It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on life without cable TV. It’s been absolutely fantastic. We’re more productive, happier, and more active without the constant draw of TV.
We still watch a handful for television shows, but they’re all available online the next day at the network’s website. This means we’re more purposeful about what we watch, and we don’t waste time flipping through channels searching for something to watch.
We’ve been so happy without TV that we dragged our feet about setting up the digital converter box for broadcast TV that Kacie at Sense to Save sent me (thanks, Kacie!). We’ve had it for a few weeks, but never got around to picking up an antenna and hooking it all up.
But this weekend my in-laws will be here for the holiday, and my father-in-law is a football fanatic. We wanted to make sure we had network channels set up so he could watch football on Thanksgiving day.
We picked up a standard antenna for about $12. And I have to tell you, I am impressed. From what I remember about antenna-based TV, it was always fuzzy with bad sound or poor picture quality. But this picture is clear as a bell. I doubt we’ll watch much live TV (we prefer to watch it on our own schedule), but for certain live broadcasts like the Oscars and guilty pleasures like American Idol (don’t judge!), I’m happy to have network TV back.
Right now is a better time than ever to ditch your cable. If you’ve never lived without it, just give it a test run. Unplug the TV for a week and see how you feel at the end of it. If you’re feeling healthier, happier, and better, it might be time to give life without cable a shot. And you can still get the news and network broadcasting with a great pictures practically for free.
My dad recently bought a $19 antenna and gets about 20 channels with it, clear as a bell. He is thrilled with it, so I would definitely recommend one of these to anyone looking for a low-cost option for basic TV.
We have cable on our new house because it was cheaper to go with the package deal than have Internet alone (those sly dogs). But, like you, we have a few shows we love to watch (Fringe, The Office) and watch them all online after they’ve aired. We can choose when we want to watch them, and we have to sit through much less advertising. Win-win.
.-= This Thrifted Life´s last blog ..Waste Not Want Not =-.
I applaud all of you non-cable folks, but it’s something I haven’t given up. How do you negotiate internet prices without a bundle?
.-= The Non-Student´s last blog ..Being a Daughter at the Holidays =-.
YAY! I’m glad you set it up. Isn’t it amazing how clear it is? WAY better than those analog days, yuck.
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..Trying out Groupon to potentially save money on local attractions =-.
Non-Student, I wish I knew! Since there is only *one* cable provider in our area, we don’t have a ton of room for negotiation. I wish I could find a good answer to that problem…
.-= This Thrifted Life´s last blog ..Craigslist, how I love thee =-.
With regard to internet prices, you can ask for the slowest, cheapest internet version they have. Ours is $25 for the net, and it’s unadvertised so you have to ask.
When they downgraded us from the $40 speed, I promise you, I could not tell a difference in speeds on my end. I wonder if there really is a change!
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..Trying out Groupon to potentially save money on local attractions =-.