I cut my cable at the beginning of March to see if I could really feel comfortable without it. I have been using Hulu, Netflix and Ted to watch the shows I normally watch and I must say that it is not as hard as I thought it would be. The only things I have not been able to see are the dating reality shows that play on VH1 and those were really silly anyway (for the Love of Ray J anyone?).
I have found that watching ‘television’ on the computer has been beneficial to me in a few ways:
Save time
I have been able to skip through the commercials and watch the content without distractions. This means that I do not need a whole hour to watch a one hour show so I can spend the time
Better time management
Since I can watch my shows on demand I do not have to make sure I rush home at a certain time to catch a show. I can also schedule my studies better because I don’t need to stop at 6:30 to watch House Hunters and I don’t need to stay up until 10 to get the end of CSI.
Save Money
I will be saving $50 a month from not having cable and although I do not know what the offset will be with increased electricity use, I do not think it will negate the cable savings. I also unplugged the television and can honestly say that I do not even spend any more time in the living room once it gets dark. The television has been unplugged since March the second so that must mean some kind of savings as the vampire energy is not being stolen.
It has only been one month but so far I think the experiment is going okay. I do not crave regular cable and since I know I can watch my shows uninterrupted (or at least fast forward through Hulu’s short commercial break) I get more accomplished during the time that I am not watching television.
Exactly… you don’t want to be watching old re-runs anyway! 🙂
Well sometimes we do. I am currently watching 24 from season one because I only caught the show in season 8.
I loved Prison Break and constantly watch reruns of that.
… to be fair, I am the same with friends 🙂
Congrats. It is addictive to sit and watch what’s on cable and a lot of times it’s re-runs of stuff, whether it’s sit-coms, sports or news. You list some great reasons to cut the cable cord. Saving $50 a month is significant and can be life changing over the long haul.
I know exactly what you mean! I used to watch certain shows on TV but once my school load piled up, I couldn’t really keep up anymore and just fell behind. I think with today’s options like Hulu, most people generally will catch things online anyway at their own pace. And not to mention, saving $50 a month is a lot!
Yes it is but I really just do hope that I do not counter the savings in one area by hiking up my electric bill.
I recently read an article stating that many people have done just what you have done – cut the cable cord. $50.00 a month is a lot of money; I hope your electricity bill doesn’t increase by that much. Often, while doing my work on the computer, I have the tv on, as background noise. I occasionally look away from the computer and watch a few minutes of my favorite show. I suppose I can have Hulu running on my desktop while I work…what a great idea.
Good Job in making a right decision LuluGal. Same here I watched some tv shows in my laptop.
Thanks,
Vins
Congrats on adapting to life without cable. When you can catch your favorite shows online, it really isn’t much of a sacrifice to make. If it weren’t for my sports obsession I would follow suit. Unfortunately, it’s just not the same watching sports online.
Well we all do what works for us. I am sure if I had a passion like you do then I might not have cancelled the cable. I am just thinking now that I cannot watch the useless reality shows that I used to watch on VH1 because they don’t show up on Hulu. They were utter rubbish but I still liked watching them. Maybe now I won’t rot my brains as much.
Yes if the reality shows were all you are missing, you’re not missing much. There are a lot of tv shows like that. They are simply a waste of time. If a show isn’t available online, it probably isn’t a good enough show to worry about.
I believe that you have done a great thing. It is always hard to miss out on things like that and one has to be really determined. Good luck for the coming months
Nowadays, with internet TV being so popular, you almost don’t need cable anymore. Good on you for making this decision. 🙂
Till then,
Jean
Well, wow! I think I could not do that. It must be very hard in the beginning. But great that you are doing this successfully. Keep it up!:)
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Over 10 years ago, my wife and I decided to out TV from our lives. We are not television snobs, far from teetotalers, and believe that many aspects of life can be enjoyed in moderation. But television had become something of a negative for us, and we wondered what our lives would be like if we tried giving it up for a short period and then see what happened. An so far so good!