Cutting cable: Success, sort of

OK, it's been well over a month since Verizon managed to utterly screw up my efforts to cut cable. If you're interested, take a look back at just how ridiculous the whole situation was (; (which recaps part 1 and gets worse)).

Finally, after more than a month, however, an apparent higher-up at Verizon contacted me to apologize and stop the bleeding. Random fees would be dropped, I was assured. Products I did not ask for would be removed. Activation fees for products I never wanted would be abolished. Finally.

With this (mostly) in hand (fingers crossed!), I was finally able to begin enjoying the reduced costs I initially hoped for.

My television viewing now comes almost entire via Netflix (about $8 per month streaming) through a Roku box (as little as $60 or so, one time cost) -- or via Hulu.

Now I could get Hulu Plus on the Roku, but that would be another $8 per month. I decided to instead go with straight Hulu on my laptop, which I have hooked up to my TV. I don't get HD this way, but it is free.

What's the end result? It's all good so far. Instead of $50 for Fios, $8 for Netflix and another $70 for cable, I'm paying $50 for Fios and $8 for Netflix. That's $70 per month in savings - or $840 per year. 

I'll take that.

Admittedly, I don't get all the shows I used to watch: There's no "How I Met Your Mother," no "Key & Peele" and no "Archer." The last one is a tough loss. The middle is one that was getting good. The first is one that's not really worth it anymore anyway.

Plus, with Hulu, it actually queues up the shows I like so I can watch them at my convenience - almost DVR style.

What's it all add up to? Well, other than Verizon's terrible customer service, this has been a winner for me.

Anyone else have any cutting cable experiences? I'd love to hear about them.