# How long will I survive without?



## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

Yesterday I made the phone call and canceled my cable TV service. I'm 50yrs old and never been without it since cable TV came into existence. This move will save me around $80/month. The local channels will just have to do. This way I will hopefully spend the rest of my time here on earth a little more productively and with a bit more cash in my pocket. Anyone else ditch the cable or dish?


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## raymo76 (Apr 24, 2012)

I would like to go back to basic television. I hope it all goes well for you, I noticed after getting married I don't watch much TV, unless its football season.


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## s2k9k (Apr 24, 2012)

Nope, I gotta have it for Supercross and SOA.


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## heyer5 (Apr 24, 2012)

Shoot, I'm 24 and haven't paid for cable in upwards of two or three years!  Netflix and Hulu (combined cost like $15.xx a month) give me plenty of things to watch without the $75-$100 price tag that comes with Mediacom, Dish, or DirectTV!

Yes, I had to edit because I said I was 25 and I'm only 24 - long work day ahead!


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## solaryellow (Apr 24, 2012)

We got rid of digital cable a year ago and haven't missed it all that much. When I start to think about the shows I miss, I also can't justify the extra $120/month just to watch them. We did add Netflix so we weren't trapped by our local stations.


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## alelover (Apr 24, 2012)

I only have basic cable. I couldn't live with only local TV. My head would explode.


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## ddemerath (Apr 24, 2012)

I dropped Direct TV last month and installed an antenna.  We also ordered TiVO so we still have the capability to have a DVR to record all of the shows we like to watch.. We also subscribed to Hulu Plus.  Total cost before: $110 month.  Total cost now $28.00 month.  I miss some shows but if you have you have the internet I can still see 80% of what we used to watch.  The $80 a month savings will sure come in handy!  The bonus was that the pictures are crystal clear!


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## michael ark (Apr 24, 2012)

Haven't had it since 2009. Have a antenna it the attic.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

raymo76 said:


> I would like to go back to basic television. I hope it all goes well for you, I noticed after getting married I don't watch much TV, unless its football season.


I will be watching the Cleveland Browns this coming season just like any other year. It's on a local channel if the game is sold out. The Indians games I'll have to listen to on the radio since most of their games are on cable. I really didn't watch that much TV to begin with the last few years so it shouldn't be too hard to get use to. Meanwhile I'll be doing more smoking, buying new toys or both


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## mneeley490 (Apr 24, 2012)

I'm 51, and I've been thinking about this also. My Comcast bill is about $116 a month. That includes basic cable and high-speed internet. Dropping the TV would only cut my bill in half, and we would lose the local channels too. Putting up an antenna is not practical where I live, and I don't know if our local stations even broadcast over the air anymore. Comcast has made sure it's the only game in town. They gotcha coming and going.


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## s2k9k (Apr 24, 2012)

A friend of mine has a digital antenna and he gets all the local channels plus about 12 more.


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## rabbithutch (Apr 24, 2012)

No, I haven't ditched it yet; but I have thought long and hard about doing so.  The value for money spent is probably the worst in our household budget.  I thought about just putting up and antenna which would give us local broadcasts by abc, cbs, nbc; but their programming is atrocious.  Their on air personalities would have passed for idiots in the early days of TV.  Each is dumber than a whole train load of rocks combined - and I include their leading news personalities.  It insults my intelligence too much; so I turn them off.  If I could get History, NGS, FOX, and TMC over the air, I would have unloaded a long time ago.  Netflix and a couple of Roku's are doing much to relieve our dependence on cable.  We live in tornado alley and depend on the local TV meteorologists to keep us informed.  It used to be that the National Weather Service did that (or tried to) but like everything else from government the service is disappearing but the costs remain.

I REALLY get upset when I contemplate how much money Time Warner makes.  Their average monthly ake in my community is probably $100 per household served, and they have most of the business because of their broadband ISP service.  The satellite providers probably do even better in terms of return on investment.  What bothers me most about TW is that they are vertically integrated owning and operating every aspect of the delivery channel.  If the total cost efficiency were passed as savings to consumers, I wouldn't mind over much; but what really bothers me is that they control every aspect of the information delivered.  AND, their control is evident in the bias they support in choosing content.  Mind control might not be their end game, but they sure as Hell can limit what you know and when you know it.  People can remain free only as long as they have unrestricted access to information.  When that access is biased and cannot be refuted in the same channels when it is wrong, there is much to be concerned about.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me.


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## smokinhusker (Apr 24, 2012)

If I dropped Directv the BF's head would explode and I wouldn't miss the tv at all! I don't watch much of it at all, mostly maybe 3 hrs a day and lots of times I'm still doing something else.  Up here we can't get the local channels without cable or satellite.


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## solaryellow (Apr 24, 2012)

rabbithutch said:


> Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me.


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## BGKYSmoker (Apr 24, 2012)

We dumped comcast cable and just have local and 13 channels. I aint missing all the [email protected] on tv with the reality junk.

We just have the high speed internet and our bill went from $149 to $69.99


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## wjordan52 (Apr 24, 2012)

We dumped Time Warner Cable a little over a year ago, then put up a small antenna, bought a Tivo, added Netflix and Hulu. I haven't missed TWC a single minute since we made the change. We now watch pretty much what we want when we want, and the quality of the video is far superior. We also pocket about 3/4 of what we paid for cable every month.


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## jp61 (Apr 24, 2012)

I haven't turned on the TV all day, so I'd say I'm starting to get use to it and when my bill shows up (internet is still on it) that will probably confirm that this was a good idea for me.


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 24, 2012)

I got rid of TV 20 years ago and haven't missed it a bit!


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## alblancher (Apr 24, 2012)

HeHe  I'm a junkie,   Discovery channel, the news channels, History channel, ESPN during football season, The Big Bang Theory,  Star Trek and it's offspring reruns.  I watched a Frank Sinatra movie made in the 50's for the first time this afternoon.

Gee, if I gave up TV I'd have to talk to my wife in the evening!


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## smokewagon (Jun 1, 2012)

mneeley490 said:


> I'm 51, and I've been thinking about this also. My Comcast bill is about $116 a month. That includes basic cable and high-speed internet. Dropping the TV would only cut my bill in half, and we would lose the local channels too. Putting up an antenna is not practical where I live, and I don't know if our local stations even broadcast over the air anymore. Comcast has made sure it's the only game in town. They gotcha coming and going.


I had/have comcast and had TV/Phone/Internet for about 150 a month.  Dropped the TV and the phone as we have cells.  In searching how to steal cable (live in a signal shadow) I found out they can't shut off the first 22 channels on the line.  So got a splitter and ran a line to the TV and to the modem.  I get all my local channels plus some crap.  Roku for movies and some interesting TV.  With a netflix subscription total bill is 76 bucks a month.  

Caveat... this will usually only work if you take your TV box; remotes; etc to the local cable office.  If they send a tech to you house to pick it up; they'll likely put a block on you line. A little google foo will tell you how to remove that tho


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## nvanhorn (Jun 1, 2012)

I did this a few years ago, then finally got rid of my tv too a couple years ago. Don't really miss it, only for football season and hockey playoffs. Now I pick up new hobbies every so often to keep me entertained, and to learn a bit of something I didn't know before. I found when I had it I could waste hours, but figured the time could be better spent elsewhere.


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 1, 2012)

It's a huge scam where you pay a bunch of money for a bunch of crap that you're never going to watch!!!!!!

Where's the logic in that?





~Martin


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## smokinhansen (Jun 2, 2012)

Congratulations! If we all dropped cable maybe they would bring the prices into a "reasonable" range!! I dropped the cable when the children went to off to school!!

You will be pleasantly surprised how much you really don't miss it!

Plus it gives me me time to work on my smokin' recipes!! lol


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## jp61 (Jun 2, 2012)

Almost forgot about this thread.

Should have done this years ago! The local channels are good enough for me and they are FREE! The cell phone/plan is next!!! When the contract is up, I'm switching back to a dumb phone and basic plan. lol, If I keep this up pretty soon I'll find myself eating with bare hands.


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## pops6927 (Jun 2, 2012)

We've got Uverse w/internet and it's worth every single penny!  My wife LOVES to watch 'dead' movies and I don't; I give her total control of the TV.  If its something that interests me, we watch it together, she's an expert at the DVR and can fast forward precisely through any commercial.  Usually we watch Guide during dinner while she scours the channels, gives me time to hurry up and eat and go into the computer room while she settles on a show that I won't like anyways, so I get to get on SMF.  Anything good she'll turn it up so I can listen and still work on SMF or my Stroke and ABI Strategies page - https://www.facebook.com/bypops?sk=wall   As long as she's happy, I'm happy!  (BTW, 'dead' movies are movies that are usually B+W where all the actors and actresses are dead by now! lol!).


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## jp61 (Jun 2, 2012)

U-verse 300 is what I switched to when it became available in my area. Had the DVR and two other boxes. Could record 4 channels at the same time and watch recordings on any TV and blah, blah, blah... all kinds of bells and whistles but, it came to a point where I didn't watch it that much anymore, even though it was always on. The cost of living is getting more and more expensive, meanwhile my wage is getting lower and lower! For me it wasn't a difficult decision to discontinue their services and save some money for more important things in life.


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## kryinggame (Jun 2, 2012)

I'm so glad to have read this thread to learn about so many others who think like me.

I have Dish and for the past 2 years of more, I've been paying $80.00 a month. It's been killing me to make that payment because as someone earlier said, how much crap can you really watch? With work, being in grad school, running my house, I don't have a lot of free time. So I downgraded to basic. My new bill is $14.00 a month. Plus, with the internet, you can find most things that you might want for free. But really, I find that most t.v. shows are crap. I prefer to read a book.


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## jp61 (May 23, 2013)

Update:

Well, as of today I haven't had cable TV for one year. Used that savings to buy a few really nice BBQ toys,  like my 22.5" WSM and Weber Performer. Thought about having it turned back on a few times, but didn't. They're still sending me stuff in the mail, sometimes twice a week, like.... "get a $200 gift card when you sign up for blah...blah...blah". I have nothing against cable TV other than (to me) it's not worth the money they're charging for it.







  Some of you reading this may be thinking 'who really gives a rat's behind', lol. Well, I was bored when I started this thread one year ago.... I didn't have cable TV


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## hotnspicy (May 23, 2013)

I lived off grid for a while but actually had free internet at the time.  I didn't pay for netflix or hulu but I did watch many shows on hulu a few days after they were aired.  Anything else I would go here http://www.tvmuse.eu/ .  Sometimes you have to try a few different links to get the show you want.


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## backyardsmokin (May 23, 2013)

But if it wasn't for cable and BBQ Pitmasters, I would not have started smoking or tried a few comps.


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## dj mishima (May 23, 2013)

I haven't had cable tv in over a decade.


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## so ms smoker (May 23, 2013)

I quit Directv about 6 months ago. I was paying 75 dollars a month and only watched a few channels on a regularly. Really haven't missed it.

   Mike


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## allen (May 24, 2013)

I would give up TV but Big Bang Theory is 1 of my favorites, Plus the wife would divorce me


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## mneeley490 (May 24, 2013)

Allen said:


> I would give up TV but Big Bang Theory is 1 of my favorites, Plus the wife would divorce me


There you go. If my wife didn't have her Judge Judy & stupid reality shows to watch, she's probably start paying more attention to me. But not in a good way.


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