Turn off the Cable TV

[MonkeyMama]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

The cable is for dh not the kids - LOL.

Got me sold - but he isn't giving it up - its his only luxury for the most part - to each his own indeed.

Both dh and I Actually lived without cable the first 25 years of our lives. But now on a budget it creates more entertainment at home I guess, which is nice. But there were many years we really couldn't afford it and lived without.

We have TIVO too but it doesn't cost us a dime.

[pretty cheap jewelry]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Boomerang! HA HA When it was tested the first year (almost 10 years ago) I taped about 8 or 10 hours when we still had the cable. We've been watching those tapes for years now.

The constant commercialism is just poison for kids. My kids are both under 10 and we get enough marketing with the basic channels (non-cable). They have learned how to navigate the commercials well enough though, whew.

The attitudes of pre-teens and sex inuenndos are just too much for these ages. Going to the movies is a minefield too. Even the SpongeBob stuff is a little too rude.

We use video, loads of video. They are only about $1 at the swapmeet now (VHS).

[QueenOphelia]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Ugh. Might as well live in a cave. I'd gladly pay double bill to get the best shows on tv....WEEDS, ENTOURAGE, SOPRANOS, RESCUE ME, NIP/TUCK, TVLAND, COMEDY CENTRAL...etc forever and ever........


L O N G L I V E C A B L E TV!!

[lrjohnson]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

WEEDS, ENTOURAGE, SOPRANOS, RESCUE ME, NIP/TUCK, TVLAND, COMEDY CENTRAL...etc forever and ever........

I admit some very high quality shows are on cable. I watch 4 of the above myself. That's why I get them through Netflix. The shows are still fabulous a year later, and it's much cheaper for me.

[rob62521]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Part of me has to agree that I really hate paying that cable bill, but recently when our town had an ice storm and we didn't have power (and cable!) we really felt isolated. We rely on cable to get us our news and weather. Our newspaper is pretty boring and as for national or world news, what a joke! Our local radio stations couldn't be bothered to broadcast more than 30 to 60 seconds of local news. As a houseful of only adults, although commercialism is a pain, I love watching stuff on the Food network, HGTV, Discovery, and TLC. About the only stuff we watch on network tv is the local news for a half an hour a day, and CSI.

We have cable for tv and internet and after leaving dialup, I hope I don't have to go back.

[disneysteve]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Basic cable here for 6.95 a month

That's even better than our $9.95. I think a lot of folks don't realize that those rates exist and think their cheapest choice is the $30 or so per month. The cable companies usually don't list or advertise the cheap rate. You won't get it unless you specifically ask for it. The only way I found out about it was from speaking to one of my patients who worked for Comcast.

[MonkeyMama]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

I admit some very high quality shows are on cable. I watch 4 of the above myself. That's why I get them through Netflix. The shows are still fabulous a year later, and it's much cheaper for me.

I already posted but I had to come back and say yes TV is a wasteland - probably 90%+ crap. BUT there is so much QUALITY programming. & as I said we have a TIVO which doesn't cost us a dime. There are NO commercials in our house. The kids alone watch the Public Channel which is not violent, no commercials, etc. Cartoons today have come a long way from the more violent ones of past decades.

We love Discovery, History channel, CNN.

Frankly, I just told dh the other day that I felt the t.v. was making the kids smarter. This has been a huge debate in our house because I am anti-t.v. and in the beginning I Felt dh let the kids watch too much t.v. We are really big on teaching the kids ourselves, but to me the t.v. just broadens their horizons and teaches them above and beyond what we can offer. It is a nice supplement in our every day effort to teach them through many ways.

If you told me 3 years ago I would praise the kids watching t.v. I Would have said you were insane - LOL.

Watching t.v. can be smart - like anything it is how you approach it I guess.

[rob62521]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

OK, you ate your words on the t.v. and kids, but you are controlling what they watch and what they see is quality stuff. Big difference than the fluff and garbage that many homes tune in and watch. You should be proud of yourself you are so informed and keep tabs. Many of the students I work with don't have anyone monitoring their t.v. use and it shows. They watch absolute garbage and some even watch porn because that's what their parents subscribe to. No one monitors what they see. I won't even go into the details these are the same folks who don't feed their kids well and get lots of help with food stamps, and help with power bills. It's all a matter of priority and they think of themselves first.

[lrjohnson]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

That's even better than our $9.95. I think a lot of folks don't realize that those rates exist and think their cheapest choice is the $30 or so per month. The cable companies usually don't list or advertise the cheap rate. You won't get it unless you specifically ask for it. The only way I found out about it was from speaking to one of my patients who worked for Comcast.

I looked into this a couple months ago, and found that some minicipalities have it as an agreement with cable companies, but it's a county to county, municipality to municipality thing. (Offering some basic channels, such as CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, UPN, PBS - in my area I get channels 2-13 for 9.95 a month.) So people should definitely inquire, but it may be that your locale doesn't have an agreement with the cable company.

[cicy33]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

no way would I give up my cable or internet. we pay $110 per month for both combined. we have digital cable and cable modem internet. we dont' go to the movies, we dont' out to the bars or even out a lot to dinner, my dh is a major sports fan so must be able to watch the games! It is one of our expenses we pay and don't mind to much. I would rather cut costs on groceries or keep the light bill down more or the heating or something than to give up my tv. And while I realize that there are people out there that want to spend "quality" time talking to their kids and hubby's, what about us who either our kids are grown or don't really want to spend every single second of every single day doing that? We spend lots of quality time with the kids but dont' feel i have to all the time, frankly I think that they would rather not and I am pretty sure they would drive me nuts. So then I would spend all that quality time yelling or in a bad mood. I like my privacy and quiet time. and I am pretty sure that if my dh and I had to spend that much time together we would be divorced!!! I really don't have a problem with people that want that kind of life but I sometimes feel like it is pushed onto others.

[sarah]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Frugality does not mean deprivation. Luxuries are acceptable life expenses as long as a person makes informed choices about them. Yes I know that the Tightwas Gazette author says that she uses cable usage to judge the frugality of a household. That doesn't neccessarily make her right. I choose to have staellite TV and yes it is expensive I also have netflix. Do I regret these expenses no. Do they make me less frugal maybe? Could I live without them. Absolutely. However I chose not to. I have neither satellite radio nor a cell phone. Are these frugal choices or lifestyle choices. I am not certain. In some ways I am extremely fortunate that I get to choose. Most humans don't.

[ren]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

I think if I tried to get rid of cable (well, satellite) and DSL service, my roommates would kick me out of the house.

Hey, think of all the money I'd save on rent! Hmm...

Okay, joking over, my share of the bill ($15/month and $7/month) is small enough for what I get in return that I don't begrudge the money. Staying in touch and informed on the internet and TV's news, cartoons, documentaries, clear broadcast channels are worth it in my budget.

[disneysteve]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

Frugality does not mean deprivation.

True. I think frugality has more to do with having sensible priorities. For example, we first got cable TV earlier this year. We were both 42. What made us decide to do it? I had finished repaying my students loans and my wife had recently gone back to work after 10 years as a SAHM. So our expenses had dropped considerably and our income had jumped up. Treating ourselves to $10/month for cable seemed quite reasonable.

[cicy33]

Re: Turn off the Cable TV

I think not having cable would be soooo bad for my budget! between the internet and tv the entertainment keeps me from shopping! I use the internet so much that it is an investment not an expense