We have a TV but ditched cable about 2 years ago. At first it was really hard for me. DH never really watched much TV so it wasn't hard for him. We only get PBS with our rabbit ears. It really has been liberating. I have 2 small kids so I barely have time to watch anyway. My co-workers think I'm crazy and don't know how I live without it. But when I hear them talking about how much time they spend in front of it and how much they pay for cable and DVR in every room it just amazes me. I still watch some TV. My toddler and I watch Sesame Street together twice a week and I sometimes watch TV on the Internet (I'm embarrassingly addicted to Ugly Betty). It's my one trashy, stupid TV show addiction. I don't know that I'd ever be able to go totally TV free but I don't know that I'll ever go back to having cable.
We own one TV in our home. And actually it is the only one we have ever purchased, as our previous set was given to us by my mother when she bought a new one. We only use ours to watch DVDs from the library, and Netflix.
We do not have cable, and cannot pick up any stations on an antenna (rabbit ears) unless we put up a 30 - 40 foot tower on the house.
And I'm not ashamed to admit it. Do I let it rule my life? Absolutely not. I own an inexpensive DVD burner and I record the shows I want and watch them on my own time without commercials. I'm also a multi-tasker... I can't sit in front of the TV without writing, drawing, knitting or sewing (or something), so I'm not turning into a vegetable.
For those of you who might say I can watch TV on the Internet... I can't. I've tried. The things I want to watch aren't always available online where I live. Believe it or not, my Canadian IP address excludes me from a lot of content, whether I want to watch it online or buy it in iTunes.
I own a physical set. I canceled my cable a few months back. My internet was actually $15 a month more expensive without TV! So I turned the cable back on just to save money on my internet.
Sometimes I watch TV, but very rarely. I do watch shows on the internet though. I've been watching The Wire. I'm waiting for Lost to start back up. Other than that I don't really care about TV for all the reasons you mentioned.
I am 24 years old and I had a TV in my room since I was a young kid. I rememeber friends being jelious that I had such a huge TV in my room when I was in middleschool. Back then I thought it was great and I loved movies and that is the reason why Back to the Future is my favorite movie of all times. When I was younger and got sick mom would sit me down in front of the TV and I would litterally watch Back to the Future all day long, I loved it!
Back to today, and really even most recently, I just would rather be doing something else than watch TV. My father still owns the world record of recorded tapes, and now DVD's he records and I gave him my 32" TV from my room before I sort of moved out and into my girlfriend parents house. She bought a 42" LCD and when we first started dating we would have movie night at least once a week (this was 8 months ago) and now she can barely get me to sit in front of the TV. Her parents (I feel) are ruining their lives with TV, I feel like all they want to do is come home from work and watch TV.
Sure I watch video on the computer, I am watching Dan Gilbert's "Why are we so happy? Why aren't we happy? from the TED talks trying to find a section about how TV comotoses you within the first few seconds of watching it; now that I am watching it apparently I am thinking of another video however this is a great one too.
Anyway I digress, to be honest with you I could easily live without TV, read a book or work on a hobby, or find out something you can do more uniquly than anyone else in the world and make money doing it. It's all possible and its better then wasting one's life away in front of a TV.
I have mentioned free alternatives as often as possible -- if the alternatives didn't work, then I have gone to options that cost money -- too bad for me.
You can see how healthcare is a huge issue in the USA. I am trying to avoid the cost of medications to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes; surgery for joint replacement; surgeries and drug treatment for cancer, which can run from $100 per month to $50,000 or more for initial treatment with additional costs for follow-up. Genetic make-up plays a significant role in developing these diseases but so do controllable factors. I have learned, though, that cardio rehab fees can be less expensive than gym costs but I am pretty sure I have to have a heart attack to get in.
I don't watch much TV and never really did as a kid. DH and DS (6) always have the TV on. As a matter of fact, DH will walk in a room and turn the TV on like a bad habit. Sometimes he just turns it on and it just stays on the cable 'welcome' screen. To me sitting in front of the TV on a beautiful day is depressing. We have 4 TVs in our home and spend so much money on cable but I can't get DH to change his habits. I would say he is addicted. He comes home from work and watches. He has his list of shows to watch. I watch when I'm done my chores and am too tired to read. I use cable for the music channels.
Even before that we didn't watch much. We still have a tv, but it's only for watching movies we get from the library. (I won't pay $ to rent a dvd/video.)
I'll be laughing at you when you are broke when the Greater Depression is in full swing.
You suffer from affluenza and snobbery. You say you won't give up some things. Well, obviously you need some help.
Internet access can be free if you know how to get it. Why pay now?
Good food is cheap, if you shop wisely and don't fall for snob appeal..
Fitness is free, Just do it! You don't need the crap you use.
Health Insurance is Government sponsored. Ooops...You Yanks have to pay for that, don't you? You were born in the wrong country.
Cancer Screenings? Self-exams are free. Feel yourself up in the shower.
Dental students work cheap.Try brushing more. And floss.
Read the book, eat a sandwich, stay at home.Why pay to be pretentious?
Let your kids make their own fun. Feed their imagination.
Chocolate makes you fat. Wine? Are you an Alcoholic? Tap water is just as good.
Annual Vacation? Working holidays work for me.
Excellent points! I agree -- you can give up some things in this economy, but living the life of a pauper will make your miserable in short order. Your Dad has it right: existing is one thing, but living is something that is entirely different: bring on the wine and the chocolate!
No TV here either. Our kids grew up without TV because we felt that there were better things to do with their time. We had one for a few years after they were grown up but got rid of it again when we realized how costly it was in terms of time and money. Life is back to being our own once again!
We have never had a TV in the 20 years we have been married. Our three teenage children seem to cope well without it. They seem to absorb popular culture through the Internet and newspapers. Commercial TV is fundamentally an advertising tool. I just couldn't stand the noise in the corner of our family room. The other point is that we don't have any time slots in our lives to watch it.
funny you should discuss this subject just now. I was off work last week and spent a day just veging out infront of the telly after not watching it for about 6 years. It was a real shock to the system! Made me remember just why I stopped watching it.
Like most people here I do watch shows I have downloaded, but never in front of a telly. I usually put them on my iPhone so I can watch them when I would otherwise be wasting time like commuting to work.
My name's link goes to a page about low-impact cleaners and why they work. Baking soda is a little alkaline (like lye) and that causes it to rip proteins apart. What's in the grout stains? Proteins.
While I have good control over the time I watch TV(mainly sports, English premier league), my wife seems addicted to TV serials. The only way to get her out seems to be abandoning TV, so I am not planning to buy another TV if this stops working.
Great post. Echoes my sentiments. I've been doing my best to persuade my wife to have tv-free evenings, and only watch tv deliberately - when there is a specific show we want to watch. For me thats only one or two shows a week.
I've found that having a tv in the room is like having a third person in the middle of your relationship. A friend of mine even calls TV the "one-eyed god", which people worship every evening.
I have not had a tv either for about 4 and a half years. I had a couple other reasons for kicking the habit.
1. No Propaganda! Their is ridiculous amounts of ads on TV always trying to sell you stuff but the worst is any news that seems to be on the TV is incredibly worthless and misleading.
2. Much more productive. I remember reading that the average American spends something like 3-4 hours watching TV a day. Think of all the more interesting things you could be doing during that time. For example, if you took 3-4 hours a day to learn a language you should be able to speak a new level 1 foreign language in 6-12 months.
Not to say that there is nothing good on TV but you can always get the one or two things you want to see off of the internet.
We haven't had cable in the 7 years we've been married. We haven't had the TV setup for the past 2, and for the 5 before that it was strictly for DVDs and tapes. Last year we gave away the TV entirely. The only time we have ever wanted it was within the past month. And then: just for the debates.
We now have hours and hours of our lives back for our son, our respective writing, cooking, photography, and ... well ... everything else.
...since reading the book "Better Off" by Eric Brende. The author lived with the Amish for a year. The book is basically about where the balance with technology lies; which types enrich our lives and which types actually impair them.
We do watch a few TV shows online, but that ends up being one show we watch together per week and a show that DH watches on Sunday morning while I sleep in. For news we listen to NPR. Honestly, with all the shows you can find online, I'm surprised most people still pay for cable. You can even find the Presidential debates in their entirety online.
One plus to not owning a TV that you didn't mention, you save a lot of money when you never see ads for stuff. I have no desire to go out and buy the latest thing, because usually I don't know it exists. I imagine the savings would be even higher if we had kids.
Wow. It's a real trend, to not have a TV, but watch some shows on the internet or DVD. I grew up watching lots and lots of tv, but stopped really watching in 1988, and stopped owning a tv around 1994, but still watch with others. The shows are so confusing, lately. They seem to be better than in the past, though. Sometimes, I watch sports, even though I don't know any sports stats, because the plotline is pretty simple. For a while, I tried downloading pirated shows, but couldn't really muster much enthusiasm for it after a few months. I really enjoy video websites, though. Now, I'm living with my friend for a while, and he watches cable tv all the time. It's interesting, but some of these political shows and the nightly news are depressing.
I come to this website to read about saving money without scrimping yourself out of all of the good things in life, so I thought your post was perfect! Keep up the good work!
My parents gave me a tv when I was 13. I had that tv until I was about 22, and I gave it to someone when I moved across the country. Since then I have only owned a tv when a roommate left it in my house, and even then, not for a few years.
My mom doesn't understand what a person can do with their time if they don't have a tv. She came to visit and was worrying about how I didn't have a tv. What would she DO!? So I said, if someone would deliver a tv to my house for under 40ish bucks, and it would make my mom feel better, I'd do it.
Well, craigslist had an ad for a FREE TV with delivery. A lovely guy who wanted to keep the old tv out of the landfill brought me one. I have watched it only a few times (Heroes season premiere) and I use it once in a while for video games. I think if I had cable I would sit around and watch it a lot, but I don't have cable. I kind of have no patience for just sitting and watching a show.
I do watch a LOT of tv online and on dvd while doing other stuff though.
We have a TV but ditched cable about 2 years ago. At first it was really hard for me. DH never really watched much TV so it wasn't hard for him. We only get PBS with our rabbit ears. It really has been liberating. I have 2 small kids so I barely have time to watch anyway. My co-workers think I'm crazy and don't know how I live without it. But when I hear them talking about how much time they spend in front of it and how much they pay for cable and DVR in every room it just amazes me. I still watch some TV. My toddler and I watch Sesame Street together twice a week and I sometimes watch TV on the Internet (I'm embarrassingly addicted to Ugly Betty). It's my one trashy, stupid TV show addiction. I don't know that I'd ever be able to go totally TV free but I don't know that I'll ever go back to having cable.
For anyone wondering the reasoning behind Julie's "snobbery" (If you knew Julie as a person you would no doubt be apologizing profusely)...
see my theory of Apples and Oranges . And I have been without food AND toilet paper in my lifetime...
Linsey Knerl
Wise Bread
We own one TV in our home. And actually it is the only one we have ever purchased, as our previous set was given to us by my mother when she bought a new one. We only use ours to watch DVDs from the library, and Netflix.
We do not have cable, and cannot pick up any stations on an antenna (rabbit ears) unless we put up a 30 - 40 foot tower on the house.
And I'm not ashamed to admit it. Do I let it rule my life? Absolutely not. I own an inexpensive DVD burner and I record the shows I want and watch them on my own time without commercials. I'm also a multi-tasker... I can't sit in front of the TV without writing, drawing, knitting or sewing (or something), so I'm not turning into a vegetable.
For those of you who might say I can watch TV on the Internet... I can't. I've tried. The things I want to watch aren't always available online where I live. Believe it or not, my Canadian IP address excludes me from a lot of content, whether I want to watch it online or buy it in iTunes.
I own a physical set. I canceled my cable a few months back. My internet was actually $15 a month more expensive without TV! So I turned the cable back on just to save money on my internet.
Sometimes I watch TV, but very rarely. I do watch shows on the internet though. I've been watching The Wire. I'm waiting for Lost to start back up. Other than that I don't really care about TV for all the reasons you mentioned.
www.goingcarless.com
I am 24 years old and I had a TV in my room since I was a young kid. I rememeber friends being jelious that I had such a huge TV in my room when I was in middleschool. Back then I thought it was great and I loved movies and that is the reason why Back to the Future is my favorite movie of all times. When I was younger and got sick mom would sit me down in front of the TV and I would litterally watch Back to the Future all day long, I loved it!
Back to today, and really even most recently, I just would rather be doing something else than watch TV. My father still owns the world record of recorded tapes, and now DVD's he records and I gave him my 32" TV from my room before I sort of moved out and into my girlfriend parents house. She bought a 42" LCD and when we first started dating we would have movie night at least once a week (this was 8 months ago) and now she can barely get me to sit in front of the TV. Her parents (I feel) are ruining their lives with TV, I feel like all they want to do is come home from work and watch TV.
Sure I watch video on the computer, I am watching Dan Gilbert's "Why are we so happy? Why aren't we happy? from the TED talks trying to find a section about how TV comotoses you within the first few seconds of watching it; now that I am watching it apparently I am thinking of another video however this is a great one too.
Anyway I digress, to be honest with you I could easily live without TV, read a book or work on a hobby, or find out something you can do more uniquly than anyone else in the world and make money doing it. It's all possible and its better then wasting one's life away in front of a TV.
I have mentioned free alternatives as often as possible -- if the alternatives didn't work, then I have gone to options that cost money -- too bad for me.
You can see how healthcare is a huge issue in the USA. I am trying to avoid the cost of medications to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes; surgery for joint replacement; surgeries and drug treatment for cancer, which can run from $100 per month to $50,000 or more for initial treatment with additional costs for follow-up. Genetic make-up plays a significant role in developing these diseases but so do controllable factors. I have learned, though, that cardio rehab fees can be less expensive than gym costs but I am pretty sure I have to have a heart attack to get in.
I don't watch much TV and never really did as a kid. DH and DS (6) always have the TV on. As a matter of fact, DH will walk in a room and turn the TV on like a bad habit. Sometimes he just turns it on and it just stays on the cable 'welcome' screen. To me sitting in front of the TV on a beautiful day is depressing. We have 4 TVs in our home and spend so much money on cable but I can't get DH to change his habits. I would say he is addicted. He comes home from work and watches. He has his list of shows to watch. I watch when I'm done my chores and am too tired to read. I use cable for the music channels.
Even before that we didn't watch much. We still have a tv, but it's only for watching movies we get from the library. (I won't pay $ to rent a dvd/video.)
I'll be laughing at you when you are broke when the Greater Depression is in full swing.
You suffer from affluenza and snobbery. You say you won't give up some things. Well, obviously you need some help.
Internet access can be free if you know how to get it. Why pay now?
Good food is cheap, if you shop wisely and don't fall for snob appeal..
Fitness is free, Just do it! You don't need the crap you use.
Health Insurance is Government sponsored. Ooops...You Yanks have to pay for that, don't you? You were born in the wrong country.
Cancer Screenings? Self-exams are free. Feel yourself up in the shower.
Dental students work cheap.Try brushing more. And floss.
Read the book, eat a sandwich, stay at home.Why pay to be pretentious?
Let your kids make their own fun. Feed their imagination.
Chocolate makes you fat. Wine? Are you an Alcoholic? Tap water is just as good.
Annual Vacation? Working holidays work for me.
Excellent points! I agree -- you can give up some things in this economy, but living the life of a pauper will make your miserable in short order. Your Dad has it right: existing is one thing, but living is something that is entirely different: bring on the wine and the chocolate!
No TV here either. Our kids grew up without TV because we felt that there were better things to do with their time. We had one for a few years after they were grown up but got rid of it again when we realized how costly it was in terms of time and money. Life is back to being our own once again!
silly woman
she doesnt have toilet paper on the list
quite clearly she is stil rolling in dough
We have never had a TV in the 20 years we have been married. Our three teenage children seem to cope well without it. They seem to absorb popular culture through the Internet and newspapers. Commercial TV is fundamentally an advertising tool. I just couldn't stand the noise in the corner of our family room. The other point is that we don't have any time slots in our lives to watch it.
funny you should discuss this subject just now. I was off work last week and spent a day just veging out infront of the telly after not watching it for about 6 years. It was a real shock to the system! Made me remember just why I stopped watching it.
Like most people here I do watch shows I have downloaded, but never in front of a telly. I usually put them on my iPhone so I can watch them when I would otherwise be wasting time like commuting to work.
My name's link goes to a page about low-impact cleaners and why they work. Baking soda is a little alkaline (like lye) and that causes it to rip proteins apart. What's in the grout stains? Proteins.
While I have good control over the time I watch TV(mainly sports, English premier league), my wife seems addicted to TV serials. The only way to get her out seems to be abandoning TV, so I am not planning to buy another TV if this stops working.
Just for information.
Thank you.
Great post. Echoes my sentiments. I've been doing my best to persuade my wife to have tv-free evenings, and only watch tv deliberately - when there is a specific show we want to watch. For me thats only one or two shows a week.
I've found that having a tv in the room is like having a third person in the middle of your relationship. A friend of mine even calls TV the "one-eyed god", which people worship every evening.
I have not had a tv either for about 4 and a half years. I had a couple other reasons for kicking the habit.
1. No Propaganda! Their is ridiculous amounts of ads on TV always trying to sell you stuff but the worst is any news that seems to be on the TV is incredibly worthless and misleading.
2. Much more productive. I remember reading that the average American spends something like 3-4 hours watching TV a day. Think of all the more interesting things you could be doing during that time. For example, if you took 3-4 hours a day to learn a language you should be able to speak a new level 1 foreign language in 6-12 months.
Not to say that there is nothing good on TV but you can always get the one or two things you want to see off of the internet.
We haven't had cable in the 7 years we've been married. We haven't had the TV setup for the past 2, and for the 5 before that it was strictly for DVDs and tapes. Last year we gave away the TV entirely. The only time we have ever wanted it was within the past month. And then: just for the debates.
We now have hours and hours of our lives back for our son, our respective writing, cooking, photography, and ... well ... everything else.
...since reading the book "Better Off" by Eric Brende. The author lived with the Amish for a year. The book is basically about where the balance with technology lies; which types enrich our lives and which types actually impair them.
We do watch a few TV shows online, but that ends up being one show we watch together per week and a show that DH watches on Sunday morning while I sleep in. For news we listen to NPR. Honestly, with all the shows you can find online, I'm surprised most people still pay for cable. You can even find the Presidential debates in their entirety online.
One plus to not owning a TV that you didn't mention, you save a lot of money when you never see ads for stuff. I have no desire to go out and buy the latest thing, because usually I don't know it exists. I imagine the savings would be even higher if we had kids.
Wow. It's a real trend, to not have a TV, but watch some shows on the internet or DVD. I grew up watching lots and lots of tv, but stopped really watching in 1988, and stopped owning a tv around 1994, but still watch with others. The shows are so confusing, lately. They seem to be better than in the past, though. Sometimes, I watch sports, even though I don't know any sports stats, because the plotline is pretty simple. For a while, I tried downloading pirated shows, but couldn't really muster much enthusiasm for it after a few months. I really enjoy video websites, though. Now, I'm living with my friend for a while, and he watches cable tv all the time. It's interesting, but some of these political shows and the nightly news are depressing.
I come to this website to read about saving money without scrimping yourself out of all of the good things in life, so I thought your post was perfect! Keep up the good work!
My parents gave me a tv when I was 13. I had that tv until I was about 22, and I gave it to someone when I moved across the country. Since then I have only owned a tv when a roommate left it in my house, and even then, not for a few years.
My mom doesn't understand what a person can do with their time if they don't have a tv. She came to visit and was worrying about how I didn't have a tv. What would she DO!? So I said, if someone would deliver a tv to my house for under 40ish bucks, and it would make my mom feel better, I'd do it.
Well, craigslist had an ad for a FREE TV with delivery. A lovely guy who wanted to keep the old tv out of the landfill brought me one. I have watched it only a few times (Heroes season premiere) and I use it once in a while for video games. I think if I had cable I would sit around and watch it a lot, but I don't have cable. I kind of have no patience for just sitting and watching a show.
I do watch a LOT of tv online and on dvd while doing other stuff though.