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03-02-2012, 09:29 PM
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#21
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 77
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Sirius offers an "ala carte" plan where you pick 50 channels out of their total line-up. $8.77 a month including tax. Only some of their radio receivers are compatible with the "ala carte" plan, so you may need to get one of those.
Some channels are premium and have an extra charge, like Howard Stern and certain sports channels. We listen to only about 10 channels so this plan was perfect for us.
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03-02-2012, 09:30 PM
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#22
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
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One word: iPod.
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Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
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03-04-2012, 07:54 PM
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#23
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,637
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RAE
We have XM also, and I always mark on the calendar the date that our subscription ends. About a week or so before that date, we call them and tell them we don't want it anymore. They go into their series of questions, etc., and we tell them no, not interested, please cancel. Then they start offering the huge discounts that you mentioned. When they get low enough, we resubscribe for another year, and mark down the end date on the calendar again. Then next year, we go through the process again. It has worked so far. I think we paid $94 for a year the last time, which I can live with. The key is to make sure you call each year before the subscription ends and the automatic renewal kicks in.
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Thanks for your experience. Like every GM car buyer, I got the free six months with the new car. Then I let XM lapse for a month or so and signed up for another year for a significantly reduced annual price. It auto-renews in a year, so I also have it marked on my calendar to be sure to cancel. Although I like having XM, I can certainly live without it for a few months if that's what it takes to get a lower price.
Someone else (Nords, I think) also mentioned i-Pods. That's something else I do and mine will do quite nicely during periods I don't have XM.
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friar1610
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03-04-2012, 09:56 PM
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#24
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,500
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I got Sirius/XM free for six? months when I bought my Venza, two years ago. I clearly told them every time they called that I do not and would NEVER have an interest in purchasing their service. They have persisted in bombarding me with snail mail ads anyway for the past two years. I don't listen to it at all, even when they give me periods of free access.
After this experience, I would regard lack of pay radio capability to be a "plus" when evaluating new cars.
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03-04-2012, 11:40 PM
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#25
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: SoCal
Posts: 569
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
I got Sirius/XM free for six? months when I bought my Venza, two years ago. I clearly told them every time they called that I do not and would NEVER have an interest in purchasing their service. They have persisted in bombarding me with snail mail ads anyway for the past two years. I don't listen to it at all, even when they give me periods of free access.
After this experience, I would regard lack of pay radio capability to be a "plus" when evaluating new cars.
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Oh great...I bought a Subaru Forester in December, same thing, few months 'free' XM. I never wanted it, I just download music/podcasts and stream via bluetooth when in my car. Plus the few times I tried listening during the 'free' trial period the stations were not to my liking. Now it sounds like I'll be pestered to death when the free trial ends over something I never wanted to begin with. There should be an 'opt out' when you buy the car.
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03-05-2012, 11:41 AM
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#26
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 273
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I guess the cheaper price might hit the value proposition - but at that point its kind of like buying clothes. Do you really need/want it, or are you being seduced because "its a great deal".
I had it for while with a new car. It was awesome for the long drives, but superfluous the rest of the time.
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03-05-2012, 12:04 PM
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#27
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,071
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Never had XM, so don't know what I'm missing. I would love to scale my cable fees back. I could easily get by on the 10 channel or so package for $15/mo. But the darn golf channel has me hooked.
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Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
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03-05-2012, 12:31 PM
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#28
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,183
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg52
Never had XM, so don't know what I'm missing. I would love to scale my cable fees back. I could easily get by on the 10 channel or so package for $15/mo. But the darn golf channel has me hooked.
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+1
For me, it's the Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Sox. (The Bears are on OTA TV except for the Monday night game.) Most everything we watch on cable has an OTA equivalent except sports.
I can afford my cable bill, it just bugs me to pay it.
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"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
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03-05-2012, 02:12 PM
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#29
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
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My cable and internet bill is an example of expense creep. It got above $125 last month so I axed HBO and saved $20/month. I looked into going to basic cable to save another $30/month, but I had to give up BBC America and Fox Soccer Channel so I didn't do it.
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“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
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03-05-2012, 09:53 PM
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#30
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: West Tx
Posts: 1,392
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We got rid of HBO to save due to the increase in the bill over time. I haven't really missed it.
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03-05-2012, 09:59 PM
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#31
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,124
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nun
I looked into going to basic cable to save another $30/month, but I had to give up BBC America and Fox Soccer Channel so I didn't do it.
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A man after my own heart. My son and I watch hours of footy every week. We have U-verse, and about a year ago the soccer channel was moved from tier 3 to tier 2, so we immediately switched to save the money.
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Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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03-07-2012, 08:10 PM
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#32
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 185
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Thanks for the input. As of 5pm today, XM stopped transmission (on my way home from work). I'm now bound for NPR and other free radio, like the old lean days before the "creep" started. They (XM-Sirius) called me no less than three times a day for weeks.
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This is no social crisis, just another tricky day for you...
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03-07-2012, 08:55 PM
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#33
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: New England
Posts: 197
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Quote:
They (XM-Sirius) called me no less than three times a day for weeks.
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Yikes. And I thought the pan-handlers at the train station were bad...
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