are free to stream virtually everwhere else.
So, I decided to just bite the bullet, and ended my crack addiction à la John Lennon - Cold Turkey — and I have never looked back. Like you, the beautiful thing about the Sirius echo dot integration is that I can still catch up with all the cable news and financial commentary around the house on audio while doing errands, without having to stare at the talking heads on CNBC. Or, at night, I can cast the SIRIUS app and its audio on my TV before going to sleep. And the sports thing which is a must have for me? Well, some young Gen Z guy at a sports bar one night gave me a tip about crack-streams…I actually thought he was on crack and this was all too good to be true, but nope…when I got home and tried it, it was one of the best leads I ever got for free entertainment. Now, I can watch all of the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox games for free on my iPad.
So, after getting back all the stuff that I like to listen to and watch, what did it finally cost me? First, I now pay $25 for my high speed internet. After bidding them goodbye after ripping me off on rising cable fees year after year, I threatened to leave Xfinity entirely if they didn't offer me the deal of the century for their internet. Ditto for the folks at Sirius. I got tired of their mandatory auto-renewal policy every year, which requires a phone call if you want to terminate or haggle with them to keep the original promo offer instead up sucking up the significant rate increase. This time, they knew I was coming loaded for bear, so instead of the heavy handed upsell pitch, they just cut to the chase and said we're giving you the same offer for the next year — 4 dollars and change per month, plus tax. Anything else sir? Nope! Good! Phone call was over in less than 5 minutes. While I was at it, by kicking my addiction, I also got rid of the expensive phone subscription a couple years ago - the no frills Mint Mobile (now merged with T-Mobile) has been giving me unlimited text and voice for only 15 bucks per month. I believe Canada and Mexico are included for coverage. Service is excellent and no dropped calls. For fifteen bucks, that's only 5g in data, but I'm in an urban area with lots of wifi, so, I don't have the need for lot’s of data. I have yet to go over, and usually have a gig or two leftover. More data can be purchased for very modest increases in the monthly subscription. It’s competitive I’m sure with other carriers.
All in all, my entertainment diet has paid off in extra $$ which I can now use for my wining and dining addiction. That's another diet I need to work on! 😂😂
