$25/month in savings will definitely add up over time. Out of curiosity, have you looked into some of the "out-of-the-box" alternatives to TV/Internet? If price is a big enough priority, it might be worth dropping the TV service altogether and only maintaining the Internet service. If you go with DirecTV/TWC, you'll already be paying the "no TV"-premium on your TWC bills, so the price can only really go down on the TV bills.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, iTunes, ESPN3, etc., are pretty well established at this point in offering video content. I'm not all that knowledgeable about streaming hardware, but maybe a Roku Box (or something along those lines) would push your monthly savings even higher? You can even still get the local channels over-the-air for free.
Has your research on DirecTV turned up a lot of folks with dish problems? Unless you're planning on buying a dish/box on eBay and running the line yourself, I'd imagine the installer would give you a decent idea of whether your home offers any potential service issues. My in-laws have never had to mess with the dish since it was installed (although they do have a good 1/4-mile of wide open space to point the thing at).
When we moved, we switched from Time Warner Cable to AT&T U-verse and are pretty satisfied with the results. We're currently getting better downstream/upstream speeds than before, and we haven't noticed any issues with TV reception or DVR availability.
My in-laws jumped from Dish Network to DirecTV a while back, and seem pretty happy with it, too. Having seen them both in action, I think DirecTV's picture quality looks better than U-verse's.
What's important for you in TV/Internet? One bill of bundled services, sports, Internet speeds/availability, etc.? You mention NFL Sunday Ticket, but honestly, I've found it to be a largely useless service since the advent of NFL RedZone, and both services have it.
@Jams: If your sister has no other "money flow" outside of the grants and student loans, then check (or have her check) her Form 1098-T ("Tuition Statement") that the school sends before tax season (typically around December to February?). Most schools also offer digital, Adobe PDF versions through their student services websites on demand.
When I volunteer for the IRS during tax season, we always compare Box 2 ("Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses") and Box 5 ("Scholarships or grants"). If Box 2 (outgoing money) is greater than Box 5 (incoming money), then she has no income (but could use the difference for certain education credits, if she chooses to file). If Box 5 is greater than Box 2, then we usually consider it as income.
Well, I'm a little worried for what this could mean. If I am required to get insurance for all of my employees, it will put me out of business. If it puts me out of business it puts my 8 employees out of business too. I was just told that if we stay under 50 employees, we'll be okay. So that's good. My sister is in school right now without a job and doesn't have heath care. From what I understand, if she doesn't get health care she'll get penalized in her taxes. I'm worried what will happen to people like me and my parents who own small business that can't afford everyone's health care.
I still don't like the idea of having something like insurance forced on people. Especially if they can't afford it. Does that mean it's a lose/lose for them?
Does your sister have any income at all (investments, dividends, etc.)? If you don't meet certain minimum income thresholds (with regards to filing and dependency statuses), then you aren't required to file your taxes. And, if she isn't required to file her taxes, then I'd bet your sister wouldn't be penalized.
EDIT: According to these people, she wouldn't have to pay if she has no income.
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