Life Without Cable TV
I am not sure I have ever talked about the fact that I don’t have cable TV. Since I left home at 17, I have never paid for cable. I watch fuzzy network stations with rabbit ears. I often feel like I am the last person in the good old USofA without cable tv. Seriously! Someone please feel free to pipe in and let me know I am not the last one standing.
Occasionally, I find myself longing to watch Law & Order marathons or plopping my kids in front of Noggin all day or flipping to HGTV to look at a bunch of houses that only serve one purpose - to make other houses feel bad. But then I snap back to reality and enjoy not having the lure of TV sucking away hours of my day. I enjoy not adding one. more. bill. to our proudly tiny stack of them.
But then…THEN. I read this post in my reader and was all, “Wait? what’s Hulu? What’s Miro?” So I did it. I typed in www.hulu.com and I have been sucked in. I can watch hilarious late night television shows without the ads while I fold laundry. I can watch Law & Order reruns while my kids have nap time and quiet time.
I am seriously in trouble. As if I needed one more excuse to have the computer on.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
We don’t watch/have cable or even rabbit ears! We are totally disconnected! And we don’t have internet either, I get it at work.
It’s been a real blessing not to have cable pumped into our home. We rent DVDs from Netflix, where we can pick and choose movies according to their ratings and content. You are much more in control over what comes into your home that way. I can’t believe people pay $50+ to watch TV each month. Everyone’s different, but it is such a waste of time! especially commercials. When I go to the gym and the TV is on, I am shocked by the sexuality on commercials and in TV shows. I guess that’s what happens when you unplug!
Kudos!
September 10th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I feel like such a nerd commenting on everything today! It may seem like I am on the computer constantly waiting for updates, but I am really not! I thought I’d check my reader while my daughter took her nap. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that you are not alone. We don’t have cable either. We’ve tried rabbit ears, but we live in town and our houses are too close together, so we can’t get any stations (hubby only wanted to watch football anyway). I’ll have to check out this hulu thing!
Rachels last blog post..Being Frugal
September 10th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
You are not the last one.
We (my family) are all about the bunny ears (and someone recently gave us a digital tv converter thingy, which is nice, too). And Hulu, you are most certainly correct, is AMAZING. I had not heard of Miro, but you can bet we’ll be trying it out tonight!
Matthews last blog post..…and they became lived years
September 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
The cable company recently shut off the free cable they had been pumping into our home for the last 2 years. We have a Tivo HD and are able to use that to watch/record HD shows…though it is a small monthly fee it’s worth it to us to delay watching the Olympics or prime time shows until after the kids go to bed.
Hulu is great…we watch it when using the elliptical in our office…however for our favorite shows where it’s more of a treat to indulge in watching, the computer monitor just doesn’t compare to a couch and big screen.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
We didn’t have cable until my parents came to stay with us while they were remodeling their house. Here is the only thing I like about it. We have a DVR so we can record shows to watch later. I rarely almost never watch TV. But when I do want to sit down with hubs, we look through the DVR recordings to find something. Thanks for the tip on hulu, didn’t know about it!
Happy day & good for you on the cable free house!
Melissa
melissa @ the inspired rooms last blog post..Creative Ways to Decorate Naturally
September 10th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I read the same post and discovered the same problem. We have cable, but I try really hard not to watch it. But now I have something to distract me at work!
deepalis last blog post..i heart aveda
September 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I wish hulu worked for me. It just tells me that it can only stream video to IP addresses in the US (but I hear it also says that to some folks who actually do live in the US, not so great).
I’ve tried some of the other optio
September 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Sorry ’bout that. This is typing with a 17 month old “helping”.
I meant to say that I’ve tried some of the other options and actually watched a couple of things but some of them don’t play in full screen or have Chinese subtitles or whatever. But it was still really neat to watch the pilot episode of Time Tunnel!
If I wasn’t so exhausted in the late evenings I’d definitely spend some time watching shows I loved when I was a kid. It’s not like I need it for current stuff. We share cable with my daughter and son-in-law and they get everything.
September 10th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
never had cable. Never wished I did. Totally enjoy watching HGTV when I’m in the hospital after childbirth though…. we get two, count them…TWO local channels. Needless to say, we don’t watch much tv.
Prairie Chicks last blog post..After Apple Picking
September 10th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I haven’t had cable in two years. I get everything off the computer or Netflix. I swear, if I still had cable, Writer Dad wouldn’t even be conception.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
we don’t have cable…. or a tv! HULU sounds dangerous though! sometimes I watch stuff on youtube when i’m procrastinating
neimanmarxists last blog post..Making the special….special
September 10th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Oh, yay, there are *others*
Sorry to anyone that I just introduced to a new addiction!
September 10th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I think I may have found the only crowd where I’m a freak for having cable.
ESPN gets the bulk of the viewage, though. I think cable’s a pretty decent deal for entertainment, provided it’s limited and doesn’t turn your creativity to mush.
Sara at On Simplicitys last blog post..Four Ways to Purge Your Closet
September 10th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
We’ve only had basic cable when the rabbit ears weren’t giving us any reception at all. Currently we have an antenna in our attic so we get near perfect reception for all the local channels. I go home to visit my parents and am just in awe over the many, many channels.
I’d heard of hulu, but never clicked over until today. That’s a seriously cool site!
Alison @ This Wasn’t In The Plans last blog post..Looking at the Food Budget
September 10th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Forget the cable, we don’t even have a TV. Yeah! thats right! Look Ma No TV!!!
And it is by choice, I’m such a fanatic viewer that if we have a TV all the household work can go take a hike and all I would care will be what happens in Friends.
Hubby was considering getting one for the household, but when I shared the possible consequences, he dropped the plans like hot potato
learning the ropess last blog post..Frugality is not about cheap, its about the choice
September 10th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t even own a TV! We have our computers, and occasionally watch movies on them, but we would all suffer if the option were there every day. I have managed to avoid hulu at this point, though I confess to watching apple trailers one after another on slow nights when I need to veg a bit. Enjoy your blog!!
Jennifers last blog post..SchoolHouse Moments :: Pen Pal Writing
September 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I would throw our TV out the window in a heartbeat if I could. But, I have this thing called a husband would not be pleased. I did however cut back our cable package which he did agree too. It’s a start!
Denises last blog post..still together after all these years
September 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
We don’t have cable either, or even rabbit ears. It’s been a few years, and my husband has started talking about getting cable again just for football season. I do like to watch a couple of shows online, but I love getting to be more selective. The BEST part is not having to watch all the ads, especially during Christmas season.
Rachels last blog post..What Did Your Parents Teach You About Money?
September 10th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I don’t have cable. It’s just too expensive. I had it for awhile, but with cable, internet, and the phone service they offered, I was paying around $150 a month. It was insane, and there were only a few channels that I ever watched anyway! So I had it turned off, and got a traditional landline and DSL internet for less than $60 a month. It’s great, and my son barely misses the TV at all. We play games and he reads books, and for the shows that he really likes, I buy him the seasons on DVD so he can watch them over and over whenever he wants to.
Roses last blog post..Cheap Foods
September 10th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I never had cable until I married. And at first we used to only have the basic channels, until our neighbor mowed over our cable line and Kevin went out to fix it and discovered the scrambler fell off. We then discovered we could watch the Sopranos in the garage on Sunday nights - years ago. We become so addicted we now have the premium channels in our house with 3 DVRs. I’d love to toss all of the TVs, but my husband won’t hear of it. I applaud all of you non-cable subscribers. Don’t ever cave!!
Amys last blog post..I’m NOT Saving a Dime
September 10th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Yep, we match. No cable, and a weakness for hulu.com
September 10th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
I watch more things from the show’s sites than from network tv. But I only just discovered hulu and I love it. *sigh* I just wish I’d found it earlier. There are so many random gems…besides the shows.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Emily, I’ve been on both sides of this. A few years ago we went to visit a church friend, and I was absolutely gobsmacked that she had 4 kids and NO CABLE - I mean, I had one and couldn’t survive without Noggin! But back in July we gave DirecTV what I like to call the “one finger salute” and bought some converter boxes for our 2 tv’s, along with a set of rabbit ears. It’s wierd, all of the sudden I had time on my hands! And my kid and I started doing things together (how exotic!). We love the library for movies, and fortunately we can still pull in PBS pretty well (PBS Kids, can I get a witness?). ASs of yet, we haven’t tried to watch TV online - it’s hard enough to pry me away from my blog and RSS reader - but our favorite TV show is starting it’s new season in the next few days and we may have to explore that option.
I’m off to check that out now.
Emilys last blog post..Thermos Lunch
September 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
thanks for the replies everyone! @rachel, you’ve sort of shattered my illusion that there are hundreds of people around the world waiting at their reader with bated breath for my new posts
September 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am
he he! sorry!
September 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Yet another cable-free household.
I think that we may use this digital-conversion thing as the impetus to toss the television altogether. Right now we get one station (ABC) in clear and PBS comes in fuzzy. The kids watch a show on PBS a few times a week.
It is taking all of my willpower not to click over to Hulu and Miro right now. I really don’t need that kind of temptation in my life — as if the internet wasn’t already too much of a time suck…
warillevers last blog post..The Lamest Unplugged Post
September 12th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
No cable, no high speed internet and I’m avoiding site slike Hula and Miro, I’d never get anywork done.
I did have cable for a bout 2 years, it came with the apartment I rented.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I haven’t had cable for a few years. The time when I got tired of paying for cable and the time when YouTube started to take off ended up coinciding fairly well.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
We are a cable-free household as well. I too have momentary longings to just veg on the couch in front of something mind-numbingly entertaining. Then, in a hotel or somewhere out and about– they have televisions playing everywhere, have you noticed that?– I’ll get a glimpse of some horrifying show, or advertisement and remember I am not missing a thing. Nonetheless, I will have to try to resist the urge to look up hulu.
betsys last blog post..Stunned and humbled
September 16th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Sounds like there are lots of us without cable. I don’t have a TV either. What I do have is a dvd player and a digital projector. I bought it during my far less frugal days. I knew I wanted to watch dvds, but we were in such a tiny cottage that there was no room for a TV to watch them on. (We haven’t watched TV itself for about 15 years.) I don’t know if a digital projector could ever be justified as a frugal option, but I can say two things about having one of these instead of a TV: you will never be tempted to pay for cable, since you’ll have no way of watching it, and since the projector can only be used when it’s dark out, you won’t find yourself frittering away daylight hours because you have one.
Kate@Living the Frugal Lifes last blog post..Harvest Meal: Garden Pizza
September 16th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Nope! Not alone. We don’t even have a TV, let alone cable. People sometimes look at us like we just dropped out of the sky wearing tin foil hats when they hear that we don’t have a television and they feel so bad for us, like not owning a TV is a horrible disease. But it’s fine! We like it.
Lauras last blog post..Things I Learned from SkyMall Magazine
September 17th, 2008 at 7:52 am
[...] Life Without Cable TV [...]
September 17th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I don’t own a television, either. Or have internet at home. I had a TV for many years and watched it a lot. Amazing Race, Nanny 911, Big Loser, Wife Swap, etc., one anesthetically segueing into another. I tapered off very gradually and one day I unplugged it to clean under it and didn’t bother to plug it back in. Pretty soon, it became a gargantuan dust collector and space eater, so I sold it. Now, at home I have a laptop, so the shows I watch on it are beloved ones I buy off iTunes or Netflix movies. I love staying in hotels because the minute I walk in the room, I turn on the TV and click through all the channels. It’s so exciting. Then after a couple of hours, I get bored and cut it off. Then I cut it back on later to suck in all that stimulation while I have the chance, then get bored again…
September 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
We cancelled our cable since early this year and so far so good. Sometimes I do miss not having the cable, but the shows are endlessly repeated.
And hulu.com seems to be only for you lucky (or unlucky…hehe) US people.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
@fathersez is correct. The site hulu.com is only available to those with IP addresses in the USA. No hulu for this Canadian girl.
I too don’t have cable.
Squawkfoxs last blog post..Reasons to Build and Love an Emergency Fund
September 20th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
[...] Life Without Cable TV : Remodeling This Life [...]
September 21st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
No cable, no antennae, since 1990 or so. No TV watching.
I do use the old TV for watching library movies tho on occassion.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
No cable here. We down load shows when we find something we like. We have friends who buy the DVDs of all kinds of shows. We borrow those. Elizabeth. I am totaly the same way when we stay in hotels. I think I’d pay for tv if I could just get the stations I want and nothing else, Discovery is the big one.
October 3rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I just wrote a post on my blog about this topic……cable is indeed becoming an arrogant dinasour….I watch HULU and subscribe to the “Fan Pages” (100 different TV shows) on Plaxo…..
Franks last blog post..Is Cable TV A Dinasour?