Comments on: Can I Give Up TV?

By: Cricket

Cricket — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:06:00 +0000

I gave up cable TV about 6 months ago. It went pretty well until just recently. I am really missing my Discovery, History, Travel Channel….I used to nap to National Geographic channel programs, and I had DVR’d all my favorite programs on Comedy Network. I’m REALLY starting to miss it something terrible, so I’m going to try to fit Digital Expanded Cable in my budget again. I also really miss my digital music (no commercials). I feel good about giving it up but now that I’ve watched my entire DVD collection about 20 times I’m ready to get cable again. I guess “try it” and if, after 6 months you really really miss it, you can always go back!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:11:00 +0000

I tried to give up TV because I never watch it, but apparently my cable bill is $10 less because it’s bundled. Meaning that if I cancel TV (I just have basic cable anyway and it’s 8.60 or so), my internet goes up by $10. Sheesh .. therefore the TV sits unused, and has for months.

By: Fabulously Broke

Fabulously Broke — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:39:00 +0000

I JUST blogged about the True cost of owning a TV!!

I am so happy I gave it up completely, I don't even miss it and I watch everything I need online

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:30:00 +0000

Don’t forget, you can watch just about any popular TV show online. ABC.com has all the Lost seasons streaming in HD. The quality is great and it is free if you have a broadband internet connection. Checkout all the different networks’ websites to see what shows are online. You may have to watch a show a day after it airs, but it’s worth it, IMO.

By: One Frugal Girl

One Frugal Girl — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:54:00 +0000

Wow! Thank you all for your comments. I'm happy to read that so many of you have given up or cut back on cable and satellite TV.

In case we're not ready to cut the cord entirely it looks like we can reduce our monthly bill from $79.99 a month to $29.99 by downgrading to the family package. That is a great suggestion that will allow us to take baby steps toward the end goal.

Of course, after reading finally frugal's comment I realized that cutting out satellite means cutting out the Colbert Report. A show my husband and I watch on occasion.

So I thought about s.abott's suggestion and looked into purchasing those programs from itunes. It looks like the episodes are a day or two behind, but that will probably do just fine. For $1.99 an episode we could watch 20 episodes a month, (which is more than we'd ever watch), and still pay far less than we do for satellite.

My husband's going to do a little research into the Apple TV and in the mean time we're going to start renting some of my favorite shows on Netflix.

In a month or two I hope to report that we've cut out satellite entirely!

By: Finally Frugal

Finally Frugal — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:00:00 +0000

I gave up cable completely late last year, and I haven’t missed it (okay, well I miss Jon Stewart, but. . . .) It’s saving me $37 a month. Here’s a tip: downgrade first, and see how you like it. I was paying for HD cable first, then downgraded to ‘regular’ cable, decreasing the number of channels I can get. Now I just use an antenna and I get local channels, including the public TV station.

You’ll find that you’ll spend your time in better ways: hanging out with friends and family, taking a class, working out, reading books or magazines. I work two jobs and go to school, and I’m much more productive. I’m not sure I’ll ever pay for cable again (never say never, though. . . .)

By: nklsmom

nklsmom — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:53:00 +0000

I got rid of the high priced directv package. I have the family package for $29.99 a month. This provides my son with Disney and Nick and I can see my “new” shows on the network channels. During the xmas holiday I will get the basic package so I can see my Lifetime movies (I’m addicted) and then change back. Directv had me sign a contract tho so check before you get a $200 termination bill!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:32:00 +0000

When we had cable, I found that all I was watching was the movies on HBO and such. I wasn’t watching many of the TV shows. Instead of my $80 cable bill, I now have $17 for Netflix. It’s worked great for me. Now I get to pick which movies I watch and any TV series’ I like are generally out on DVD soon after the season ends. Plus Netflix now has their on-demand service for movies that you can watch on your PC. I take my laptop and hang out on the couch. That’s not really a solution for sports fans, but if you’re a movie buff, Netflix is awesome.

By: DFWKnitter

DFWKnitter — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:00:00 +0000

We gave up paying for tv when we moved from a apartment to a house. I really thought I would miss the food network, but it is amazing how many channels and shows we can get through our antenna.

The switched has also broken us of the habit of just leaving the tv on in the background all the time. We just watch the shows we want to watch and then turn it off.

Plus, we have gotten great deals on previously rental dvds at places like Movie Trading Company of shows that we like to watch occassionally.

Go for it! You won't regret it.

By: rwt_1980

rwt_1980 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:22:00 +0000

you can get bare-bones basic cable here for like 12 bucks a month…and those channels still tend to have a seinfeld, king of queens, etc.when you need one…we cancel our HD service after the superbowl and then sign back up when college football starts in september…i think it gives our lives a nice balance.