Friday, May 10, 2013

Living Like a Cavewoman

You might as well call me Wilma Flinstone because I am living like a cavewoman.... 
...about two months ago Jason and I cancelled our cable. 

Originally, it wasn't intentional. We decided to make the switch from Comcast to DirectTV so we canceled our cable and set up an appointment to get new cable re-installed. What we didn't realize is that our townhouse association doesn't let us put satellites on our roof and our balcony faces the wrong direction to pick up the DirectTV (and Dish Network) signal. 

After a couple of days living without cable we decided to just take some time off. If you know me, you know that this decision was a BIG deal! "Let's just live without cable" coming from the girl who had to get a second DVR to have space for all of the shows she recorded. Needless to say, I didn't think I'd survive without my DVR, but here we are two months later and I'm still breathing!

And, in fact, I kind of LOVE not having cable. Jason and I are so much more productive. We spend more time together in a capacity other than in front of the TV. Plus, we get so much done! Instead of vegging out on the weekends we actually clean the house, or go for family walks or get out and about. We've also been eating all of our meals at the kitchen table instead of in front of the TV...it's pretty wonderful! 

We have a Playstation 3 and have both Netflix and Hulu subscriptions to keep us entertained and we also bought a connection for our iPad so that we can stream sporting events from the iPad to the TV. So we're not complete Cavepeople. I'm considering getting rid of Hulu though....I've only watched it once in the past two months and it kind of drives me crazy. What are your thoughts on Hulu?

Sometimes it's inconvenient and sometimes I do really miss some of the shows I used to watch but saving all that money every month and having all that extra time to spend with my family is really great. We both agreed that we will probably need to get cable before football season starts but at least for the summer we'll be without it and it's pretty liberating! 

17 comments:

Nikki said...

Thats awesome! I have cable and I am considering getting rid of it for the reason that I am NEVER home to watch it so. And when I am home and have the TV on its for background music. Go figure!

Jillian said...

I haven't had cable in months but I do have netflix (the canadian version) and love it. I find that I don't watch much of anything anymore I do watch a few shows online but I'm starting to lose interest in that too. so all power to ya though I wish I had cable for the upcoming cfl season (I love my saskatchewan roughriders) and during the figure skating season

P!nky said...

SO SMART! THat's awesome :)!

Janna C said...

Way to go! We cut the cable last year and are loving how much more productive we are. I would recommend picking up an HDMI receiver (they are under $50), that way you can get all the network channels in HD for free. We use it to watch local news and sports, it's like a fancy version of the old rabbit ears.

Jessica said...

I think it's a great idea!

Jess Beer said...

I couldn't do it, but that's awesome for you guys!

Christelle said...

I've debated doing this, too. I kick myself every month when I give AT&T $150+...THAT'S RIDICULOUS!! I hardly ever watch "live" tv anymore and the stuff I do watch I scold myself over (Real Trash Wives, Teen Mom, etc). But because I live alone, I'm afraid I'd start talking to the walls! HAHAHA!

I'm not sold on Hulu, either. I got it to get caught up on Revenge and just never cancelled it, so now more money wasted on t.v.

Have a great weekend, Kristin!

Sarah @ Life, Love & Dinner said...

As much as I love my trashy TV, this sounds so appealing to me! We pay almost $200 a month for cable and barely have any extra channels! SO annoying. My husband loves sports and I'm afraid this is what will deter him from cancelling. Maybe if I can convince him we need an iPad, he can still get them... Fill me in on hulu!

Kari said...

Good for you guys! This is great! I'm not sure I could do it but Ryan has talked about it a few times. Maybe once Baby Hannay gets here and I don't have time to do anything but eat and sleep and be mama, I won't need cable either. But yes I can't imagine fantasy football without cable... on the other hand... :)

Ruthie Hart said...

Good for you guys! It seems like a lot of people can live on Hulu and Netflix these days... we just arent those people hahah... we got Direct TV about a year ago and are saving so much money compared to what we had, but Jon couldn't live without ESPN or NFL sunday ticket... so I will gladly oblige:-)

Bridget said...

I am so trying to convince my husband to do this...but he CAN'T live without ESPN!!! If we could soomehow ONLY get that channel. I love my shows but would love to not even have the option to watch it since it's just trash anyway!!!

Carolyn said...

I wish I could convince Jake to try this. And I wish that I could break my addiction to television and do this. HAHA!

Erin said...

We are getting rid of DirecTV next month when our 2-year contract is FINALLY up. It's just too expensive, and with Netflix and our ridiculous movie collection we have PLENTY to watch. It will be an adjustment not having all the sports we want, but to save almost $100/month it will be well worth it!

Becky Borgman said...

My hubs and I have been without cable for a few months now. We dropped it because I am pulling back from work now that we have a little one and it was a way to save money. I miss some things about cable, but we got a Leaf antenna and get all network channels in HD. I never realized how many good shows are actually on network TV!

Megan said...

I always think that maybe we should do this too. That's awesome that you guys are going on two months without it. We have Hulu and Netflix as well and I would say the only thing that I do like about Hulu is that they have current episodes within a few days. As to where with Netflix they usually don't, but if you aren't watching it very often, then I would definitely get rid of it too. That's $8 a month back in your pocket.

Jamie Sefcik || Hello Little Scout said...

That really is such a great idea! So much time is spent just watching TV when you really could be doing so much more! Just found your blog, you guys are so cute! Your little girl is so precious! Can't wait to see what else you guys are up to :) Have a great weekend!

xoxo Jamie
www.bnjsefcik.blogspot.com

ajs {of MN} said...

about two months ago i accidentally erased ALL of my recorded shows- we're talking BILLIONS of hours. i thought i was in shock at first, b/c i didn't give a dang care at all... and just kind of sat there, staring like.. what... did... i... just... DOOOOO!!!!

well anyway, i still dont even give a care. i dont have much time for TV anymore and an happy with what i can catch while making dinner and in between watching disney movie after disney movie after disney movie... ;)

on another note, my hubby got "apple tv" for the basement and it's pretty cool!