I think we can all agree that Netflix is awesome. In fact, almost half of us probably use Netflix as our primary source of televised entertainment, and with that beautiful $8.99 price tag a month for viewing, you really can’t complain. With the absurd pricing of cable only going up, and the ease and accessibility of using streaming services like Netflix and Hulu also going up, it is time to cut the cord.

Paying for cable just doesn’t make sense. Just because you have 200+ channels of ultra HD entertainment, does not mean you are actually using it. The average household consistently watches an average of 17 channels, however the average household pays for about 190. Now in the days of old, paying for that many channels may have been justified as there were not many cable options. But we are not living in the days of old, we are living in the future, and in this amazing future we live in you can actually pay for just individual channels.

That’s right, you can pay for just one channel at a time, or if you watch a bunch of channels, you can buy a package with those channels. This route not only makes logical sense, but is also much cheaper.  Using the relatively new service Sling TV you can choose from different package channel deals that will let you watch and pay for all the channels that you actually regularly view, and stop paying for the channels you don’t watch. Sports channels such as ESPN are included in some of the Sling package deals.

Of course if you feel like you don’t watch actual TV channels at all, there are the instant streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon. These services are my personal favorite and if it were up to me, my household would only make use of them. Most of these services will cost around $10 a month and provide thousands of hours of entertainment, with libraries that are regularly updated and added to.

My absolute favorite aspect of these streaming services, especially Netflix in this case, are the original shows and movies. All of these shows and movies tend to have a certain quality of them that you really can’t find on network television. My theory is that with the lack of network regulation, as well as the motivation to outperform and outsell the big network television’s companies, these streaming services focus entirely on the quality of these shows and movies and are producing some of the best entertainment out there. And more great movies are to come as most of the independently made movies at film festivals are being bought and distributed by these massive streaming services.

The only reason that anybody would try to justify switching from cable to another cheaper option, is that it requires some work to sort out what you want, figure out how to get these services on your tv, and cancel your cable. While these are valid reasons not to make the switch, putting in a little bit of work and actually doing it will not only provide access to a variety of really good shows, but save a lot of money right away and even more in the long term.

Switching from cable to buying individual channels or just buying monthly subscriptions to streaming services is the way to go. Not only is it financially smarter to only pay what you use, there is also just more of a variety of content on Netflix or other streaming services. Cable is the antiquated and inferior product no matter what way you argue it. One day we will live in a time where people only pay for the channels that they actually watch, and cable will just be a forgotten memory of the past.