Life without Cable - an update

While I'm sitting at the computer and am apparently in a chatty mood in a typing kind of way (did that just make any sense), I wanted to also give an update on our life without cable television. We cut the cable about 2 1/2 months ago Cutting the Cable, and I can honestly say it has been WONDERFUL! I was nervous, because I love watching TV, and up until 2 1/2 months ago, my TV was on pretty much all the time - sometimes even when I was asleep at night. The background noise from it was a comfort to me, especially if I was home alone.

I'll admit, the first week was a little tough. The house felt so quiet to me, and I felt kind of thrown off the normal routine without having my beloved random shows playing. I really did get used to it quickly, and I have to say so many good things have come from it. My whole family is watching much less TV per week, and I can see a change in how much more I am getting done each week as a result. I think having to make a conscious effort to decide what shows/episodes to pick to view is making us much more selective of our TV time. My daughter and I have also created a bonding time for us once a week where we cuddle up, eat some cheetos (yes - more junk food), watch the newest episodes of her favorite shows and laugh together. Loving every minute of it!

Before I start sounding like my family is SO terrific with our diminished TV time and we're oh so busy doing more important things I will make a confession. There are, of course, other electronics in the house, and the hubby still loves his XBox, the little one stills spends a little too much time playing games on either the XBox or her Kindle, and I still love wasting some time each day on Pinterest. But, I can say that for myself specifically, I have definitely reduced my computer time and have used that time to get back to other hobbies that I enjoy and have even managed to find time to start reading again.

How did we do it? We have a monthly subscription to Netflix streaming plan for $8/month. They actually have quite a few TV show options available. We've even discovered a few shows that we never watched until now. If you want even more options or more recent movies available, you can also add the DVD plan, but we really haven't needed it yet. Once we catch up on some of these series that we haven't watched before, we might add the DVDs for even more content, but even if we do, it's just another $8/month. $16/month is not too shabby compared to the $85 we were paying for cable (and we still had the streaming Netflix at that time, so really $93). We have many options for watching the Netflix either through the smart TV, the XBox, computer, Kindle Fire or the Apple TV.

What about new episodes of our favorite shows? Most major networks show the most recent episodes on their websites a day or so after they air, so I have one of two choices. If it is just me watching - such as my weekly fix of Pretty Little Liars. (I know, I know, I probably shouldn't admit that I am addicted to that show, but I am SO into it! Dying for the new season to start already!) I just watch it on my computer via the website. If it's something that I want to watch on the TV (like new episodes of New Girl with the hubby, so we can laugh together at Schmidt's obnoxious antics), that's where the Apple TV comes in. There is a feature called  Airplay Mirroring - whatever I am playing on my computer will show on the TV screen, so I simply play the episode on the website on my computer and it plays on the TV too, so we can all see it. On a side note - DO NOT waste your money on hulu plus. They have very little content and what they do have expires fairly quickly. I don't recommend it at all! You can still use the regular free hulu which is similar, although I haven't really needed it.

I could see this being difficult if you're a sports lover, but no one in my household is, so we're alright. We're also not big news watchers, but once again, there are websites for the local new stations too that are kept updated.

Whew....that was a long post! I've just had several people ask me how we're living without a cable subscription, so...there it is!