(If I had a television, this is probably how my setup would look.)
When did Brett Favre get intercepted during the Saints – Vikings game? What started Adrian Peterson’s fumbling meltdown? How did Drew Brees engineer the game winning drive during overtime?
I didn’t know any of these answers yesterday because I don’t have cable or a television at my apartment. I know who won, because one of my friends texted me the final score. I could see most of the highlights while watching ESPN at the gym. I was able to watch the Colts – Jets game at a sports bar by buying a beer and a cheeseburger during the three hours of the game.
Am I crazy for not having cable? It’s a funny thing when you tell people that you don’t have cable. They stare at you like you have two heads. “No cable? Wow, that’s weird!” I’m not one of those people who looks down on people who watch television. I plan on getting one when I am finished paying my bills from last year. I am still in budget lockdown mode and wrestling with the idea of handing over 60 bucks a month to the cable company when I can get most of it for free on the internet. So, as I wrestle with the decision, I decided to open it up to you all. The pros and cons are broken down below:
Advantages to having cable:
- My entertainment is more intentional, meaning that I wont just turn the television on for white noise or when I am bored. I have to search for shows on the internet or Hulu, which makes me more conscious of what I am watching and I am usually much more entertained.
- I don’t have to schedule my television watching time around when a show airs. I know that this can be done with TiVo or a DVR, but that is also more money per month and isn’t factored into my argument. Most shows can be found either on Hulu, Netflix or somewhere else on the internet.
- Extra (on average) 60 dollars in my pocket to invest in traveling, movies that I really enjoy, books or maybe even to save!
- It gives me more incentive to go to the gym because they have cable there. OK, maybe this one is starting to reach a bit, but I did catch up on my SportsCenter earlier today while I was at the gym.
Disadvantages to not having cable:
- During football season, I miss Monday Night Football, my college football team’s games and SportsCenter every day. This either causes me to miss most of my beloved sport, buy food at a bar or beg my friends to let me come over and watch. However, now that I live in Maryland, most cable services will not play my favorite college or NFL team’s games anyway. I would have to go to the bar to catch the games if I didn’t buy NFL ticket.
- If Hulu decides to charge for their content, my saving money without cable theory goes out the window, depending on how much Hulu decides they will charge. All of what I watch now is either from Hulu or Netflix. But after paying for Netflix and a burger and beer at the bar a few times every month (especially during football season), my current solution might be just as expensive as buying cable.
Is it crazy? Does it even make sense to not have cable? Am I actually saving money by not having it? Should I be finding a better use of my time than debating with myself whether to buy cable? I am really interested to hear what you all have to say; whether or not you have cable and why. Let me know in the comments!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
No, I don’t think it’s crazy to not have cable TV. This is the way of the future… Internet, internet, internet.
Although, we do have 1 TV and allow the kids to watch it… it’s not cable or commercial programs, but mostly selected DVDs.
Best wishes!
You lived with us for almost a year and complained CONSTANTLY about not having cable. I even remember you saying that was the first thing you were going to do when you found a job and moved out. What’s up with the turn around?
When I was looking at cutting costs last year, cable was first on the list…except my internet was through the cable provider (apartments=monopoly, only internet provider). Essentially, because of a pre-negotiated deal, if I cut out only the cable, but kept the internet, I was only going to save $5 a month because my internet would go up…hmmm… So I kept the cable. When I moved, I looked at it again. My internet wasn’t dependent on cable. At the same time, I had almost completely cut out my social budget. I looked at the numbers, and one decent night out was equal to a cable payment ($40). So I kept the cable. I don’t go out nearly as much, can watch my sports without feeling pressured to buy food and drinks, and if I decide to catch the Golden Globes, I have the option. Plus, around here, I LOVE having the weather station…the internet is usually off (sad but true, even when the info supposedly comes from the same place). I think it’s all about what you want in life. I don’t think I’m a total couch potato, but keeping cable has actually saved me money…
I have cable, but only because the package deal with internet is cheaper than just internet (stupid cable companies).
I don’t watch it though. I have a large computer screen and watch the shows I want via Hulu and Netflix. My TV sits unplugged in another room. I really like not turning on the cable, it keeps me more productive on other things. But to each his own : )
I’m with Rebecca. I have cable and it’s a package deal with our Internet. It is nice to have Cable to turn it on for certain shows, programming and when I just want to veg and turn on the T.V. However, I rarely watch it. I think if it was gone, I would miss it, but only a little.
Everything I need is basically found online
Ah! I struggle with this daily. Well, almost daily. I really love TV and am loyal to a number of shows – and I hate myself for it. Lately I have tried many different techniques to cut out my viewing hours. Now, with DVR, there is no reason to even miss a show. I am now doing 2 “no-TV” days per week and seeing how it goes. I so DON’T think you’re crazy. You’re saving money and trying new things to entertain yourself as well. Sure, you miss out – but I have considered canceling my contract and going cold turkey.
@Dave – I appreciate the vote of confidence, I definitely have used the DVD player in my computer as a cable substitute. Thanks for the comment!
@Cash – Yea, you are right about that. I did complain a lot about not having it, but I argue that a lot of is was because I was missing football. Now after paying all of the bills, I am trying to be more conscious about where my money goes and cable is the first thing I look to slash. Thanks for the comment!
@Emily – That’s an interesting perspective, I think that you can compare a cable bill to the cost of going out pretty easily. I agree that what your budgeting and overall goals are will play a big part in whether or not you decide to pay for cable. I would definitely take the 5 dollar internet deal, I might have to look into what kind of deals the cable company will give me because I can’t live without the internet. Emily, thanks for stopping by!
@Rebecca – Thanks for your input! One thing that I feel I gain from not having cable is that I accomplish more of my daily tasks, much like you are saying. My laptop is my television right now with Hulu as my cable company, so I can relate to your entertainment setup.
@Grace – You are right, I think eventually everything will be available online, whether you have to pay for it or not. One advantage to that would be that I could bring most videos that I have on my computer to my iphone or ipod so that I can watch them outside of my house. That is definitely not something that can be done with cable, pretty much if you don’t record it on your DVR, it is gone forever. I am much the same way, I miss cable a little but it is more magnified at this time of year during the NFL playoffs. Thanks for your comment!
@Beth – I wouldn’t go so far as to hate yourself for it, television is a good escape from reality! Even having cable shows on DVR or watching them on Hulu (you would think I am getting paid for how much I mention it!) will cut down the amount of commercials you have to watch significantly and can turn an hour of time watching television into about 40 minutes. I see that you struggle with it as much as I do, maybe we can start a television-watchers’ anonymous group to deal with cable television withdrawl, haha. Thanks for the comment!
I don’t have much to add, as I’m in agreement with your post and with the other comments here. But I will say this: discovering Hulu changed my life.
I watch most of my movies on my laptop and a lot of TV on DVD. It’s only been recently that I began watching TV again in the evenings, and that’s just to completely unwind. I’m not a sports fan, so speaking solely on TV as entertainment (I get my news in papers and online), especially when I’m busy, I find it just easier to concentrate on what I’m working on and catch up during down-time on the weekends.
If you can save a few bucks and utilize the means that you have (the internet), I say it’s not crazy, it’s being resourceful. And possibly more productive.
Interesting post, Ben! Good luck, either way!
Ah, the great cable debate. I don’t think you’re crazy for not having it since you seem to do a pretty awesome job at finding things online. If Hulu starts charging though, you might be in trouble. Like others have said, I enjoy having cable for certain shows that I watch on a regular basis…and of course, for football season, having cable is key. Like we’ve discussed, you’ll probably be fine until football season starts again and then you might decide it’s worth it. As for now, I say make a chart of pros and cons. Thanks for letting us all weigh in!
@Susan – Hulu changed my life too! Not sure if you have seen the subscribe feature, but you can set it up to email you when a new episode of your favorite show has been posted. Even better than just normal Hulu is email reminders.
Thanks for the comment, I think you and I have the same idea about the dilemma.
@Sam – Haha, I do put a lot of effort into finding stuff on the internet, but my Google Reader usually catches me up on anything that I missed. Who knows, maybe I could buy NFL Ticket with the money I saved on not having cable during the rest of the year. Thanks for the comment Sam!
Benjamin – I loved reading this! I FINALLY made the decision today to join your cable-less camp (now that football season is over). I’m a little afraid of just getting sucked deeper into my laptop vortex (as I watch shows on Hulu) – but somewhat excited and up for the cable-less challenge! Have a great week – and thanks for sharing all the pros/cons
@Jenny – Haha, glad you liked it so much! Not having cable can definitely be frightening thing during football season, talk to me two days ago when I was snowed in without it for the Super Bowl! Thank God for justin.tv is all I have to say. I am pretty attached to my laptop on my off work hours because it is the only attachment I have to the outside world without a television. But it’s really cool to be able to skip through many of the commercials and watch shows exactly when you want to start them. Thanks for the comment Jenny!