We ditched cable TV last year about this time, and while I think it was the best idea for our family, it may not be for yours. For that reason, I wanted to write a post to expose the truth, for better or worse, because maybe it’s not it’s all it’s cracked up to be. It’s all about your prospective!
Pros and Cons of Ditching Cable
PROS
- We save $80/month. Our bill before ditching was $140 for cable and high-speed Internet. Ouch. Now, it’s $60 for Internet, a basic channels package and Amazon Prime. That adds up to saving $960/year.
- We aren’t paying for a bunch of channels we aren’t watching. When we had cable, we only watched a small portion of the channels we had, and even then, we only watched what *we* wanted for an hour or so after the kids went to bed.
- We can avoid most annoying kid shows. My 3-year-old isn’t crying for DVR’d Calliou anymore, or any other show for that matter. {She was a huge reason we gave it up in the first place — she was a demanding monster with it.}
- We barely watch TV with the kids unless it’s a movie or a morning cartoon on PBS. So when we do watch TV, it’s more deliberate. If there isn’t anything good on, we switch it off and find something else to do.
- It helps forces the kids to be creative, play independently, and get outside more. {Less TV temptation = more time to do important kid things, like jump in mud puddles!}
CONS
- We are SO out of the loop when it comes to discussing popular TV shows or movies, though we do watch some occasionally through a friend’s Netflix subscription.
- We can’t watch many sports unless they are on local channels, which makes our home an unpopular destination during football and basketball seasons.
- My kids aren’t totally free of screen time, and often will beg for our phones and tablet instead. For those rainy days or times I need to make a call or get work done, I’m thankful for these items.
- We have to worry that the next time we’re up for Internet renewal they may jack up our price or penalize us for not having a more traditional package.
Even though the pros and cons are pretty evenly matched, I don’t see us going back to cable anytime soon. The savings are just too good, there are too many easy options for streaming when it’s wanted, and it’s hardly missed.
But, if the cable companies ever come out with a ala carte package where we can just pick a few channels we like for a fair price, we may be back. Only time will tell.
Have you ditched cable? Was it all you’d hoped it would be?
