This week we made a conscience decision to discontinue our cable TV service.
It was an easy decision for Becky and I, but difficult for the kids to absorb.
In this article I will share why we cut the cable and later will share how we were able to adapt and survive. 🙂
Why?
First of all, our cable provider, Charter, decided to go all digital and require setup boxes for each TV in the house.
$6 per month per box! When you have several TVs in the house that adds up. On top of that they increased our cable bill 20% without any heads up or warning at all.
We are budget minded people and do not watch enough TV to justify paying that kind of money for it.
There has always been a no TV rule in our house Monday through Thursdays because of school and with youth activities on Fridays the TV is not used most of the week anyhow. So I made the call and on Monday they came and cut the cable.
Our Charter bill will drop from $185/month to $69.99 per month for just phone and internet. That is over $100 per month in savings!!
Second of all, I actually look forward to seeing how we will adapt.
It feels good in a sense to be one of the weird, abnormal guys without TV service.
Maybe we’ll spend more time outside, playing music or reading.
I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
The most difficult part about cutting the cable will be losing ESPN and Disney. My boys and I enjoy watching college football together on Saturdays and my youngest’ favorite shows are on Disney. We also enjoy the Duck Dynasty series.
When I first broke the news to the kids, it was not taken easily, especially knowing that there are Bowl games coming up and most of them are on ESPN, but sometimes tough decisions have to be made for the better of the household.
I already have some ideas on how to adapt and still be able to catch some sports and Disney shows, but I’ll save that for a future article.
How about you? Do you have cable?
If so, have you ever considered cutting it in order to save money?
I would love to hear from your experiences.
December 4th, 2013 at 10:40 am
I’m right there with you Rick! We cut our money hungry cable carrier years ago and now use Neflix, Redbox, books, and DVD’s as entertainment. Honestly, we don’t miss it, in fact, recently our family went on vacation and had the opportunity to experience cable television again and our children constantly complained their were too many commercials asking if they were necessary. Funny how your perspective changes when a 1:15 minute movie takes 2:30 to watch on cable TV. We don’t miss it! Plus, it gives us a chance to more spend time with family. Good post Rick!
December 4th, 2013 at 11:03 am
That’s funny about your kids and the commercials. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.