Giving up Cable/satellite do you miss it?

[RooRach0906]

Those of you who gave up cable or satellite do you miss it?

We are thinking of giving up ours and want to hear about your experiences.

We have netflix already.

 

[DawnM]

No. It has been almost 3 years.

We have saved about $3,600 and ALL of it is sitting in our ING account slated for other things.

 

[danceintherain]

No. We haven't had it for the entire 5 years of our marriage, and both went without it for a few years before that.

When I go to my parents' or stay in a hotel, I see what's on TV (that we can't watch online already) and it pretty much just supports our decision.

I've never once thought to myself, I wish we had cable, so I could watch XY or Z. I already watch enough "TV" as it is.

 

[tyniknate]

We don't miss it in the least. Kids grumbled for a couple weeks and then found something else to do. DH took a little longer to adjust, but after that he was fine with it. Love not having to pay that bill for something that I never really watched much in the first place.

 

[pryncess527]

Football is the only reason I need cable. We usually cancel in the off season and I don't miss it at all -- and I watch a LOT of tv. We built our own computer DVR so between that hooked up to our indoor antenna, and Netflix I don't miss anything.

 

[JillianMarie]

I miss Bravo. I really really really miss Bravo. I miss Bravo every single day. But the thousand dollars we save every year by not having cable is MORE than worth it.

 

[Nayan]

It depends on what you watch. Me, I love sports so having Sat (I'm switching from cable) is a must. Unless there are certain programs you enjoy and you can't find them on the internet, then keep it. If not, it is doable. You'll just be changing your viewing habits.

 

[Pakey]

I bought an indoor antennae on amazon that velcros to the wall behind the tv (cost $30 and took 5 minutes to install) and I get all of the network channels. I have netflix. Other than a few HGTV shows, I haven't found anything that I still can't watch if I wanted to. It's been 6 months for me and I can't imagine going back to that monthly cable bill. I watch a lot less TV than I used to and I don't miss it.

 

[RitaE]

We don't miss it in the least. Kids grumbled for a couple weeks and then found something else to do. DH took a little longer to adjust, but after that he was fine with it. Love not having to pay that bill for something that I never really watched much in the first place.

That's funny because I just put our Direct Tv on Vacation Suspension trying to get my DH to try this on a test drive. He promised to try it once football was over.

The biggest obstacle I can find with him not liking this is no CNN morning news. He really only watches it for 15 to 20 minutes tops while he chugs a cup of coffee but that 15 to 20 minutes seems to be REALLY important to him.

Anybody have any suggestions? I really don't mind paying a reasonable amount for a few subscriptions. It's just paying thousands a year and we're sitting around in the evening watching Honey Boo Boo and people bidding on abandoned storage lockers.

I just keep reminding him that when we started Direct TV years ago I think it was $30 a month. Now it is all I can do to keep that bill under $100. I get them to lower it and then a couple of months later I look at the bill again and they've raised the prices, again. I can't say that TV has improved in an amount that makes the bill worthwhile.

I really don't love Pawn Stars and Swamp People all that much.

 

[wendow]

We have been cable free for about 10 years. Don't miss it at all! I used to miss HGTV but now that some of their shows are on Amazon Prime, I'm good. I can't even imagine how much money we have saved over 10 years. I have never added it up like the pp has but I know it's a lot and I have no regrets.

 

[christineann]

I dropped cable a year ago and won't go back. I miss HGTV, History and college football, but that's about it. The savings is sooo worth it. I can't help but roll my eyes when friends and my siblings whine about money but spend $100 a month (or more) on cable.

 

[sweetdana]

Miss it ZERO! DH took a month or 2 to get over it.. and DD8 would love it back, but is okay with netfliks, and it is extra dun at grammas.. I wouldn't put it back on my TV for under 10$ a month.. no hesitation no regrets.. It is 50$ a month of my $$.

(also cancelled my home Phone and opted for OOMA (and my old #).. 13$ a month instead of another 60$ .. 0 regrets there too).

 

[mrzrich]

I want to dump cable, but My problem is internet. The way my cable company has the cable and internet bundled, its like the cable is almost free.

 

[kutty]

We dumped Dish finally end of November. I purchased a jailbroken apple tv on ebay and we were just using that with the internet. Found out if I bundled the cheapest cable with the internet package I would save $1 and change. For a week now we have had some 40 channel pack that somehow includes Disney. Still saving that $120+/month.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Those of you who gave up cable or satellite do you miss it? We are thinking of giving up ours and want to hear about your experiences. We have netflix already.

Do it! Between Netflix and stuff like watch abc online it's basically like having tv. My DBF and I haven't had it for years. We safe so much on the bills AND we read more! I know, crazy stuff. Once we dropped the cable we made a point to spend time together doing other stuff, it's really been great. I doubt I'll ever go back.

 

[tcherjen]

Nope... It has been almost 10 years. We just watch DVD's at home. My parents live next door and if the kids really want to see something they have direct tv.

 

[RooRach0906]

Thanks everyone. We went ahead and dropped dish tonight. Dh is going to get a hd antenna tomorrow for our local channels and then we are thinking of doing Amazon prime, anyone use that?

Like some others have said we were just sick of them always raising our rates but there wasnt enough to keep us feeling like we were getting our money's worth.

 

[wendow]

Thanks everyone. We went ahead and dropped dish tonight. Dh is going to get a hd antenna tomorrow for our local channels and then we are thinking of doing Amazon prime, anyone use that?

Good for you for cutting the cord!

We have been prime members since 2006 and we've been using their streaming since they began the program. We find a lot on there. I notice you have a 3yo. I have little ones too and Amazon streams a lot of preschool shows like Blue's Clues, Peep, Dora, Little Bill, etc. We find plenty to watch.

 

[organized mommy]

DH just cancelled ours yesterday. We have had Hulu on the Wii and a Roku box. We were doing a trial run, where DH just unplugged the cable boxes. We did fine, I found that of the shows I usually watched, that if Hulu didn't have it, I just opted for trying a new show.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Good for you, I bet you will never look back! I thought I wouldn't be able to survive, but then I quickly got over it. We do Hulu plus during the regular TV season, but we don't watch nearly as much as we used to. Our antenna isn't super reliable, but it works in a pinch. Congrats on your savings!