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Kathryn Vercillo

How Mindfulness at Work Helps Your Health … and Maybe Even Your Bank Account

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mindfulness at work

Mindful working encompasses a variety of different practices. It includes ways to practice mindfulness throughout your work day. This allows you to stay present, centered, and calm regardless of what’s going on around you. Mindful working also means that you approach your career path with intention even as you stay grounded in the moment.

Mindfulness at work has a variety of health benefits. We see those benefits when practicing mindful working. Moreover, you might think that slowing down at work would negatively impact your career. However, mindful working can actually lead to a better work life and possibly even more money in your bank account.

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a really trendy term. In fact, it’s become quite controversial. Mindfulness is one form of meditation practice. There is certainly a whole art to meditation. Therefore, if you want to dig deep into mindfulness, then you may wish to take courses and learn more.

That said, the concept of mindfulness is really a very simple one. It’s the practice of staying aware of all things happening inside of you and outside of you in the present moment. It’s awareness without judgment.

In other words, you may never stop having random thoughts, but with mindfulness, you become aware of those thoughts. Over time, the thoughts hold less power. You can watch them occur without reacting.

What Is Mindfulness at Work?

Mindful working simply means taking the concept of mindfulness and apply it to your work life. There are two key aspects to this:

  1. Practicing mindfulness in your day-to-day work life
  2. Taking a mindful, intentional approach to career planning

Daily Practices in Mindful Working

If this is something that interests you, then the majority of your effort will be in the first aspect: practicing mindful awareness every day at work. Additionally, you’ll practice mindfulness when you’re outside of work but find thoughts of work intruding on your mind.

When You’re At The Office

Examples of this at work mean that you:

  • Set a daily intention upon arrival to remain as present as possible throughout the day.
  • Single task instead of trying (and failing) to multitask.
  • Take breaks to breathe, focus on what’s around you, and clear your mind.
  • Practice gratitude throughout the work day.
  • Tune in to your body to check for stress and reactivity, pausing to ground yourself accordingly.

You also implement a variety of different techniques to limit distractions. You turn off all of the notifications on your devices so that they aren’t constantly pinging at you. Perhaps you have a “closed door” time each day at the office when coworkers aren’t to interrupt you. As much as possible, you create a schedule and setting that enhances your ability to do one thing at a time with complete focus.

When You’re At Home

These days, work doesn’t take place from 9-5. Maybe you work from home. Or perhaps you work from an office, but your job calls upon you to answer emails at all hours. Mindful working means that you find a way to delineate “work time” and “rest time” even though that’s a challenge.

If you never turn off, then you’re stressing your body and mind. This isn’t healthy, and it isn’t productive. People need downtime to replenish their internal resources. Without that time, you end up running on empty. You’re not giving your best self to the job or the other things in your life.

Therefore, you find ways to be completely present at home or with friends when that’s where you are. You limit contact with work during out-of-office hours. If you work for yourself, you still create “out of office” hours when you can wind down. You practice meditative and centering exercises to train your brain that it doesn’t constantly have to think about what’s going on at work.

Planning Your Career Intentionally

Mindfulness is about staying in the present moment. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply it to planning out your career. In fact, approaching your career trajectory with mindfulness can greatly improve your job satisfaction as well as your overall quality of life.

This simply means that you actively schedule times to think about your work plans. For example, you might do a monthly review of your goals for the year and an annual review of your long-term goals. During those times, you focus intensively and intentionally on planning out your next steps.

Outside of those times, you practice just being in the moment, knowing that you’ve got a plan in place, so you don’t have to worry. People worry about their jobs constantly. They worry about what’s next, how the economy will affect their job security, whether or not they’re moving up in their work, how to get more business … This distracted mind isn’t healthy, and it isn’t productive.

Benefits of Mindful Working

Mindful working offers a vast array of benefits. More than anything else, you should see a better state of mind, which in turn leads to some terrific physical health benefits. But you may also find that working more mindfully improves your career, too, which allows you to earn more money over time.

Mental and Physical Health Benefits

Research has shown that mindfulness offers benefits that include:

  • Better concentration and working memory
  • Better sleep
  • Faster, more effective task completion
  • Fewer headaches, GI problems, and physical aches
  • Increased self-awareness
  • Less preoccupation with regrets or worries
  • Less reactivity
  • Lower blood pressure
  • More capacity for joy in daily life
  • Reduced conflict with others
  • Reduced stress
  • Symptom relief for depression and anxiety

Career and Financial Benefits

Benefits of mindful working may include:

  • Better work-life balance
  • Decreased likelihood of burnout
  • Doing your job better because you’re more focused
  • Improve co-worker relations
  • More job satisfaction
  • New, fresh ideas for problem-solving
  • Renewed sense of appreciation for your work
  • You run your job; your job doesn’t run you

Mindful working means that you’ll make choices that are right for you. This improves your relationship with your career. In turn, this can mean better career advancement, which could mean earning more money.

Moreover, it also means that you are happier with what you have. Therefore, even if you don’t technically earn more, you may be happier with your earnings. If you’re happy at work, then you’re less likely to engage in spending to “make up for” not enjoying your job.

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Credit Score Misconceptions: Do You Know These 7 Things That Most Consumers Don’t?

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There are a surprising number of credit score misconceptions out there. We all have some familiarity with certain credit score facts like what a credit score is and that we should have a higher number to get good loans. In recent years, most of us have even become more aware of our score, thanks to an increasing number of tools allowing us to access that information. Nevertheless, recent research indicates that most people have no clue about the details of their credit score.

What is a Credit Score?

Your credit score is a three-digit number. It represents your history of loans and repayment. Therefore, it’s the number that most lenders use to determine whether or not to lend money to you.

If you have a good credit score, then you’re more likely to be able to borrow money. Moreover, you’ll get better rates. The worse your credit score, the harder it is to get a loan, and the more you’ll pay in interest when you do find a lender.

Your credit score is based on a variety of factors, including:

  • The length of your credit history
  • Your on-time payments vs. late payments
  • The types of loans that you have
  • The amount of money that you owe on those loans
  • How much credit you have

There are actually many different credit scores – more than you might think as you’ll discover below. But for the most part, you get a three-digit number that’s between 300 and 850. The higher it is, the better your credit.

If that’s all that you know about credit scores, then you’re in the same position as many people. But if you think that you know more then you might want to check out the following seven credit score misconceptions. Your information might be incorrect.

Credit Score Misconceptions

Credit Card Insider recently published the results of a 1000+ person survey about credit scores. The results indicate that there are a lot of credit card misconceptions out there. People think that they know things about credit scores and may be surprised to learn just how wrong they are.

1. There Are Hundreds of Different Credit Scores

If someone asked me how many credit scores I have, I’d probably say three. Like many Americans, I’ve been well-trained to think immediately of “the big 3” credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. I’m not alone in this belief. Nearly half of those surveyed thought that we each have three credit scores. Another 30% thought it was less than that – either 1 or 2 credit scores.

However, we actually each have hundreds of different credit scores. There are both big and small credit scoring agencies out there. There are different tools used to calculate credit scores: FICO and VantageScore are the primary methods. Although your scores should be similar across all tools, they can differ some from one to the next.

2. Your Income Doesn’t Impact Your Credit Score

Almost 60% of people surveyed believe that your income impacts your credit score. However, that’s not the case. The reason people get confused about this is because income does play into whether or not a lender will offer you a loan. After all, if you don’t earn enough money to repay your loan, then it’s a huge risk for them to lend you that money. Therefore, the lender will look at your income as well as your credit score and other factors.

However, the score itself doesn’t take your income into direct consideration. If you have no income at all but use a credit card that someone else pays off for you, then you might have a great credit score. If you have a seven-figure income but lots of late payments, then you might have a terrible credit score. The only way that income matters is that of course, it’s easier to make on-time payments in full if you have a steady, good income. But the number of your income itself is irrelevant to your credit score.

3. Applying for New Cards Does Affect Your Credit Score

I was surprised to learn that more than one-quarter of respondents didn’t know this. When you apply for a credit card, the institution you’re applying to makes a hard inquiry on your credit report. That decreases your credit score. The decrease is minimal and doesn’t last long in terms of your credit history. However, if you’re teetering on the edge between a “fair” and “good” score (or any two scores) or you are working hard to build your credit then you might want to avoid applying for new cards for a while.

4. Your Debit Card Doesn’t Help Your Credit Score

Your credit score is a reflection of your credit history. Remember: your debit card is basically cash. It doesn’t count towards your credit history. Therefore, if you use your debit card to pay for things, then you’re not building your credit. If you want to improve your credit score, then you need to use your credit card (and pay it off on time). Even if you select “credit” at checkout, your debit card is still a debit card, and it doesn’t change your credit score.

5. Closing Accounts is Not Good for Your Score

More than one-quarter of people surveyed thought that canceling a credit card would improve their credit score. I’m guessing that the thinking behind this is as follows:

  • If I cancel my account, then I can’t use the credit card.
  • If I don’t use the credit card, then I can’t accrue more debt.
  • Moreover, I won’t potentially make late payments because I won’t owe anything.
  • Therefore, it’s better for my credit to cancel the card.

It’s certainly true that having no card is better than having a card you run up a high balance on and then pay late. However, canceling the card altogether isn’t your best course of action. It can decrease your credit score. Instead, just put those cards out of reach, avoiding the problems without compromising your credit.

Notably, if you don’t use your card for a long period of time, then the credit card company might cancel it or reduce your available credit. This isn’t great for you either. Therefore, you should pull the card out periodically, charge something inexpensive on it, and immediately pay it off.

6. No Debt Isn’t Necessarily the Same as a Good Credit Score

One of the keys to maintaining a high credit score is to utilize your credit regularly. You have to use it, but then pay it off quickly. You do want to keep your overall debt low. The ratio of your debt to your available credit is one factor in your credit score. However, having zero debt doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have a good credit score.

Consider this: if you’ve never had any debt before then you don’t have a credit history at all. Therefore, you can’t have good credit. This is what teenagers face when they first try to get loans. So, although more than one-quarter of people surveyed assumed that having no debt means you’ll have a good credit score, that’s not necessarily true. It may be true, but it may not be. There are other factors to consider.

7. Your Credit Score is Not On Your Credit Report

More than three-quarters of people surveyed believed that if they ordered their credit report today, then they would see their credit score. They would be surprised once they got that report, then. Your credit score is based on the information in your credit report(s). However, you won’t find the score itself anywhere on your credit report. These are two related, but entirely separate, things. You can get your credit score from a variety of different places, often for free, but you can’t get it from your credit report.

How did you fare? Did you know the right answer to these seven credit score misconceptions?

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7 Ways to Define What It Means to Be Middle Class

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We hear a lot about the middle class. We know that it’s shrinking. Many of us probably identify with being in this class. But what does it really mean? Is middle class a number? Or is it something more elusive than that? There are actually many different ways to define middle class.

Middle Class as an Income Bracket

When we talk about the middle class, sometimes we’re talking about income. After all, class is, at least in large part, about money. The middle class was historically defined as the middle 60% of income, in between the richest 20% and the poorest 20%. However, that definition has shifted slightly over time.

Nowadays, we have three broad categories of class:

  • Lower class is the lowest 29% of income earned
  • Middle class is the next 52%
  • Upper class is the top 19% of earnings

Looking at this, we can indeed see that the middle class is shrinking. It used to make up 60%. Now it only makes up 20%. We can also see that the lower class has grown by nearly 10%. Fewer and fewer people have more of the riches of the world. And that fact matters because it alters our perception of what it means to be middle class. You see, even though we can define middle class by income, it’s really about so much more than that.

Percentage of Median Income

Another way that we define middle class is by the percentage of median income. If you earn between 67% and 200% of the median income, then you’re considered middle class. According to the Department of Numbers, the most recent calculation for the U.S. median income was $60,336. Therefore, we can define middle class as earning an income between $40,425 and $120,672.

Of course, that’s the national average. Middle class also has to do with how far your money goes where you live. Therefore, it might feel more relevant to look at the median income in your own area. For example, in San Francisco, the median household income is $96,265. Therefore, the middle-class income range between $64,177 and $192,530 if you live here. In contrast, the median income in the state of Alabama is $48,123, which makes their middle-class income range between $32,242 and $96,246.

So, if you make $96,000, you’re going to be middle class in any part of the country. However, if you earn $50,000, you’re technically considered middle class in the United States but might not feel like it if you live in San Francisco (or somewhere similarly expensive).

Income Isn’t Always Representative of Wealth

Even though we typically use income to define middle class, it’s not the only option. It might not even be the most accurate way to define it. Consider, for example, people who have a lot of wealth even though they aren’t currently earning much (or any) income. People in retirement, including those who retire early, may have acquired a lot of wealth but now have very little income. If you looked at just their income, they’d be poor, but if you look at their wealth, then they might have middle or upper-class lives.

One common method of calculating middle class by wealth is to break overall wealth into fifths. The three fifths in the middle are middle class. This also takes into consideration the fact that the middle class, by income, tends to have a lot of debt. If you have debt that offsets your assets, then you may not have much wealth. Therefore, even though your income is middle class, your lifestyle may or may not be.

How Much Do You Spend?

Notre Dame Professor James X. Sullivan argues that middle class can be defined more by what you spend than what you earn. This consumption model of defining the middle class reflects the fact that people with fluctuating income may still have enough money to spend on both necessities and extras. This model looks at spending on food, housing, entertainment, transportation, and other regular expenses. It doesn’t matter if you spend cash, credit, or food stamps. However, it excludes spending on healthcare and education, considering those investments instead of expenditures. With that in mind, if you annually spend between (approximately) $38,000 and $50,000, then you’re probably middle class in America.

What Are Your Aspirations?

Another way to look at spending isn’t just in terms of the concrete amount that you spend each year but also what your aspirations are, which might get reflected in your spending. People in the middle class typically have aspirations that include:

  • College education
  • Family vacations
  • Health care access
  • Owning a home
  • Owning a car
  • Retirement savings

This model is based on a combination of spending and savings but not necessarily on income. Of course, you have to have a certain income to be able to afford these things, but there’s a lot of latitude there. This model reflects that being part of the middle class is really more of a mindset, lifestyle, perception, or culture than it is specifically about money. We think it’s about money because that’s the lens through which we understand it, but it’s really about the way of life you are able to lead.

Recently, one report suggested that the number one thing that defines middle class is access to credit. This aligns with the aspirational model. If you can’t access loans, then you might not be able to own a car or a home or attend college. If you’re in the lower classes, you probably can’t access good loans. Therefore, it’s a mark of middle or upper class, at the very least.

Complex Models of Middle Class

There are also more complex models that take a variety of socio-economic factors into consideration. For example, the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank uses a flow chart that takes into consideration age, race, and education level to determine whether or not someone is middle class. According to this chart, you’re middle class if:

  • You are age 39 or under, of any racial background, and have completed college.
  • You are 40 or older, White or Asian, and finished high school but not college.
  • Or you are 40 or older, Black or Hispanic, and finished college.

If you’re under 39 and haven’t completed college then you’re probably lower class (or what they call “stragglers.”) On the other hand, if you’re older than 40 and white or Asian and you completed college then you’re probably upper class (or what they call “stragglers”.) While this isn’t a perfect model, it does factor in that there is more than just income at play when it comes to defining the middle class.

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Buying a House? A Credit Union Mortgage Might Be Best

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You have so many different options for banking today. In addition to traditional banks, there are online-only banks. You can invest with robo-advisors and apps. If you need money, you can get a personal line of credit or set up a Go Fund Me account. With so many options available, it can be difficult figuring out what the best choice is at any given time. If you’re looking for a home mortgage, then you might want to consider going with a credit union. They’re almost always cheaper than a traditional bank for mortgage loans.

What is a Credit Union?

A credit union is a type of bank. However, a regular bank is owned by a company or corporation. For example, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are regular banks.

In contrast, a credit union is a co-op. When you join a credit union, you become a member who partially owns the credit union. Therefore, credit unions tend to work harder than traditional banks to secure the best options for their members. After all, the members themselves own the bank.

Credit unions historically served particular groups of people. For example, there are firefighter’s credit unions and teacher’s credit unions. However, today, you can find a credit union for just about anyone. For example, San Francisco Credit Union is open to any resident of the city.

You Get More and Pay Less at a Credit Union

A traditional bank is a for-profit company. In contrast, a credit union is non-profit. As a co-owner of the bank, the extra “profits” or benefits go back in your own pocket. Therefore, you get better rates and lower fees when you use a credit union instead of a traditional bank.

In terms of rates, you get more interest. For example, if you open a savings account at a bank and open another at a credit union, you’ll most likely discover that you earn more interest on the credit union savings account.

In terms of fees, you often find that you aren’t charged for things at a credit union that a typical bank would charge you for. ATM fees, overdraft fees, and similar charges are often not a problem at credit unions. Of course, each credit union is different, so you’ll always want to check the terms of your own account. Don’t assume anything. Generally speaking, though, you’ll pay less and earn more when banking with a credit union.

People Choose Credit Unions for Loans

Although there are benefits to opening a checking/savings account with a credit union, the real reason that people opt for credit unions is often because of the loans.

First of all, if you’re already a member of the credit union, then loan approval usually happens very quickly. You can apply to become a credit union member just to get a loan. However, you’ll have the best luck if you’re already a member. Therefore, if you know that you’ll need a loan in the near future, you might want to set up a checking and/or savings account with the credit union first.

More importantly, credit unions often offer the best rates for loans. If you were to apply for a loan through your regular bank and also apply for one through your credit union, chances are that the interest rate would be a lot lower on the latter than the former.

In other words, you can borrow money more easily from a credit union, and you won’t have to pay back as much in interest. Of course, your credit history will still play a role in the decision process for a loan. However, your credit union will also consider other factors, which your regular bank may not. They’re more people-friendly and consider different human circumstances. Therefore, if you have irregular or non-traditional income, a higher-than-average debt-to-income ratio, or some other credit history quirk that would cause another bank to turn you down, then you might have better luck with a mortgage company.

Get Your Mortgage Through a Credit Union

You can get any number of different types of loans through a credit union. However, it’s an especially good choice for people who need to get a mortgage. After all, a mortgage is probably the most significant loan you’re ever going to get. When you’re taking out that money, to be repaid over such a long period, it’s critical to get the best rate possible. You’ll find better rates at your credit union than through a regular bank.

The most important difference is the interest rate. When you’re taking out such a huge loan, even a small percentage difference can make a huge impact on how much you end up paying overall. But that’s not the only way you’ll benefit when you get your mortgage through a credit union. You might also find that your closing costs are significantly cheaper. When you work with a traditional bank (or a mortgage bank), you work within a system that’s designed to rack up the fees. When you get your mortgage through a credit union, you work within a system that’s designed to give you the best rates.

Plus, you get the personal touch that banks just don’t offer. When you buy a house, especially for the first time, it’s a really huge decision. It’s confusing. You will probably have a lot of questions. And while you can certainly get many questions answered by your real estate agent, it also helps to have your financial team on your side. Your credit union will go the extra mile to provide customer service that helps you understand each step of the process, what your options are, and how to make the best decisions as you buy your home. They’ll also help you with funding a non-traditional home that other banks might turn their noses up at.

A Mortgage is a Long-Term Relationship

No matter how long you have an account at a regular bank, it usually feels like an impersonal service. In contrast, you truly build a relationship with your credit union over time. This is particularly important as a homeowner. Inevitably, you’re going to need some additional financial help for your home. Perhaps ten years down the line you’ll need to replace the roof. Maybe you’ll grow your family and want to add on to the home. Or maybe you’ll just need money for something else, and you’ll want to refinance your home to get that cash. Whatever the reason, you’ll have a better chance of getting a great home-related loan if you’ve established a relationship with your credit union over the years. Getting your home mortgage with them and paying it off consistently is a great way to establish that relationship.

Plus, your credit union is likely to stick with you throughout the loan. Many traditional banks sell and re-sell their loans over time. As a result, you might start out sending payments to one company only to find a few years later that your checks need to go somewhere else. While that’s usually not a big deal, it can feel like a hassle when it happens. Things can go awry. Moreover, you can really start to feel like you don’t know who’s dealing with your money. You don’t have those issues when you work with a credit union, which is typically unlikely to sell your mortgage.

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CORI: How Uber Drivers Can Become House Flippers

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Uber drivers often don’t make enough money to survive off of that gig alone. Even if you drive full-time, you may not be able to make ends meet as an Uber driver. That’s why so many Uber drivers take on additional jobs. Many drive for multiple companies (Lyft, Amazon, etc.) Others take on extra Uber work, such as delivering Uber Eats. And some are taking advantage of a brand new opportunity to assist a real estate company, doing work for them at the same time that they drive for Uber.

What is CORI?

CORI Corporation is an Atlanta-based real estate investment company. It appears to have just launched this year. It’s headed up by CTO and co-founder Eric Richner who also manages The Richner Group, and We Buy Crappy Houses. Although based in Atlanta, they also work with real estate in Virginia Beach, Chicago, and Minneapolis.

CORI is a company that locates run-down homes, buys them, fixes them up, and sells them. In other words, they are a company of house flippers. They specialize in finding homes that aren’t already on the market. The home is disrepair, but the owner hasn’t moved forward with selling it, yet. They just need someone to approach them and make the right deal. That’s what CORI does.

CORI’s Deal Finders: How Uber Drivers Can Make Money with CORI

What does any of this have to do with Uber? Well, it turns out that Uber drivers are particularly well-suited to finding great homes for CORI to invest in. Uber drivers are out there on the road, all day, every day, driving up and down many different streets. They see homes in disrepair. They see homes that someone could easily fix up and flip. It’s easy for them to provide leads about those homes to CORI.

In fact, CORI has specifically marketed to Uber drivers to get them to do just that. They have a program called Deal Finders. Although they don’t have a main CORI website (the URL just sends you to their Facebook page), they do have a page for their Deal Finders Elite program. Uber drivers can head to the site and sign up to become a Deal Finder, through which they can provide CORI with housing leads.

As you’re driving around picking up and dropping off your Uber rides, you just have to keep an eye out for good houses for the program. As you get used to how it works, finding the right types of houses should become easier and easier. If you’re good at it, then you can earn decent money for your leads. You make money when CORI sells a house that you’ve pointed them to with your leads.

How to Use CORI’s Deal Finders Program

Once you go to the website, you’ll click on the big yellow button that says, “let’s do this.” That will take you to a page that tells you that you’re signing up to do “Driving for Dollars.” What does that mean? They explain:

“Driving for Dollars is the term used for locating and logging properties, that are either in bad shape or vacant, while using any method of transportation.”

So, you don’t actually have to be an Uber driver, or any type of driver at all, in order to become part of the Deal Finders program. If you’re a flaneur who enjoys walking the streets of your city every day, you can sign up to become a Deal Finder with CORI. That said, they’ve explicitly marketed to rideshare drivers because of how convenient it is for them to incorporate house-finding into their existing work.

After entering your name, you’ll get a little bit more information about the job. You’ll learn that your job is essentially to find houses that are in disrepair. You’ll photograph them and log them into the system using a unique mobile app. Then you’ll add tags to help the flippers understand more about the house. For example, you might tag that it has fire damage or that it’s a vacant building.

How Much Money Can An Uber Drive Make with CORI?

According to the site, you receive payment whenever you provide a lead that turns into a closed property deal. In other words, if you provide terrible leads and CORI doesn’t buy, then sell, the houses then you don’t make money. However, if you excel at providing leads, then you can make some cash. In fact, the more good leads that you provide, the more money you can make per lead.

They call their payment on closed property deals a “performance bonus.” You get your performance bonus when the sale happens. So, first, you provide the lead through the app. Then CORI may buy the house, fix it up, and sell it. You earn money based on the amount of profit CORI makes with that sale.

If the sale’s profit exceeded $15,000, then you’ll get a $1500 performance bonus. If the deal was for between $5000 and $15,000, then you’ll get $1000. And if the deal was for less than $5000, then you’ll still get $500. In other words, you more or less get 10% of the deal price on average.

Moreover, if you successfully send 3+ good deals that close, then you are guaranteed 10%. For example, if you send them a lead that results in a $40000 profit for CORI, then you’ll get a $4000 performance bonus. You would have only gotten $1500 if you hadn’t already sent some great leads, but if you’ve sent more than three successful leads, then you get this better-guaranteed price.

If you really love this work, then you can make even more money. “Deal Finders that send over 50 properties will be eligible for payment of $1 per approved lead, for every 50 leads.” Therefore, you might make a little bit of cash even when it doesn’t lead to a property sale.

You can receive payments via check, Paypal, Venmo, or “cash app.”

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Cord Cutting: How to Save Money on TV

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I have to admit that I get a little bit of a kick out of how trendy cord cutting is right now. That’s because I haven’t had an actual TV in my home in years. There was one in my house in 2006, but that’s only because my roommate set it up.

I’ve been watching TV online for about as long as it has been possible. Before that, I subscribed to Netflix DVD deliveries to get my show-watching fix. I am definitely someone who is thrilled that technology has advanced to the point where we can easily stream videos of all kinds, including live. It’s become a popular way for many people to save money on TV.

Here’s How to Save Money on TV

I use a combination of Netflix, Hulu, Philo, Amazon Prime, and individual network apps to see all of the shows that I want to see. Therefore, I find it a little surprising that anyone still subscribes to TV “the old-fashioned way.” And I guess that’s why I find it funny that cord cutting is such a hot trend.

But it is. And it makes sense that it is. So if you’re still watching TV through cable company subscriptions, you might want to think about cord cutting.

What is Cord Cutting?

If you haven’t guessed by now, cord cutting is the practice of canceling your subscriptions to cable or satellite television. In their place, you can sign up for streaming services. Of course, you can still use an Internet-equipped television to watch those shows. Apple TV is one of the most popular options for people who want to watch TV on their televisions but use a streaming service instead of cable.

Why is it Called Cord Cutting?

It’s called “cutting the cord” because of the concept that you’re no longer wired to the physical system of a cable box or satellite dish. You can just get your television shows through the wireless Internet.

The people who do this are called cord cutters. Interestingly, there is also a segment of the population called “cord nevers.” These are people who have never subscribed to a traditional service where you pay for a package of tv channels.

There are also “cord trimmers,” which are people who do continue to pay for a traditional TV service but have trimmed down their package and supplement that with streaming services. Research shows that nearly half of US consumers pay for both TV and streaming services.

Cord Cutting is on the Rise

The research above came from Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications’ 13th edition of Digital media trends survey. They noted that this was the first time in the history of the survey that more people are paying for streaming TV than paying for TV subscriptions. The difference is small (69% compared to 65%; “cord trimmers” are the reason this combined number exceeds 100%). However, the trend is that paying for streaming is on the rise while paying for traditional tv services is on the decline.

One of the biggest reasons that people still subscribe to traditional TV services is that they want to be able to watch live television. People who enjoy live news and sports will usually keep their TV subscription. The cord trimmers will pare down to a plan that allows them to enjoy just these shows, then they’ll use streaming services for other viewing. However, streaming services are increasingly beginning to offer live viewing, so it seems like only a matter of time before this won’t be a reason to keep your old service.

Who is Cutting the Cord?

Interestingly, millennials are the biggest group of both cord cutters and cord nevers. 88% pay for a streaming service while only 51% pay for traditional TV. It may not be surprising that they’re more likely to stream than their older Gen X or Baby Boomer counterparts. However, it is a bit surprising that the younger Gen Z is less likely to cut the cord. Among that group, 80% pay for streaming services and 57$ pay for regular TV. Since they grew up with streaming, it’s intriguing that they’re opting in to television services.

Why People Prefer Cord Cutting

So, why is it that people are opting out of traditional television subscriptions in favor of streaming? I know that the number one reason that I won’t pay for a traditional service is that I don’t like the few companies that offer it in my area. I’ve used their services thanks to roommates. And I’ve used their non-TV services, such as cable Internet, and I don’t like what they have to offer.

Therefore, I prefer the option to choose from a wide range of companies, including small companies, that offer streaming services instead. There are more than 300 different streaming services to choose from! (Not sure where to start? The New York Times has a great article on that topic.) If I don’t like the one I’m working with, I can easily switch. That’s my number one reason. But it’s not the only reason, of course.

Cost Comparison of TV vs. Streaming

Many people cite cost as the big reason that they prefer cord cutting. Cable TV and satellite TV are expensive. You can easily pay over $100 per month. Often, you end up paying for a whole bunch of channels that you don’t want so that you can have the few channels that you do. This is frustrating. If you only want to watch a few channels, and you can access those shows through a streaming service, that it can be far cheaper to cut the cord. So, yes, you really can save money on TV when you aren’t depending on cable.

That said, as streaming becomes the norm, it’s hard to say what will happen with the price. The Deloitte research found that people, on average, have three streaming subscriptions. That’s still currently less per month than an average cable TV bill. However, those prices shift all of the time. Whether or not they remain as low as they are right now … well, only time will tell. But if you’re looking to save money immediately, then it’s definitely worth it to see if cord cutting would work for you.

Streaming TV Has Fewer Ads

One of the major reasons that people switch to streaming is that they’re tired of commercials. In the Deloitte survey, “44 percent of respondents cited “no ads” as a top reason for subscribing to a new paid streaming video service.” However, I have to point out that this varies widely from service to service. Netflix doesn’t have ads. YouTube television does. Hulu has the option to pay more for an ad-free experience.

One of the things that I’ve noticed over the years is that the ads have gotten longer on streaming services. I remember when there were only a few commercials during a show, and they were about 30 seconds each. Now I regularly see 1-2 minute commercial breaks on my streaming services. So, this is also going to shift over time.

Other Reasons for Cord Cutting

Here are some of the other reasons that people choose streaming services:

  • There is great new original content available. Did you know that Netflix’s original shows tied HBO for the number of Emmy’s last year?
  • Many streaming services offer seamless viewing across multiple platforms. I can start a show on my desktop computer, pause it, and then pick up where I left off on my mobile phone. I can take my TV wherever I go.
  • Each platform has a different design. Therefore, you can choose the streaming services that offer you the best ability to find new content or organize the shows you love.
  • If you add an antenna to your television, you can still get some channels, such as NBC, for free. Remember when that’s the way it always was?

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