Cancelled My Cable TV... surprised at how happy I am...

[CheapMom]

OK- I know this is not a great budget tip because we all know that cable tv is expensive... I really liked having cable Disney Channel, Discovery, great reception... I live in the sticks and thought that I would get no reception without cable but DH has set up an antenae and we get fox, NBC, CBS, PBS, and UPN. I know some people will get no reception at all without cable- I don't think I could go that far. (ABC is pretty fuzzy but we can rig it up on Saturday mornings if they want to watch the Saturday Disney stuff)

The kids really whined about it when we cancelled- like they didn't know what to do with themselves- that just punctuated to me that we had probably done the right thing.

BUT there has been a great added benefit to cancelling the cable. My kids are reading more, playing outside more and I would have to say best of all... I haven't heard one single comment about what they saw on TV that they MUST HAVE for Christmas.

My point is I thought I was making a sacrifice but it has turned out better than before. Just thought I would share.

 

[disneysteve]

We don't have cable, never have. I can't comprehend paying $50 or more (sometime lots more) every month to watch TV. Don't get me wrong - we watch our fair share of TV, but just what is on the broadcast networks.

What I did learn about recently and will probably do is get the cable company's "antenna service." They charge $10/month to provide just the local channels that you would get with an antenna. That way reception is clear and we could ditch the rabbit ears. You might want to ask about that in your area.

 

[CheapMom]

I did ask about that but it is $18 plus taxes in my area so really it isn't worth it to me- I would really only be picking up ABC-
We have a cable monopoly here (Comcast) unless you consider satellite tv a direct competition- so I am also happy to have cancelled as my small form of monopoly protest.

 

[deltachi8]

Im facing that decision in about 3 weeks when my promotional package is up. Thing is, in my apartment we get zero reception without it, so its basicaly the VCR and DVD player.

I am considering cutting my land line off for phone service and only using the cell to cut down on a monthly bill.

 

[CheapMom]

Check into the antennae service that Steve was talking about- you have to ask- they don't usually advertise it or even list it on their website as a service they offer.

 

[disneymom3]

We are on our second day of TV free. I know I won't make it through the weekend, but I am working on major cutbacks during the week. I am not ready to cancel the cable(satelite) though we did drop down to lower package and changed companies recently which saved us quite a bit. I am one of those people who would get the local weather channel and that is it without something and I am not quite ready to give up TV all together.

 

[VintageKnight]

Its called the "LifeLine" option. Federaly mandated but never activly sold by cable companies. Its been an option I give my non local channel customers for years when they want the big stations but dont want to leave there cable due to no locals from DirecTV. Also helps prove I'm there for the customer even if it means giving the competition a little money.

DVK

 

[eileenfk]

If I had kids, I would seriously consider giving up not just cable, but television.
It is soooo much work to monitor what kids watch, and even if I monitor the shows, I have to worry about the advertisements.

I have this family living with me, and the mom is not very good at disciplining her children (she grounds them, but then lets them go to their friends houses a few minutes later because it is the easy thing to do when they are irritating her).
So in order to maintain some order in my household, I use the few things I control (because I own them) to maintain order.
My TV does not work without the remote (the on switch has never worked and I used to hate this, but now I love this feature). I used to take the TV remote away for a few days, when I was not getting the behaviors I wanted. Now I pretty much just need to threaten to take it away.
While the kids did not have the TV I noticed that they played so creative, using dress up clothes and developing little plays and such. I didn't notice a lot more reading, but what I did notice was very positive.
The kid's mom likes to watch TV also, so she has become more active in controlling her children.

Since most of the TV I watch, is the news channels (the cable only channels) I would miss cable.
I would miss my internet broadband connection more then my television.

- Eileen

 

[disneysteve]

I would miss my internet broadband connection more then my television.

- Eileen

Now that's a whole different story. I would NOT give up my high-speed access. But we use DSL, not cable, so the TV and Internet are totally seperate.

 

[Hippychickali]

We too are cable free and it's really quite a liberating experience. Playing with the rabbit ears to get reception has become a fun game.

Ali

 

[drdelsol]

we went from cable to satellite and for a year now to none of the above. I don't miss it at all now. It was becoming watchit because you are paying for it and its there.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

We are cable free, also, and happily so.

My kids don't watch much, and what they do watch is commercial free (PBS).

I do miss HGTV sometimes

 

[Lori S.]

What do you get with your antennae from Fox? Is it the local fox channel? I just don't think I could live without my Fox News Channel!!

 

[summerrluvv]

I had family cable which included Disney, Nick and all that. It was around $50.00 a month. I downgraded to basic (just for reception since we get none without cable) and I now pay $10 a month and have the basic networks and QVC. My son is a TV freak and was spending way too much time watching Nick and Disney so that's really why I cancelled it. I do miss Lifetime, but I'm surviving

 

[disneysteve]

What do you get with your antennae from Fox? Is it the local fox channel? I just don't think I could live without my Fox News Channel!!

Yes, we get the local fox channel, channel 29 from Philly. We watch their 10:00 news at nite since we rarely stay up past 11.

 

[CheapMom]

I just don't think I could live without my Fox News Channel!!
I couldn't live WITH it. Yes it is just local broadcasting... So I still get the very necessary Simpsons.

 

[wide awake]

Good Job !! My DH is in the Air Force, and when we were stationed in Germany in 1988 there was one T.V. channel, AFN, and it had about 3 hours a day of children's programming. I can remember parents talking about how all of a sudden their kids were reading, playing outside, etc. I hate T.V. and could do without easily, but DH wouldn't go for it...so we have cable with about 48 channels, none of the premium ones though. AFN was pretty funny...they had ads advising you not to answer the phone with your husband's rank...in that way you could do your bit to prevent terrorism. They also had a bizarre ad about a new family moving into housing and taking another family (that had lived in that housing for quite some time), a pie. Totally backwards.