Instead of cutting the cord, you could also drop your base programming to a lower one like Welcome Pack, Smart Pack, Dish America, America's Top 120, Dish Latino Basico/Clasico/Plus/Dos, etc. and still sub to HBO. However, I would compare packages for what you really want in terms of channels and price.
Yes, the Welcome Pack is an attractive alternative, but even with that, I'd be paying ~$40/month with equipment fees and taxes, not including HBO. I'd really prefer to get away from a monthly bill going to channels I don't ever watch. I've done the math, and, based on our viewing habits, my wife and I could cut our TV entertainment expenses about in half by dropping pay-tv in favor of streaming and OTA. In our cost analysis, getting the DVD/Blu-Ray of GOT was the cheapest way to go, assuming there aren't other things you'd want to get on disc from Netflix, and you're willing to wait for it.
In addition to saving money, the idea that we'd not be just gluttonous mouths at the end of a pipe filled with mostly distasteful consumables is appealing to us. We'd prefer to pick and choose what we subscribe to and limit what we pay to just those things. We may pay more for those things compared to what we pay for the aggregate channels in a cable or satellite package, but we watch so little of what we're paying for now, we'd still end up ahead at the end of the day, more money would go directly to the content producers of what we like, and we'll be exposed to fewer commercials and the interruptions they introduce into the experience.
Anyway, that is just my perspective. Others probably feel different.
-Ted