I've lived with my parents for my whole life, and I'm getting ready to move out. I'm not really going to have much in the way of money for things like cable, due to being a college student and all. I have an xbox 360 with netflix and hulu, and I'm thinking about getting a Roku box so I can watch amazon prime as well as all the other things that are on there. My concern with this is that I don't know how to watch local tv with cable, and also I have shows I like to watch on Showtime, HBO, and Starz that I can't watch without having a cable subscription. How can I watch those with paying $100 + a month for cable?
Simple, you don't. I'm sorry but if you're not living with your parents and have to start paying for yourself, you have to give up something and in this case, you're going to have to give up cable. I know it sucks, but honestly its that or work 40+ hours a week and not many can do that plus college/university.
OK, this answer is going to be a little off-topic, and maybe a little harsh but... You're talking about moving out for the first time and not having a lot of money. Yet the entire rest of your post is all about gaming consoles, TV, and ways to basically waste time. If you're just going to fuck around and play video games and watch TV, don't bother moving out. If you're going to move out, hopefully it's to make a better, more productive life for yourself. Play is an important part of a healthy existence, but it should be in balance with the rest of your life. I'd suggest you put your energy into making a budget, finding a job, and thinking seriously about what paths you want to take in moving forward with your life. Better yet, maybe consider leaving all the gaming consoles home with your parents, and make a commitment to yourself to set aside a specific time each day as "play" time and focus the rest on whatever your career/job/life situation is and where you want to be. I hope that helps!
I think Chip made good point but at the same time, I don't think it's necessary to give up your hobbies, which I'm going to assume that xbox and all that stuff are your hobbies. There's no harm in playing few games do destress. We all have our own ways of destressing and if playing xbox is yours, I say just keep it and enjoy it, as long as it doesn't interfere with your job or academics. That being said, I think cutting the cable is the most logical step. I do agree with Revan that you're not going to be able to work 40+ hours to pay the cable, while in school.
Just because everyone's already said what I originally thought, here's something else to consider: Depending on what your living arrangements are going to be, consider moving in with other people (maybe even students?). Your rent would probably be cheaper, and luckily you'll find other people who are keen on keeping utilities and other things down. This way, you might be able to swing for cable, and it wouldn't cost you nearly as much if everyone's paying.
Don't you just need a TV aerial, and if your TV is a few years old a Digital TV Converter box? For Netflix and Hula you're obviously going to be needing the internet - therefore it's worth checking with the local cable TV company - I know here in the UK there are some very basic plans that give you the basic channels (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 (or CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox equivalents), a phone line, and internet for a relatively low fee. When I was a uni we had a triple pay service like that, between four of us, because it was cheaper than getting the internet alone (well internet and phone line from separate providers) As for the premium channels - find mates that like the shows you like and hang out round there's when they are on (or just get the DVD box set at the end of the series).
No I won't have a lot of money to pay for cable that's why I was asking. I don't plan on spending all my time playing games or watching tv/movies and I realize I won't have alot of time to do so but when I have a free 30 minutes to an hour sometimes I do like to watch tv or play a game and I don't really appreciate everyone tearing into me about it.
