Cutting the Cord
A couple years ago, I decided to cut out Cable TV for a couple of reasons:
- First, I was trying to get out of debt and we decided that at over $1000 a year, cable was a luxury we could live without.
- Second, I often found myself mesmerized in front of the tube, hours after I sat down on the couch, unaware of where the time had gone or what I had even watched.
The fateful day was a bittersweet moment. I was entering an unknown realm without the security of an old friend. At the same time, I finally got to stick it to the company who constantly irritated me by leaving technical problems unfixed and keeping me on hold.
I sat on the couch and asked: “Now what do I do?”
1) XM Radio
The first thing I did to get re-connected was set up an XM Radio. My local bank was offering free radios for opening up a checking account. Everyone knows I love bank accounts, so I said, “Hey, why not get another?”
I brag about XM Radio so much, I wish I got a commission for everyone I’ve turned on to it. I tried with their XMiRep program, but it didn’t work for squat and eventually shut down. Now, I spread the word for free.
The monthly fee is around $14, which is a small portion of what I was paying for cable. The way I see it, I actually spend more time listening to XM radio than I ever did watching TV.
I can do things while I listen to XM like drive around, work on the computer, or even go for a hike (with the portable); instead of being stuck on the couch with all of my auditory, visual, cerebral faculties being consumed.
I can still get the audio from all the major cable news channels, which is what I watched 90% of the time anyway when I had cable. Best of all, they’ve got live radio broadcasts of almost every sports match-up imaginable, most importantly (for me): Big IX Football.
2) Blockbuster Online
I am in the movie business, so I also saw this as a perfect opportunity to expand our knowledge of the film universe. Ever since NetFlix came out with a revolutionary way to rent movies, watching a gazillion films has never been easier.
I chose to go with Blockbuster’s online plan because I liked the idea of being able to get the movies through the mail or the store for even faster access. By now, you should know how this works. If you don’t: you basically pay a monthly fee of anywhere between $5 and $25 a month depending on how many DVDs you want to have at a time.
I get three at a time that come to me based on a massively long queue of movies that I set up online. When I’m done with one, I either send it back in the mail or take it into the store for another movie plus the next one on our queue.
My movie knowledge has grown exponentially over the last few years now that I watch five to ten movies a week. I especially like to dig around in the special features section to learn about how the movie was made. It’s like a mini film school.
I consider watching movies a much more valuable way to spend time than watching mindless TV. Although many TV shows are becoming mini-movies, film is still more of an artistic and cultural experience.
I’m also considering adding NetFlix in addition to our Blockbuster membership. I watch so many movies, sometimes three at a time isn’t enough.
I hear that the main advantage of NetFlix is their vast selection. It’s great for finding those obscure foreign, independent, or documentary films that you can’t find at Blockbuster. Plus, they just added the ability to watch movies over the internet.
3) Radio Time
I’m sort of an information junkie (as evidenced by this article). I especially like to stay up to date with several local radio shows that I listened to when I lived in Austin and Omaha; including the local sports talk shows and this really great real estate investing show that only airs in Austin.
When I moved to LA, I tried to find a reliable way to listen to these stations over the internet. I found a few webcast links, but the timing wasn’t always right.
A few months ago, I ran into this web service called Radio Time; which solved all my radio problems at once. There have been few free services that have added more enjoyment to my life than this one.
Radio Time catalogs just about every radio station in the US as well as their programming. They streamline and localize the webcasts so I can get them all in one place.
Better yet, there is a way to schedule and record your favorite shows for later playback! I have six or seven shows that I record on a daily basis so I never miss a beat. It’s absolutely incredible.
If you’re on a PC, Radio Time schedules and records everything for you; but since I’m on a Mac, I have to take a few extra steps.
1st, I downloaded a program called Audio Hijack, which I think has now mutated into Radio Shift. It was free when I downloaded it, but they might be charging 30 bucks or so now; which is completely worth it considering what this thing does.
2nd, I set up a couple of AppleScripts. The first moves the large audio files into the trash each night after they have been imported into iTunes. The second empties everything in the trash over 2 gigabytes.
Now, I’m in hog heaven (as my grandpa would say). I can listen to my radio shows on my iPod while I hike. I can save up a week’s worth of shows to keep me busy on a 24 hour road trip to Austin from LA. I never miss a show (especially my real estate show), and therefore keep on top of the information universe.
(Click here for my Real Estate show)
4) Network Shows Online
Just recently, the four major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX started releasing full episodes on their websites.
Holy smokes, this is cool! I’m one of those guys who’s computer monitor is bigger than his TV, so this is great! Now there’s even less reason to have cable.
I was behind on “The Office” after watching season three on DVD and waiting for season four to pass on TV, but now I don’t have to wait!
Best of all, they offer these shows in full-screen high-definition video. That’s way better than I was getting on my clunky old TV. This is great.
5) Books
I love reading books, but like most people, it’s hard to find time with all the distractions in my life. I used to only read when I flew on planes, but since I left my airline job, that doesn’t happen as much anymore.
Without the constant hum of streaming TV in the background, it’s a lot easier to decide to pick up a book. It would be nice to just have enough willpower to shut off the TV in lieu of a book, but it’s a little more subtle than that. Mustering the will to shut off cable once is a lot easier to maintain that having to muster it every day.
Life is Good
I never realized that life could be so nice without cable TV. The only thing I miss is being able to watch college football games in the fall. Now, I have to venture out of the house on Saturdays; but other than that, I don’t even realize it’s gone.
I’ll probably go back to cable or satellite someday; when I’ve got money to burn, or when I have a huge house to hide it in. I’ll put it in the entertainment room, deep in the basement and far away from the living spaces.
I’m not one of these guys who thinks that all media is bad, or who wants to go live in the trees to get away from it all. I’m just a guy who was trying to save a few bucks and got creative in the process.
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Hi,
I just wanted share with people what I stand to save in money I am now NOT spending on paying for satellite tv.
This year, and every year from now on I will save about £600. That is enough money for me to pay for Christmas, or a holiday for my wife and young daughter!
This is amazing really, stopping and thinking about what you spend your money on, and the amount I am saving is large enough to make a real difference to my families life!
Thought I would share that happy piece of news because more people can benefit in this way by downloading the software!
Click Here For My Software Review!
Thanks
Matt
I had already decided this about my future. I would not own cable. The amount of time my father spends watching reruns of NCIS is astounding and one of the reasons we’re in debt! He never catches the whole episode the first three times(he falls asleep!) he watches it, so we are forced to watch them over and over again. It’s come to the point where he’s putting off going to work in the morning to catch up on the episodes! Cable TV is a poison, considering 26% of the time we spend watching television is watching advertisements for things we don’t need, and cannot afford.
How about Hulu and Joost? I like Hulu much than Joost as in case of Hulu, I don’t need any software to download.
Anyway, first time visitor to you blog. I liked it. Keepup good work.
I’ve gone one better, I don’t own a TV.
Life is so much better without one. I read and get more stuff done now.
Plus, if there is something on the box that I really want to see, there is always some way to see it.
If you join Netflix through FatWallet.com, you’ll get $18 cashback. I joined Blockbuster through FatWallet.com and got like $10 back. If you shop regularly online, FW gives cash back on most of the sites you shop at.
If you are a regular ebay shopper, there is now a new cashback site for ebay purchases at KickItBack.com
I’ve been without cable for a year and half and don’t miss it at all. I love using Blockbuster.com and getting free movies at the store when I’m done with them. That is enough to keep me occupied on those evenings when I’m in the mood to watch something. Plus it’s commercial free!
Since you love books, you would love getting like-new books for next to nothing. I buy my books at the library booksales. You can find the nearest booksale on http://www.booksalefinder.com They sell thousands of great books at all of these sales all over the USA for like a buck each. They always organize these books in categories to make it easy to find the types of books you want to buy. There should be some in Austin and L.A. areas. You should check it out and save even more dollars from paying shipping online or paying retail price.
Enjoying your articles! Keep them coming!
Stacy
Stacy, those are some great tips! Thanks for sharing.
[…] Five Ways We Stay Connected, Informed, and Entertained Without Cable TV […]
Hi Brian,
First reading this post, I was expecting you to say things like you stopped watching TV and now you go for hikes or out for coffee with your wife. 🙂
It seems like you traded TV for better sources of media, but didn’t get rid of the media.
You’ll never believe this, but I don’t use the TV period. Why should I when the Web gives me everything I need? YouTube, Veoh, Google, PodcastAleley…. you name it. Plus the blogs. Yeah!
What I will never give up though is buying books.
I go to the U of Utah – their library is intense. I know in many cases if you have already graduated from a university you can still use the library. If you live close to one, it’s worth the effort. Once you burn through your local library movies (I have already) you can tap into these.
I’ve never had cable. Now days I don’t even have rabbit ears on the TV – just watch the occasional movie. Once every 4 years I get out the rabbit ears to watch a bit of the Olympics – the only TV I don’t want to give up. I think life is much more interesting than television. I also don’t pay for netflix/blockbuster – I check out movies from the library – they’ve got a great collection and it’s all “free” (except for those taxes we pay to keep it going).
I think if you give it enough time and you won’t miss it all if you fill in that time with meaningful activities.
I immediately identified with the cable TV cutting situation. Actually with me, I had come home after a speaking engagement trip to find my living room TV out of order. A lightening storm blew it to smithereens (the electrical curcuits inside the TV).
I said to myself, “Do I really need cable TV and spend $1200 a year?” My reply back to myself was, “No way.” So I promptly cut the Cable TV service, saving myself $60 a month.
It’s been 6 months and I have not renewed the service. What’s amazing is what I ended up doing in place of TV. I became more productive by reading more books, writing quality posts for my blog, etc. etc. etc.
Do I miss it? Yes, sort of. And like you, I’ll probably go back to it one day but not now. I think it’s ridiculous that we don’t have any cable company competition around here. It’s either Time Warner or dial-up. Oh boy.
I can completely relate to that. I miss it sometimes, but I’ll hold out as long as I can.
I agree, TV’s aren’t necessary.
I hardly ever watch it, besides watching movies and an episode or 2 of “Friends” on DVD.
The only other channels I really watch are the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet 🙂 At least they’re informational.
Jeremy
http://www.fitness-made-fun.com
Very interesting. I have been debating this issue for a while. I think my wife is perfectly willing to give up the cable TV now, but the biggest obstacle for me is sports. This is my favorite time of year, with the NFL and college football and basketball, and it would be really hard to give those up. Getting them on the radio is an option, but I’m not sure I could handle it.
Maybe I’ll try cutting the cable after March Madness (and probably bringing it back when college football starts up again).