In August, after a careful look at our budget, my husband and I decided to get rid of cable.
At the time, I thought that this was going to be a huge problem as far as my son was concerned. I was expecting a never-ending cry of “I’m bored” to begin the moment the cable company switched off our service.
Although he did complain for the first few days, I’m happy to report that my son adjusted quite well.
Now, he mostly reads, plays with his Legos, or plays video games. I’m not thrilled about the video games, but I am thankful his overall screen time has decreased now that cable isn’t an option.
Turning off cable also served as an eye opening look at the power of advertisements. My son has stopped whining for new toys, because he no longer has access to commercials to convince him that he needs some new plastic hunk of crap.
In fact, he is telling everyone he can’t think of ANYTHING he wants for Christmas!
I’ve never been a huge television watcher anyway, so living without cable hasn’t been a big deal for me. I read a bit more now and have found extra time to work on various “crafty” projects around the house.
Of the three of us, my husband actually had the hardest time adjusting to the lack of cable. However, even he has figured out new ways to keep himself busy.
Since we’re not anti-TV, we still have a Netflix instant streaming subscription. This is enough to keep us from feeling completely deprived, without giving us the temptation to waste hours sitting in front of the TV.
And, even taking into account the cost of Netflix, we’re still saving $50 per month.
Have you dropped cable from your home? If so, how did your family handle the change?
Photo credit: espensorvik
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