Confession: I’ve killed the cable.
I lived without television all through college; I was never home even if I had enough money for it. Then I lived without cable TV because it was a luxury when there were diapers to buy, so we instead relied on rental movies and free library DVDs.
Only a two years ago did cable television make its triumphant return to our house, and oh was it pure pop culture and news gluttony! Not only were there lots and lots of channels, we could actually choose the shows we wanted to watch and *watch* right then and there! No way! But, alas, in recent months I scaled back from On Demand to the most basic cable package because my special deal ran out. It was only then I discovered that television, without any say in what’s on, sucks.
I still had my shows (crime shows like Castle, The Mentalist, Law & Order: SVU as well as Mad Men, The Soup, Modern Family, Cougar Town, random food/eating shows), but I also noticed there is a LOT of crap shows and crap channels. Then I noticed something else: push back from The Kid. Her first habit when coming home was to turn on the TV. OK, I get it. Perhaps a long day at school? Need to unwind? Or a fave show was on? Uh no. Just more crap TV. Obnoxious + loud kids shows, a barrier to doing homework and establishing the good habit of reading for fun, and general whining. One night, I had had enough.
That night I posted on Facebook about my decision to quit cable and my quest to find a way to get our shows. I had like 20 comments from friends and family who also have quit cable and shared their ways to still watch fave TV shows (Netflix, Roku, Hulu, and the good ole Internets), showing me I had plenty of options. I could be in charge of what’s on TV again. The Kid is only mildly aware of what’s coming. I’m not worried; she can watch TV at her dad’s. I think he has a flatscreen.
Yes, I killed the cable …
… and am now redirecting that part of my budget towards a fancypants gym membership (you know, the kind of gym with tiny TV screens on each exercise machine — huzza!). That’s where I should spend more time anyway. Stay tuned …
We did that, too. And it feels great. Not only do we save money on the ridiculous cost of cable, but I think we’re less inclined to buy random stuff that we either 1) saw in commercials or 2) saw in a some sort of home improvement show.
Plus, the data transmission rate of most shows? TERRIBLE.
YAY! Fancy pants gym beats cable. And you can watch cable tv at the fancy pants gym. Win win, I’d say.
I so so so want to cancel cable. I think I can live without the addiction — I did for years in college, afterward … but my husband has a television in EVERY room of his house, and then some. Among our house and his place in the Poconos, there are like 8 televisions …
[...] I killed the cable television, books are a bigger deal in our house, just as I hoped they would become. The Kid loves the I Can [...]