My company has cut my monthly pay by $300 and change until and including June. So, the first thing to go was the $50 per month TV signal from Dish Network.
We’ll see how we do, but i’m fairly certain we’ll be ok with out the TV.
So, what do you non TV watchers do? I’ll get caught up on a bunch of books i’m in the middle of. I’m thinking about reading the kids (4 and 6) an age appropriate novel, any suggestions?
So, as longs as I don’t blow another transmission, or have the IRS come knocking again, i’m good.
5 years ago I got rid of my t.v and picked up the violin. I don’t miss the t.v at all. Of course I still can’t play well but I have learned a lot about music and now easily occupy my evenings with it.
The only show I missed was Seinfeld (I had already seen every episode a few times though) and the odd sports event but no comparison with what I have gained.
If you’re like me, the only thing you actually miss is sports. And then you can always go to friend’s houses or find them online. I don’t have any urge to get mine back and it’s been about 8 months.
We pretty much do this every year at this time. We get rid of all the pay channels, and only have the the basic basic stuff. Aside from some initial grumbling from the kids, its a great time to get rid of distractions and get back to center. Since your kids are younger, a family story time is a great idea. Got any games?
Games? we have lots of kid games activities etc they do, tons of board games, which we already play so this will be an easy transistion. They’re at that age, where they’d rather sit and play a game than watch TV anyway. Honestly they don’t watch a lot of TV not even everyday, but they have their favorite shows. My 6 yo was a little tore up about it, but hasn’t said boo since.
The wife is calling today to cancel. We talked about it last year, i just couldn’t pull myself to do it. Some days, i just like to veg and watch the tube.
All in all it’ll be a good thing, missing the $300 isn’t good, but thats temporary (i hope).
Check out what kind of reception you get from TV without cable. I have heard that the quality of the signal with the switch to digital is going to make the need to cable obsolete for any tv stations that broadcast over the air. You should be able to get the basic channels for free whenever you want a little dose of vegging on the couch.
Without ACC basketball I would die. I don’t watch anything other than sports and the odd Good Eats episode. We have Dish, but with my newly installed antenna I pick up 29 channels OTA. And I live in the middle of nowhere.
We haven’t had cable or dish for ~10 years. Family game nights are really fun. Interestingly, ~1/2 our friends either don’t have TV’s or don’t have cable. BTW, if you don’t want to go cold turkey, you might want to see if an antenna will pick up many stations. Also, many shows can be seen via internet (we semi-regularly watch the Daily Show).
You may get local channels via rabbit ears and >>>> https://www.dtv2009.gov/ <<<< a converter box from our federal friends they will pay you to watch them.
We are in the digital age now, you will be surprised how many channels are digitally broadcast over the air for free. In the Los Angeles area, we probably have about 40-50 channels including all the ITU Triathlons, Ironman World Championships, and countless bike tours. There are 12 different PBS station channels now.
Get an Apple TV. Whats on cable can be found on a podcast. Plus you can get a hack which will let the Apple TV bring in more content. And you can rent movies in HD seamlessly.
I have been dish free for two years now and had dish TV since it first started. I never go to the video rental store either. The DVD player is hardly ever used.
If you have an HDTV, then OTA signals are pretty good with the right antenna. If not, then the converter boxes are pretty cheap.
As someone else said, get a Wii.
If you must have something, get a Netflix subscription and get the DVDs of TV shows.
Sites like Hulu.com or iTunes have shows. Hulu is free but iTunes you have to pay for episodes.
A lot of cable stations will stream their shows online. I’m pretty sure that The Daily Show is online for someone who said that they miss Jon Stewart.
80% of the shows that I watch now are on the regular networks. The only ones that aren’t are Burn Notice and Battlestar Galactica. I can get both of those from other means.
I have DirecTV, but once my roommates are gone, I’m dropping it and using the above methods if I have to watch TV. A lot of times, I just turn it on and sit down and really watch nothing for hours.
The biggest help for me, as far as getting away from the tube, has been 1) embracing the lifestyle of training, and 2) discovering how much my son loves reading with me in the evening.
Oh, and then there’s also those darn internet forums!
We have a Wii. It’ll get used. I’m not talking about not watching any TV at all, just the programming from Dish Network and the $50 bill per month will go.
We’ll still have a movie night for the kids every now and then.
I put in for a DTV converter a couple months ago, but now on a waiting list because funding ran out. No big deal.
Since i live in rural michigan we don’t have the internet at home. It seems that most major carriers are 1/4 mile away in different directions but wont drop a line. The local Wi-max company has a bad reputation for crummy service (and high prices).
**1) If you have an HDTV, then OTA signals are pretty good with the right antenna. If not, then the converter boxes are pretty cheap. **
Agreed, i’ve seen them a relative’s house. Not to shabby compared to my childhood 2) As someone else said, get a Wii.
Got one
3) If you must have something, get a Netflix subscription and get the DVDs of TV shows.
4) Sites like Hulu.com or iTunes have shows. Hulu is free but iTunes you have to pay for episodes.
Trying to save money here.
5) A lot of cable stations will stream their shows online. I’m pretty sure that The Daily Show is online for someone who said that they miss Jon Stewart.
**6) 80% of the shows that I watch now are on the regular networks. The only ones that aren’t are Burn Notice and Battlestar Galactica. I can get both of those from other means. **
Oddly enough, i didn’t watch to much if any regular television - Food network, HGTV, Discovery, History, Spike for a good MMA match now and then.
I got rid of the DISH a few months ago… and dont miss it. I did get Netflix… the cheapest one which is like 4.99 per month. So now if I watch tv, its something that I actually want to watch. And I can watch a season of Dexter in a week, vs over a year. I also got rid of the internet at home. I have it at work, and not being tied in all the time, is actually kind of freeing…
Face it, there is not much on tv thats worth watching, anyway. With the converter box I get 4 PBS channels, the networks, some weather channels… thats more than enough.