How to Save Money on Your Cable Bill - Part 1: Buy Your Own Equipment

Part 1 - Buy your own equipment - Average savings of $12.00 per month

I’d like you to have your cable bill in hand when reading this. Go ahead, dig it out. You should either get it in the mail or online every month. I want you to understand just how much you’re likely getting screwed over and what you can do about it.

Take that bill and read it over, I’m going to use Time Warner as the example but chances are any cable provider will have similar charges. Do you see line items for either “Home Wifi” or “Modem Lease”? If so, you’re likely paying about $6.00 per month for each. What Time Warner doesn’t tell you is that the “Home Wifi” charge is simply a wireless router lease. That said, buying your own equipment and getting off these leases will save you at least $12.00 per month. Here’s how you do it.

1. Purchase a wifi router and modem that meet Time Warner’s standards. Here is a list of approved devices
http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/residential-home/support/topics/internet/buy-your-modem.html

Here’s my set up:

Modem - ARRIS Touchstone Cable Modem CM820 - $70.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GG78FU/

Wifi Router - Netgear DOCSIS 3.0 N300 Cable Modem Router - $26.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008A2OG3C/

Overall this would be a $96 investment that pays for itself in under 10 months. The savings last forever! Chances are you can likely find different models and devices or even the same ones used or new on other sites for less money (check Ebay).

2. Once you have your equipment you’ll need to give your existing cable provider a call so they can step you through setup. They’ll need the new MAC address off the modem and router but this should be a fairly painless process.

3. Return the old equipment to the nearest provider location and enjoy your monthly savings!

Part 2 coming soon, stay tuned!