We pulled the plug on cable television just a few short months ago. Our bill had been inching its way to the $200+ range, and it was just too much. From a financial perspective, we probably could have made it work, but it was the principle of sending the check each month that eventually pushed us over the edge. We initially supplemented with Hulu and Netflix, but we have suspended service on both for the summer since we’re always on the go!
The first 24 to 48 hours of not having cable was just weird. Every time I turned the TV on, I was surprised to find it not working. I’ll fully admit that I had become somewhat of an addict while on maternity leave. When the baby was sleeping for 15-18 hours a day and I was spending so much time nursing or pumping, it was really easy to get engulfed in so many shows.
Maternity leave has come and gone now, and life is far too busy for TV. I’ve learned to live without reality TV and have traded it in for extra snuggles with my kid, sunsets on our back deck, and the occasional movie on Amazon Prime (which we were already paying for and never using for a streaming service!)
When we tell people that we ditched cable, they look at us like we’re crazy, but it has made us connect as a family in a way that I didn’t expect. Sometimes, we listen to Red Sox games on the radio, like in the old days. We read a lot more with our son, and we watch the news every morning while we’re eating our breakfast. It actually makes for some great conversation between me and my husband!
I didn’t think I could live without the Housewives, but here we are, a few months in, and we’re not looking back. One thing is for sure: we’re saving about $1,200 a year (even with the addition of streaming during some months!) and I can think of about a thousands ways that it can be spent on things other than cable. Diapers and formula come to mind, but my husband and I are thinking of using the money to take a long weekend away to Chicago, one of our favorite cities, this fall.
Tell me: have you ditched your cable service yet? What are you doing with all the money you’re saving?
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We ditched it 3 years ago. My husband missed NESN, and I missed HGTV. But we found alternatives. Our friends’ response: We need to cut cable too! Now we also read and talk more, plus there’s the added benefit of teaching our kiddo that there’s more to do than watch TV–we love family board game time! With the money saved we are rebuilding our savings.
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