We pay $19.98 a month for Netflix. Worth every penny.
Tim and I mainly use the streaming feature, and we use it a lot. We more than get our money’s worth every month.
There are certainly limitations. You won’t find many TV show episodes past 2010. And the newest releases won’t be on there. (That’s why you get the option with DVDs.)
But I think the benefits are worth it. The movies are great, but I find the best selection is in TV shows.
I’ve watched so many shows I always meant to see, but never did. To name a few: Lie to Me, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock and Doctor Who.
Or catch up on episodes you missed. For me, that includes Bones, Crossing Jordan and Arrested Development.
There are some stand-up specials — Louis C.K. is evil but hilarious — and even workout videos. (And $20 a month is much cheaper than the average gym.)
Yes, I watch far too much TV. I’m a depressive with chronic fatigue. I’m home a lot.
There are plenty of you out there who get out and do constructive things. You do outdoorsy stuff or go to wine tastings and art openings or… Well, clearly I have no idea what people with normal amounts of energy do. But I know they watch far less TV than I do.
So maybe for hikers/bikers/wine tasters Netflix isn’t worth it. For the rest of us, Netflix is a godsend.
Do you guys have Netflix? What do you watch?
Catseye says
I keep reading all of these articles about how great Netflix is for catching up on stuff you've missed. I need to try it out one of these days, especially since I'm thinking about cutting back/dropping cable. I also watch too much TV, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger, Abby. ;o)
Abigail says
Catseye,
If you do decide to try it, use Mr. Rebates. You'll get $8 if you choose to go past the free trial.
jesort415 says
I have chronic fatigue too which sucks for 2 reasons..medically the drs have no idea why since all tests come back normal or borderline and I have 3 kids to run after. But during my down time I do watch a lot of TV too. I pay for cable and have a DVR box too. I know I get my money's worth for sure plus all the spongebob and Dora the kids watch. I pay 29.99 for all my channels and the DVR but that is after I called up and asked for every discount and promotion they had 🙂
Abigail says
There's nothing wrong with lobbying for discounts from the cable company. Heck, I'd be proud to say I paid $20 a month for that part. We certainly pay more than that.
Emily Guy Birken says
We seem to go back and forth on Netflix. Some months we use it quite a bit–mostly for catching up on old TV shows because I tend to have commitmentphobia about movies and a 20 or 40 minute television show seems less intimidating. Then there are other months when it goes unused pretty much the entire time. But, I wouldn't want to get rid of it. If we manage to get the kidlet to go to bed at a decent hour, it's a G-dsend to have NetFlix streaming available for an impromptu date night.
Abigail says
Emily: Some months we do use it less than others — though I'm home enough that I'll pretty much always get our money's worth. The main question is DVDs. We don't use that option enough and forget to return them. Then we'll have a period where we turn them in as soon as we're done. So I should probably reduce the DVDs from 2-at-a-time to one.
taradawes says
We dropped cable a while back and haven't regretted it. We use the netflix streaming only option and we get new releases of movies from our local library for free (our library has a HUGE movie selection). We also get HBOGO (via our XBOX) because my parents have directtv but don't use the online option at all – so that is also handy! We went from paying $150 a month for cable to only $12.99 – it's $7.99 for netflix and another $5.00 for xbox live. One of the better financial decisions I think we have ever made.
Abigail says
Wow. That's quite the savings. Our library also has a pretty good selection of movies. But we are very bad about returning things on time. In the end, it ends up being cost ineffective.
Glad you are guys are able to make it work, though, and that you're able to get that amount of savings. Especially since part of it is the benefit of your parents' spending and not your own!
ali says
I have Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime (although that's more for the shipping than the streaming) and no cable. It's more than basic cable, but cheaper than the digital package that would actually get me things to watch I wanted to watch,
I have a blu ray player (xmas present several years ago) so I watch these all streaming directly to my tv. I don't feel like I miss too much (except the Olympics, I don't get over the air tv at all due to geography).
At some point I want to get a second computer to hook up to my tv and that way I can watch things from tv channel's websites and things that are on Hulu but not allowed to stream to devices.
Abigail says
Wow, that's a lot of programs. I'm glad it works. I always wondered how much overlap there is among those three. I've checked out Amazon Prime to see if things I liked on Netflix were available. (I have a relative who subscribes and could watch for free.) It doesn't seem like they are. But maybe you have to have the actual main subscription to see the offerings (?)
I do keep meaning to check out Hulu, also. These comments have spurred me to at least go on the website and see what's available.
Suzanne in VA says
Sometimes a movie I get from Netflix will sit for weeks before I get around to watching it. I only do the dvd option. But I do love it for seeing series as you said; Weeds, Boss, The tudors and especially Downton Abbey. And it amazes me how fast the turnaround is from the time I send a movie back til i get the next one- so fast.
Abigail says
Suzanne: We were impressed with turnaround time, too. Our DVDs do sit around for awhile. (I'm currently glaring at two that have been here for about two months.) If we didn't have the streaming option, I'd probably drop it. Although, arguably, if we didn't have the streaming option, we'd be better about returning the DVDs…
Merinda says
I dropped the DVD service a while ago and went with streaming online. We watch that and Hulu on the XBox. If it was up to me I wouldn’t have cable, but hubby likes his sports. Lately I’ve been watching My Little Pony (What, it’s good) and I also like watching a lot of documentaries and older British shows and educational programs.
Abigail says
Merinda: I had someone telling me the other day that My Little Pony was worthwhile. I was skeptical, but apparently it's by the people who did Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Which is one of my all time favorite cartoons. So I guess I'll break down and watch it. When nobody's home.
There are some History channel episodes that look good. In between the fluff I watch, I really should check those out.
Sherie says
Midsommer Murders Season 13 :)!
Abigail says
Hmm haven't heard of it. But now I have something to look for!
Savvy Scot says
Unfortunately Netflix offers a pretty poor collection of TV shows and films in the UK. There are still numerous legal issues which prevent more than half of it’s database being viewed on this side of the pond 🙁
Abigail says
Oh dear. I’m sorry to hear that. And I suppose the DVD service would take quite awhile, too! (Kidding, obviously)
Hopefully there’s a similar service over there that you can make use of.