Last week, the cable guy showed up. He installed a nifty box, connected some wires (or whatever they do) and now we have cable for the first time in our marriage.

This is awesome.

I am aware that TV can be abused. I could watch too much of it and get super lazy. So far, I’ve had reasonable restraint. The TV isn’t always on, and such.

If you have Comcast as your cable carrier, or are considering signing up/switching, I wanted to tell you about our cable plan.

Keep in mind, the deal I got might not apply in your area. Matt at Frugalize recently wrote about canceling his Comcast cable–and I don’t know if he was eligible for these prices (lemme know, Matt, if you call and find out).

I don’t have a yearly contract or anything–I just pay month to month.

We have the bare-bones basic cable plan that costs $12/month in my area of Pittsburgh. The way the guy on the phone said it, other parts of “tahn” could cost up to $18 for the basic stuff.

This $12 includes channels 2-22, which is the standard network channels and a few simple basic channels. Sort of blah, but it will be better when the writer’s strike is over. (Also, when Lost starts up again. Yay!)

If I just had this $12 stuff, I would be mildly entertained, but I wouldn’t be excited.

But wait, there’s more.

For an extra $7 per month, we have the “Digital Classic” package. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it at first, but now, I have to say it’s absolutely worthwhile.

It includes 30 or so channels in their “Digital Classic” lineup, including BBC America, WE, Bravo, Discovery Health, some offspring of MTV, Noggin and other channels targeted for kids.

Well and good. I’ve seen some good shows on those channels already.

The part that makes me the most excited?

The digital package I have includes OnDemand AND five channels of HBO. Oh my gosh.

I’ve never had HBO, but there are plenty of movies on all the time–ones I actually would like to see.

With On Demand, I have a special box and remote. I click the On Demand button and I’m taken to special menus.

I can select tons of movies that they have in their library to watch whenever I want to–at no additional charge.

I start the movie whenever I want, I can pause it with my remote, and fast-forward or rewind.

The movie selections in their free folder aren’t the most current titles, but there ought to be something for everyone to enjoy (unless you have the tastes of a Hollywood critic). And, I saw a recent press release that stated they plan to add many more movies.

In addition, because I have HBO, I can also watch movies in the HBO On Demand folder at no additional charge.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve only had this setup for a week, but I’ve noticed that just about all of the movies in the HBO On Demand folder are ones playing on the channel right now. How neat is that?

There’s also TV shows On Demand that I can watch. You won’t be able to watch a full season of anything, but you’ll be able to watch some episodes and be entertained.

For example, I was bummed that I wasn’t going to have TLC in my regular TV lineup. But, there are TLC shows available in On Demand! I’ve been able to watch a few episodes of “What Not to Wear” thanks to that. Same goes for HGTV–another favorite of mine. Plenty of episodes to watch in that folder, as well.

Between what’s on TV at the time and On Demand, I’ll always have something to watch.

Because of this package, we decided to cancel our $9/month Netflix subscription. So, we’re only spending $11 more a month on TV-like entertainment than we were before.

If you have Comcast and would like to pay less, why not call them and ask if you can? You could mention that you know someone in Pittsburgh who has this plan, and see if it applies in your area. You may get a deal (btw….that’s a a sneak peek at next Monday’s Better Budget Challenge! Stay tuned!)