photo by jenn_jenn
Guest Post by Rachel from Modern Mommyhood
Some people think my family is crazy for not having TV. My husband says, "We have a TV. We can watch a snowstorm whenever we want." That’s because we don’t have any channels.
One time, we rigged up some rabbit ears and tried to get the Steelers game, but much to my husband’s dismay, it didn’t work. Not even a little bit. We live in town and our homes are too close together to get any signal that way.
We sat down, looked at each other, and knew it was probably for the best. Right now, I am a stay-at-home mom. Money is tight, so we can’t afford that bill. We have a mortgage, two student loans, and ever-increasing utility bills. It’s worth it to be at home with my one year-old daughter.
Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy plopping on the couch after the little one is in bed and zoning out to a good show. After a long day, it’s nice not to have to think about anything. But, during the day, I don’t need that kind of distraction. The way I see it, not having television has saved us money in more ways than one.
First (and most obvious), it saves us $37.99 a month. That’s how much it costs to have some channels around here. I could definitely use that money for something else: more groceries, clothes, Christmas, saving up for a new dryer…
Second, when I am not in front of the television, I am finding ways to earn money. My
communications degree has led me to several free-lance writing gigs,
and I need all the time I can get to brainstorm ideas and query local
publications.
Third, when I am not in front of the television, I am finding ways to save money. When my daughter goes down for a nap, I head right for the computer. I find great ways to save money on sites like this one and MomAdvice.com. I can also check out deals at my local supermarket’s website and fill out surveys on Lightspeed to earn a few gift cards.
Fourth, when I am not in front of the television, I am being productive. We won’t have take-out expenses because I am cooking dinner. We won’t have to hire a cleaning service because I am dusting and vacuuming each week. We won’t have to pay for disposable diapers because I am taking the time to clean the cloth diapers.
So in reality, we are saving a lot more than $37.99 a month. Besides, when I want to chill out after a long, hard day, there is always Netflix!
When Rachel doesn’t feel like being productive ;), you can find her blogging over at Modern Mommyhood.
From Crystal: Just out of curiosity, how many of the rest of you live TV-free? We are almost 99.9% TV-free–our rabbit ears pick up a few channels so if there is some rare major news event we want to watch (say a Presidental election, etc.), we’re able to catch it. Most of the time, though, our TV leads a very solitary life–only being used for educational videos and the occasional family film.
Aside from all the extra time we have, the money saved on a cable bill, and the junk we’re not bringing into our home, we’ve also found we’re less likely to covet if we’re not being bombarded with silly commercials about the latest and greatest products we "must" have.
We like to catch all our favorite shows on Hulu, it’s a week late, but just as effective for winding down after a long day.
My husband and I have been TV free since we married 10 years ago. At that time, neither one of us actually owned a television set and we couldn’t afford to buy one (not to mention pay a monthly cable bill). Over time, we no longer missed it. These days, 99% of the stuff on t.v. is trash — I’d rather pay for a Netflix subscription and cherry-pick films or shows to watch.
We are TV free, but do enjoy watching DVDs!
Not having cable/tv access is a great money saver, and I usually don’t miss it.
Nice Article!
We’re mostly TV-free too. When I was a student, I found that I wasn’t getting my readings done because I’d always have the TV on. I grew up in a family with two working parents, so TV was the babysitter. I was so used to it that I had to have it on ALL THE TIME and I could never concentrate on anything!
So one day, I just called our cable company and told them to cancel it. I knew I couldn’t just keep it off myself. Well, it worked! My grades improved, I’m reading more, I’m enjoying life more because I’m concentrating on it. It makes such a difference! Not to mention that my relationship with my husband has improved so much because now we actually spend our evenings together instead of just synchronized TV-watching. We talk more, we both sit in the kitchen and make fancy dinners every night, it’s great! I don’t miss it, not one bit. Of course, it’s an added bonus that we are saving all that money, too.
I do have a lot of DVDs. I sometimes rent TV shows and, if I like them, I might buy a couple seasons for myself. So when I want to do the occasional splurge TV weekend, I do still have that option.
Totally TV free living for ten years or more (my son is 11) in a COMPLETELY TV crazed nation. People intive you over for a meal and it is consumed with the TV on!!!!!!!! Everything here is based on TV! Everybody told you our kids (now 4) would be social outcast and basically retarded because of lack of TV. It turns out they are way ahead of their classes BECAUSE they have not TV. They read with excellent skills, have fervid imagination and know a lot more than just what is on TV. People are always amazed to find they live a TV free life, but can’t really say much negative about it as the kids are really well adjusted, sociable, and interesting! We never have enough time to do all we want NOW, I can’t imagine if we had a TV to eat away at time on top of everything else!
We just never found much that appealed to us on TV! Between the skin, materialism, cussing, violence and more… I am much more in tune with reality and a healthy mind without it! My husband and I don’t watch any, our 4 year old “earns” a “productive, educational” show on PBS from time to time. I agree, the things I get done with out it… How does anyone have time anyway! The money saved – a major plus.
We tried television free and decided to do Netflix instead. I will admit it, it bombed in our house. We do love to watch television, but we forgo many other extras to have the television. I did decrease our plan during the warmer months though because we weren’t watching it. I thought that was a great alternative for someone who does not want to cut their plan out entirely.
I am so touched to see my site listed up here. Thank you so much, Rachel! You made my day!
I am wondering if I am brave enough to give this a go??
What could happen if the tv went off?
No TV here! I started without one while I was living on my own about six years ago, and when we got married we continued the tradition as an “experiment” — now I don’t know how we got anything done with one! If we have major quilting or knitting to do we listen to the radio or books on tape.
I do have TV at work and some of my clients like it a lot (I work with the intellectually disabled). I’ve noticed, and I’m glad, that I have become a lot more sensitive to even just previews of shows. I’m now much more aware of how the crime shows such as the CSIs so often sexualize violence and death, and I don’t think I’d be able to watch them now. I’ve personally found Phillipians 4:8 to really be playing out in my life since I’ve given up the telly.
We go tv free for 6 months at a time (the maximum amount of time we can suspend our directv without having to pay the contract termination fee of $240–we have to keep doing this until the turned on time equals 18 months)and then have to have the tv on for 3 months at a time. Although this three month period of “TV on” has convienently occured durring the olympics, conventions, and debates we have also found that our children think they OWN the one tv during this time period. They are 8 years apart and don’t watch the same shows so channel conflict errupts daily. I can’t wait until Nov 12th when we are once again “TV Free” for another 6 months. The house becomes more peaceful, I get more done, I buy less, I’m less compelled to do major home improvement projects and more compelled to be content with what we have, we sit down to watch DVD’s as a family. Unfortunately we have to do this cycle 4 more times! Arghh…I wish we had never signed up for this “deal.”
We have a television and we have very, very basic service (15 channels) for about $10 per month. This is a huge downgrade for us because we used to have Dish Network with a DVR and over 100 channels–when we were making twice as much money. Honestly, it hasn’t made a huge difference for us. We didn’t watch a lot of tv to begin with and the shows we did watch were on basic stations, which we have now. We do miss the DVR because we could always fast-forward commercials. If it were to all burn tomorrow, though, it would be an adjustment, but a small one. As with any modern technology, tv, in and of itself, is not evil…just the abuse and misuse of it. It is a means of grace for those that can afford it and choose to have it in their homes. Not having a television can also be a means of grace. It all depends on one’s family situation, I guess.
I grew up in a TV addicted household, one in every room but the bathroom and, for most of my girlhood, my own room. I chose to marry someone who absolutely loves live sports, and this is the main reason we pay a bunch of money for cable. I recently convinced him that the TV should go in a “TV” room, not the living room. I really wish I could live in a house without a TV though (but this would mean a house without my husband!) Commercials make me mentally and even physically sick, though I enjoy watching Netflix and online documentaries, plus a few fluffy shows here and there.
We have two TVs and no cable. We can’t even get local channels. We have found that there are free (and legal) ways to watch TV online…on our time. It saves us tons of time.
Just wanted to chime in that we’re TV free and have been ever since we got married almost 11 years ago. My DH keeps saying that “someday” we’re going to have to get it when the kids need it for school but…..I’m hoping to hold out. =)
TV free here. It’s way too expensive to have a bunch of channels that never have anything on anyway. And, I would be too tempted to just sit and do nothing when there are plenty of things to do.
We do buy some tv series on dvd and watch those for tv time. Some of our favorites are Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons. 🙂
We have basic cable. We don’t watch that much tv but I couldn’t imagine not having it at all. I find it funny though that the writers big reason for not having tv was saving the $38/month yet she says she has internet and netflix.
We do not have cable, however we do get a few local channels for free with an attenna. I enjoy staying caught up on the local news, international news and watch a couple things when I want to, but we can live without it. I like to know beforehand if it will freeze tonight so I can cover my tomatoes or the like!
I am so envious of all youTV-less people! My husband is a TV junkie. The TV is on 24/7. He never turns one off. Many times, there are two on at once-with no one watching either of them. It drives me nuts! I have told him that if he dies before me, I am placing the remote control in his hand and burying it with him. He is a sports fanatic and cannot live without ESPN. He had to do without in the past when we lived in other areas, but since we got the dreaded DISH six years ago, there has been no turning back. We could even get very good free TV where we live now, but it’s not going to happen. Oh, I watch a lot of TV too, but just because it’s there. I could live without it altogether-especially to save that $65 per month!
Technically we have it b/c it comes with the internet, but we never get to watch it. We only have it on when our 8 month old is asleep and since she sleeps on my lap more often than not, it almost never happens. She almost always wakes up as soon as it goes on–she can hear it!
We also just get a few channels with the antenna and seldom use it. We watch videos (mostly free ones from the library or ones we own). When I’ve been wiped out with pg or illness my mom has taped some HGTV for me, which I enjoy. But I love being able to zip through the commercials too.
Most often, if we happen to end up watching TV someplace else, we are reminded of how good it is to not have it.
(But before I get too proud of myself, I must admit I could and probably should cut back on internet time.)
Jennifer
We watch very little TV for the same reason most folks don’t watch it at all–I don’t like the values it portrays (kids channels, like Nickelodeon, seem to be pushing that to be cool, you must have the right clothes and be a rock star, like I want my kids to learn that!). We got a huge chuckle when recently, at work, some of my husband’s construction friends were talking about a show they had watched the other night, and when my husband said, “I didn’t see it, we don’t have cable” they looked at him like he was from another planet!
As a landlord, I am always amazed at tenants who are having difficulty paying their rent, yet they always have a huge TV and I had to give permission to their TV company to set up a satellite dish on my rental’s roof! $30.00, $40.00, $50.00 per month for TV? But you can’t pay your rent? They don’t find a lot of sympathy from me…..
Kudos to all of you who can live TV free! My Dad and Mom, who live in a small rural town in Quebec, use rabbit ears and we all think they are crazy because they only get 2 English channels and the others are French. Not that we sit in front of the TV all day long, but it is nice to know that when we have a chance to sit, we can watch a choice of shows!
I LOVE TV!!! I have no kids and my husband really enjoy spending our free time together watching our favorite TV shows. Its great cheep entertainment, and it helps me relax after work. We have a whole entertainment center hooked up with HD, DVR, which is really nice. I did just start going to the gym which has also been a nice diversion. I am enjoying this “kid free” time in my life. I know that it won’t last much longer so I am enjoying it now!!
Since I see no one has already mentioned this, my family and I are able to avoid paying for TV by watching all of our favorite shows on Hulu.com. It has full episodes of lots of great shows, and even some movies. It’s a great alternative!
We do have TV. We have a sat. dish. We have cut out so many other things to save money. I respect my husbands wishes to be able to relax with his sports channels and games, and the news networks. We do not watch much. The kids enjoy occasional shows, which of course we closely monitor and must approve, and I can find myself being a Game Show Network junkie! I’m a fan of the oldie goodies too, The Waltons, Little House, etc.
On our budget, there is so little entertainment going on, other than our family time which we get a lot of, that we do not feel convicted that having our TV is an issue—for us. I respect others’ choices in this area.
Here’s a conversation I have almost weekly:
“Did you catch the latest Office last night?”
“No, we don’t watch TV.”
“Oh, neither do we, except for a couple shows we follow. Speaking of… did you see…?”
“No, really, we don’t watch TV. At all.”
We have a TV leftover from our college years, and it gets its fair share of DVD usage, but a TV station is never turned on. AND, I’m delighted, it’s NOT in the living room- it’s relegated to the back of the house. We listen to NPR for our news & entertainment. The TV will be booted before the end of the year, and I can’t wait! We’re replacing it with a bigger computer monitor, so we’ll only have one computer/TV/DVD-player device.
TV-free here. We use ours for videos only. And the videos are free–Pittsburgh has a huge library system and you can request just about anything you might want to watch, and they’ll have it!
Given how hard it is to control viewing even with just dvd’s and no channels, I’m glad we’ve avoided tv entirely. And it’s true, the screen really tethers you. About the only useful thing I can do while watching a movie is fold laundry.
We’re big talk radio listeners though. 🙂
We have a tv in our living room and in our basement living room. We pay $14.16 a month for basic channels, PBS, the weather channel. We really enjoyed watching the Olympics this summer together! My husband really appreciates being able to watch a bit of sports on tv, and in my opinion this is a pretty cheap hobby, so I’m fine with it. It’s also been fun to watch movies on the regular channels rather than having to rent them. Especially classics.
I think our family does a great job of not letting tv become too much of a part of our lives. We watch one show on Thursdays that is 30 minutes long and another on Mondays that is an hour. We normally fold clothes or clip coupons as we watch. The shows start after our kids go to bed. I think you can find a way to balance tv in your life. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. By that I mean either watching it all the time and inhibiting relationships, or not even having it as an option. Of course, if something is too much of a temptation for you, maybe it is better to just cut it out entirely. It just isn’t a struggle for us.
I don’t really see the difference between watching movies on dvds and watching tv shows. You’re in charge of how much you watch with either option. If someone is concerned about “wasting time”, then watching a dvd would also be wasting time.
We also frequently have guests over to have food and watch shows together and just talk. The tv has been a great asset in building relationships, believe it or not. We have had a couple over weekly who do not have a tv service, but really love a show that we watch. They had just rented the dvds, but instead started coming to our house to watch it with us each week, and to hang out.
There is always the potential for any activity/hobby to take you away from doing something else. Something more productive, something that is eternal vs. something insignificant. Even good things. I could spend a lot of time trying to save my family money but how much time is too much? I could spend x amount of time trying to keep my house clean, but how clean is enough? What is most important? Every choice impacts other choices and other people. We all need to have an avenue to relax, laugh and to know what’s going on in our world. Thankfully, tv isn’t our family’s primary way to do these things. But I love that it is a way.
🙂
I agree with Marsha. I think we need to include the INTERNET as part of this no-screen lifestyle. This is a big trap for us women who are always blogging, surfing the web, coupon searching, etc. It can be just as unhealthy. More time away from these devices equals more family time. And isn’t that what we’re all really striving for? Just a thought…
We have the rabbit ears, and get very little reception, with it. We mainly watch family movies, together on our tv. There is so much worthless stuff on tv, that we know that we aren’t missing much.We do enjoy a good presidential debate, too!
My husband and I made a commitment before we were married to live TV free the first year of our marriage. We could then focus more time and attention on each other and making our marriage stronger. After the first year, we didn’t miss the “tube” and eight years later (and almost 3 kids) we still do not have TV! This has been one of the best decisions we ever made!!! I hope many of your readers will make it too.
I never thought of the money we were saving by not paying the cable bill, since we have never paid it. But I do know we save money by not being lured into wanting “stuff” we see on the commericals.
I’m a busy single Christian gal that grew up, mainly, without television. My parents would hide the tv on us. I’m grateful to parents that were concerned about what was filling their children’s minds. Lord willing, I would love to be married in the near future and I pray that my husband will also have this conviction. I have a tv, but like the guest writer, I too have snow. The only snow we have right now and it’s not outside:).
We have never had TV. My children know nothing about the current children’s programming that is all the rage such as Dora or Hannah Montana. They do recognise Pooh and maybe Tigger, but barely.
I will likely also shut off our Internet service,at least for a time. People have live without it for centuries, and I could, too! I enjoy keeping up with current events on CNN’s website but in reality, there is no pressing need for me to know every gruesome thing that’s happening!
We just have an antenna that we use (I admit, we did get cable and a DVR box during the olympics since we are fanatics about that (and knew our schedules wouldn’t allow us to watch much “live”. we got a special promo deal for the month, but we promptly returned it after the olympics.) With our antenna its free TV, and we don’t have many channels and choices, which makes me watch less!
My question is has anyone come across a cheap way to get internet? We don’t have a home phone (cell phone only), so we are forced to use the cable company for internet. unfortunately going without probably isn’t an option since i work from home! Any ideas on cutting that cost? (its about $45 per month for us!!!)
My husband, toddler, and I are also without TV stations. We just recently went without about 3 weeks ago. We’re still pretty media hungry and will fill our time with internet and video games (him). We are working towards doing more activities together, but it’s amazing how easily the TV has taken that skill away from us. I’ve always disliked TV and am thrilled to be without it!
I barely get NBC with a roof antenna, so other than hours of Law and Order, I don’t really watch tv. I don’t have kids but I own a children’s consignment store that takes up most of my time. When I’m home, I try to spend my time reading, cleaning, etc. I don’t even have a computer or phone at home anymore so I use my spare time at the shop for making calls, checking websites like this one, etc. I would definitely be a couch potato if I had tv or sat. at home!
We’ve been TV-free for just one year now. We’ve been in the process of downsizing and they were the first to go (since we had gone cable free 6 months prior to that). We watch an occasional movie on one of our laptops. We are considering purchasing a TV once we move but we won’t have cable and it’ll be used for movies only. We enjoy a good family movie on a cold, rainy day all cuddled up together. We do read but we also enjoy a movie every once and again.
We are TV (channel) free. We did it because we get no channels, and the Dish is too expensive. I also chose to give up the TV, because my husband said internet or TV. I chose internet, because it helps me save even more money. The TV just took our money (in more ways then one!).
T.V. is too addicting! I admit I love it but there are so many more things you could be doing. Plus, most studies say that it’s a no-no for kiddies under 2 and only 1 hour after that and then very limited after that. What a bad effect on our kids!
We are moving towards being TV free. The computer provides more than enough access to news and current events. I am having a hard time giving up The Discovery Channel, but I definitely agree that TV is a time waster and a brain drain. I do wish there was a way to get the educational material without all the annoying commercials! I admire all of you who are 100% TV free!
We love TV. I even majored in TV in college. We have the expanded basic cable package and TIVO. However, we do not watch TV weekdays and we’re usually too busy on the weekends to catch more than a few shows in the evening. It works for us.
One aspect of limited TV viewing the author failed to mention is the concept of induced want. The less I watch TV the less I am dissatisfied with my life, the less I want, and the less I spend to assuage that want. Works with magazines too.
We haven’t had cable since we married six years ago. Nothing. Nada. Not even rabbit ears! Until this year we starting get netflix delivered. I was so sick w/ morning sickness I couldn’t even read a book w/ out running to the bathroom. So hubby spoiled me w/ netflix. And now we just enjoy it, so that is our one vice.
We have the rabbit ears, used ’em for the olympics and we occasionally for the weather (like when a neighbor calls to relay the tornado warning).
TV free at our place 🙂 And we love it! Our friends always ask “So, what do you guys do?”
I have one show I’ll watch for free online and once in awhile we’ll rent one and watch it on the computer. I have a couple (2) children’s shows we can watch on iTunes.
We have a TV, but no ‘service’. It has an antenna and it gets some channels, but we just don’t watch much TV. We do use it to watch DVD’s (free from the library) on date night, and our daughter watches an occasional educational video.
We also have a Wii that we play some on the weekends, and I do Wii Fit through the week…so I use the TV to exercise more than anything else! 🙂
-Laura, tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com
We also have a TV-free home. I know that once I start watching TV, everything else I invest my time on just goes out of the window, even the small time me and hubby spend together. Thats the reason we chose not to have a TV at home, we occasionally watch rented movies on our laptops every now and then.
I definitely feel like a minority in this group of comments. We are not TV free. We don’t watch much TV, but we have TV and cable and a DVR.
My husband is a huge sports fan and since his teams aren’t on locally, we even subscribe to MLB network so he can see most games.
After my son was born though, our TV watching frequency (and time of day) changed drastically. We no longer turned the tv on in the morning while we were getting ready and we no longer turned the TV on in the evening or during dinner. Before he was born, we would eat on our couch many evenings – watching Jeopardy or the news (depending on what we had going on before dinner).
Now that he is older this has changed slightly. He is now allowed to watch up to one episode on school days and a couple of episodes on the weekend. What he watches is what we have recorded for him – Imagination Movers, Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – from commercial free channels.
We still watch some tv after the kids go to bed, but with DVR, I select the shows I have interest in, record them and watch them when they are convenient to me. This way I can still watch my regular shows, but don’t have to worry about when they are on, only when I have time.
I’m TV free too!
We have a tv, but get ONE channel. If it’s not on CBS (and even most of the stuff that is on CBS) we don’t watch it.
I also refuse to pay for cable. Antennae with the HD converter box gets us some stations, but not always reliable. The best thing is to get movies from the library. With our system, we can go online and request just about any movie or program, and they will have it waiting for us when it’s ready, for free. Can’t beat that! My husband gripes about not having cable, though. Last year, for his B-day, I got him three months worth. They were having a special “trial” where the first two months were free, the third was $25, then after that it went up to about $48 per month. They were a day late to install it, so they gave us a $25 credit, which made the third month free. After the third month, we cancelled it. By the way, that’s not the only gift he got – I cleaned and detailed his filthy truck, too, and baked him a cake. ( :
We have TV but we do not pay to watch TV. We put in an antenna several years ago and cancelled our satellite service and the antenna paid for itself. Now, it’s simply there when we decide to use it. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to paying to watch TV again.
We don’t have cable, which means no TV since we get close to no reception. I can’t take spending $$ on broadcast TV. I do love Grey’s Anatomy, but I can watch it online–which is great because it comes on the air too close to the kids’ bedtime.
We get DVDs from the library, so we don’t do Blockbuster or Netflix either.
We went tv free for a while after the DVD set for the tv show “Firefly” came out. I swear, that show was so good, anything that was on paled in comparison, and just made us want to put the DVD in! The effect lasted for about a year, but I remember that year being very peaceful and balanced, and would love to get back to it.
But even now that we watch t.v. pretty regularly again, we don’t have cable. The irony is that whenever we’re at a hotel or a relative’s, I’m amazed at how often we’ve already seen whatever is on cable.
But for all of you with netflix, I highly recommend you add “Firefly” to your que!
oh, and we use hulu.com to watch TV and download recorded shows from Limewire.
We lived TV free for 7 years of marriage. But our church is required to give us cable since we’re pastors living in the parsonage! Weird. But I’ll take it.
I had cable disconnected about two years ago, partly because of the expense, but also because I was watching too much television. I do watch videos (especially Chonda Pierce), and watch cable when I visit my dad. I have been reading a lot more books from the library, and haven’t missed having cable. Tried rabbit ears for local, but no reception where I live.
I’m on free-TV. Meaning, I don’t pay for any cable. I get 5 channels, usually clearly. I’ll be interested to find out what happens come February! My bigger thing is TV on DVD. I put it on as background noise (I’m single and live by myself). I’ve run through 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls about 5 times in a year! I should just turn it off and turn on music.
We don’t have a TV. We had one in the closet about 8 years ago and decided we needed the space. So, we got rid of it. My 2 kids (7 & 1) play so well and entertain themselves. We have access to all kinds of cable and channels in the burbs where we live, but we decided we don’t need all that. We don’t miss it. Glad to see that there are so many others out there who are TV-free! Love this blog!
We have been cable/satalite free for almost a year now!!! We do live in an area where we can pick up most network stations with our house and rabbit antennas, so we can usually get most of the football action and of course the 8 different PBS stations thanks to HD!!! I’m loving one less bill to pay and have found better things to do than sit on the couch all day!
I’ve lived with TV and without TV. The last time I cut out TV was before I got married when I was working on a book and was spending all my free time writing. But we’ve welcomed TV back into our home, and I don’t regret the expense of digital cable at all. Now that we have a child, we can’t go out as much and watching something together on TV is a great escape for us after a busy day of parenting and working.
My husband loves watching sports on TV, and I wouldn’t want to deny him that de-stressing. And I like knowing that at the end of the day once our son is in bed I can settle down to watch a DVR’d Las Vegas or Bones or something that’s going to make me laugh.
I often clip coupons or fold laundry late at night while watching TV.
We also read a lot in our home, but frankly there are days when my brain is just too exhausted for that pursuit and TV provides me the escapism and entertainment that I need.
Plus, we love pop culture. TV helps keep us hip! 🙂
Obviously, to TV or not to TV is a personal choice. But I do think it is important to find entertainment, be it on TV, in books, watching DVDS, watching TV and movies online, going to the movies, going to the theater, etc. We need to be exposed to good drama and comedy in all its forms… (And I do realize that people don’t always agree about what’s “good” TV.)
In my life, I’ve bonded with a lot of people because of movies and TV (and other reasons, as well.) And I wouldn’t want to give up that thing that connects me to other people. Some friends and I just this week were laughing as we quoted lines from The Golden Girls, Designing Women and our favorite chick flicks. That we like (some of) the same movies and television shows just how in sync we are. I’ve found that talking to people about books, movies and TV shows can often be the icebreaker needed to form a great friendship.
We just turned off our cable, telephone, and high speed internet, about 2 mos ago and have not missed them a bit! We have our cell phones and we have a slower, but good connection to the internet. We have no cable and cannot get any with an antennae, but we have not missed it and I get so much more done at night after the kids go to bed when I am not tempted to sit down and watch a movie! Our kids have not even missed it either! We still have a DVD player and about 10 dvds that they can watch, but they have not even made it through all of them yet! What a great money saver!
My husband and I both grew up watching TV occasionally, and we still enjoy it when we’re somewhere that has one, but our tiny set lives in the closet and we pop it out for VHS viewing. DVDs are nicer because the laptop screen is bigger than the television’s. 😉
My husband and I were just talking the other day about how we don’t miss it. We were like, “When would we find the time to watch TV anyway?”
We don’t watch tv much at all. Hubby will occasionally watch a sporting event or the news. The kids will watch movies on DVD’s (usually rented for free from libraray.) We used to watch it quite regularly, but about two years ago we made the decision to cut it out of our lives. One of the biggest shockers to us was we didn’t realize how desensitized we were to what is on television (shows, commercials, news…) There is A LOT of junk on there! And you know what they say about junk.
Junk in. Junk out.
We also only have a couple of channels. I canceled DirecTV ($55 a month! *gasp*) a few months ago in favor of joining a gym ($70 a month for a family membership w/ FREE childcare up to 4 hours a day! Woo hoo!)
I think it’s a great trade. I don’t care about the TV. Kids watch dvds over and over. We have netflix and I have thought about canceling that but it’s kind of nice getting movies in the mail and not having to deal w/ the hassle of going into Blockbuster w/ 2 small kids.
When we got rid of satellite about a year ago not only did I realize what a money saver it was but a time saver as well. I would sit down to watch a home design show and be there for 3 hours! The next show would just look too good to pass up. On top of the money saved on the satellite bill, I don’t have to hear my kids asking for every new fad that flashes across the screen. Between no TV and homeschooling we cut our “But mom, everyone has one!” conversations by almost 100%. And then, Mom and Dad don’t see all the new toys they could want either! We are however, movie lovers. We have movie night 2-3 times a week depending on our schedule. We love Netflix for our family friendly movies.
We’ve been TV free for a year and a half now, and I love it. The kids are actually forced to use their imaginations (GASP!). And I have more time for sewing, cooking, cleaning, and homeschooling. It was one of the best decisions our family has ever made.
We’ve been TV free the whole 7 years we’ve been married. We both had TV when living with roommates who said we needed to have it and then forced us to split the bill even though we never watched it. We do have a DVD player hooked up to our TV and can watch the occasional movie. I also got a cheap VHS player to play my Mom’s old Disney movies for the kids. But its limited to an hour and a half and most days we don’t watch anything.
We could easily afford cable. We gladly pay for the garbage truck to take away our trash every week. I can’t see paying the cable company to bring trash into our home every week. I have two teenage boys and I know they are a lot better off without cable.
We do have a digital converter and live in an area where we can get about 9 stations clearly. I’m a news junkie, but that’s really the only thing I watch regularly.
We live too far out to have cable now. We moved here 2 years ago. We had cable before moving and I thought the children would go crazy without it. WOW was I wrong! They play outside, play boardgames and get movies from the library(FREE)! We do get some channels. We live on the Atlantic coast and it is good to be able to keep an eye on the weather. After getting the digital converter box now we have 3 different PBS channels including the others(8 in all). It is great.
Wow, I am excited to see how many others are TV-free! I was under the impression that we were “weird” to have no working channels. We make great use of free videos from the library, and an occasional Blockbuster rental (which we then pass on to friends to watch before the due date). This saves us so much time and money- no more vegging out on the sofa when there’s really nothing on anyway. We love it and won’t be going back. We can get our news online (and some movies and such)- high speed internet was our splurge.
I have lived 6 out of the past 7 years cable free, and I love it! I love not having that extra bill every month. I have also found that when we have tv, we spend a good amount of time watching it rather than doing other things. Right now, we only recieve PBS with our antenna, and that is fine by me. We have access to quality tv when we want it, no bill, and time for more important things in life. If we really want to watch something, we can generally find the episodes online. I am planning on trying a converter box (using the free coupon of course) to see if we can get our local stations. If that doesn’t work, I still plan on living cable-free.
The only show I ever watched regularly in my life was Mr Rogers Neighborhood. Growing up, TV time was restricted to that show plus some special things, like the Olympics or elections.
When my husband and I got married we decided we wouldn’t own a TV. I don’t miss it at all, but he does miss sports. Now we watch 1-2 Netflix dvds a month and the kids watch a couple of half hour dvds each week.
Most people think we’re weird, and I must admit that I was “weird” in high school and college for not knowing ANYTHING about the popular shows. But I love my life and I can’t imagine adding TV noise to the incessant talking of my toddlers!
Yes, we are tv free (all our married life) too and we do enjoy not having one. We love to snuggle on the couch on Friday nights and watch survivor and the office online!
I grew up without a TV, and my six siblings and I were all avid readers and at the top of our respective classes. As a mother of two now myself, I can’t imagine when I would have time to watch it if I had one! Like others have said, why invite garbage into the house? I also really agree with the point that you wish for a whole lot less if you don’t see it advertised in the first place.
We have one 19-inch TV and no cable service. We can get a few chanels and we watch movies but most of the time the TV is off and that’s the way I like it!
We don’t own a TV….we do watch DVDs on the computer sometimes.
We have two TVs. One we only keep because it has a combo VHS slot for those last hold out videos. The other uses rabbit ears to pick up PBS kids and local news. And Netflix on DVD.
Our basic cable comes “free” (maybe I should say “included”) with our high-speed internet service, something my husband uses to occasionally work from home. So we’re not tv-free, although I doubt we’d miss it overmuch if it were gone- oh, wait, perhaps I need to qualify that with “outside of football season, that is”.
Anyway, I’m thinking that the same benefits of being tv-free would also apply to being internet-free. If/when we no longer need the connectino for his work, I’d be happy to check an e-mail address at the library once or twice a month and be done with the whole connectivity thing. There are just as many ads, objectionable content, and time-sucks online as there are on television so I use a broader definition of “screen-based life” as something I’d like to avoid as much as possible.
Oh my! I couldn’t live without T.V. How could you not have ESPN, Sunday football, CNN, food network or TLC, discovery health, cartoons for the kids. I think it’s wonderful that people can do without T.V. if it saves money, but we look at it around here as an essential 🙂
We are Cable-Free! We have snowy channels that we watch with rabbit ears and we watch the kids movies some. I have noticed my daughter’s attitude and language is a lot better.
Guess I’m part of the minority around here. I have a TV, actually about 6 sets in the house all together. We have digital cable, HBO, DVR and HD. We also have high speed internet through the cable company. We spend about $138/month on everything.
Do we need it? No. If we couldn’t afford it, would I get rid of it? Yes, it would be the first to go.
But we enjoy our shows and we’re able to watch them when we have free time because of DVR. Plus, I cut coupons and work on boosters projects at the same time so it’s not a total loss of time.
We are TV free. We watch a couple shows free online, and we watch DVDs on our computer. We love the money it saves us, and we are never slaves to watching a certain show at a certain time or wasting time watching shows that we don’t even care about seeing.
We also do not subcribe to cable/dish anymore. We do miss the cooking channel and Law and Order reruns. We ordered the digital converter box coupons and bought those and antennaes for the TVs for about $25 each. For that one time fee we get 5 channels plus 2 weather channels. I still do not watch TV during the day- I’m a stay at home with 2 girls under 2 years old and far too busy.
I canceled my cable about 2 months ago and they still haven’t turned it off yet. You can’t beat free cable! I still hardly turn the tv on though.
My husband was raised with little TV, and though my family watched more on TV, I always read more than watched. And I have lived without a TV in my house/dorm/apt. for 14 years now. We watch DVDs on our laptop occasionally, but we barely ever have a week that we can justify the time for that!
While we were dating we started the habit of reading aloud books together. We’ve gotten to share lots of old favorites and discover new ones!
No tv for us…we do watch dvds on our laptop on the weekends and right now I have a free trial to netflix, but I can see that getting old fast.
No TV here! 🙂
We live TV free! Saves us $39.99 each month + just like you said, I am actually being productive. When we did have cable I would find myself wasting so much time. Occasionally I miss it. Especially right now when all the Fall shows are getting ready to start. However, if I really must watch a show I can watch it on abc.com (not sure if other networks do that). I also signed us up for Netflix 4 weeks ago and am really impressed with their speedy delivery and service. It costs less than half our cable bill would cost.
Growing up we only had cable for MAYBE 3 years of my life. Most of the time TV is a real waste of time and brain cells :o)
We are a mostly tv free family. I have a tiny b&w tv (I got it for my 6th birthday oh-so-many years ago!!) that I so that I can watch the news as I make dinner for my family. The children are limited to videos (mostly RedBox or from a library sale) watched on a tv that was a hand me down gift. Other than that…no televison watching. I really didn’t like all of the commercials that my children were exposed to so I decided to do this several years ago. I have found that we spend more time together and that the kids play more as a result. If you can image – I have received alot of criticism about my decision and have been told that I was “depriving” my children by not letting them veg out in front of the tv after school! I am happy with my decision.
Cable comes in our bundle and if we paid for everything separately without cable we’d save $15 a month. I’m starting to think we should do that though b/c I can’t remember the last time we turned the TV on! I think it was the Olympics. We’re not getting our money’s worth. Sometimes we’ll borrow a season of shows from the library or watch them online at the TV station’s website. We watched 4 seasons of lost that way during my hubby’s cancer treatment. I can’t stand commercials so that works better for us anyway.
I am in awe of people who live without a TV. I can’t do it. I am too plugged in. We have made sacrafices for me to stay at home but that and internet are not ones that we are willing to make.
We’ve been TV free since we got married 3 1/2 years ago. I second everything that was said in the post. It has been invaluable for us!
My husband told his high school class that we don’t have any television connection, and they just about fell over they were so shocked! 🙂
We are tv free and it’s great. We don’t waste time sitting in front of “can’t miss” shows. And we don’t have all the commercials convincing us that we “need” something or other. We do have a netflix sub for 9.53 a month and we can watch tv online through hulu and the network sites if we really want to. But that generally only happens when hubby is deployed because the house is so quiet I start to go a little nuts at night. 🙂 But the benefits of being tv free are awesome.
That was the very first (and easiest) thing we got rid of. If I have access to TV, I will watch the most ridiculous, boring, trash just because I like the sound of the TV on, and once I turn it on I can’t pull myself away from it. We still have the TV to watch movies (free Redbox Mondays!!!) but our life is so much better now that it’s off 98% of the time. There are few TV shows I like to watch, but all of them are free online on the network’s website! The only time I wished we had TV was during the Olympics. But my in-laws recorded some for us, and we went over to friends’ houses for some of the biggest events.
When we had cable internet, they would have charged us more for them to block the basic cable signal than for us to subscribe to basic cable in addition to the internet. So we quickly switched to DSL, and thanks to the commenters on this blog 5-6 months ago I tried calling the phone company to ask for “dry-loop” – and they cancelled our phone service making our internet cheaper without any extra things we don’t need!
We do have TV in our home. We keep one TV in the family room. Our preschooler watches no more than 45 minutes throughout the day of carefully selected children’s programming. After he’s asleep, my husband enjoys watching sports, especially the hometown baseball team. If it’s not sports, he enjoys political coverage.
I select one show each season and watch that. American Idol has been a favorite.
We also have a small TV in the kitchen. Before we had children, we watched the morning news as we got ready for work. Now that I’m a stay at home mom, that TV stays off most of the time.
We are almost tv-free. It would cost over $1000 to run cable down our driveway, and frankly, we are too busy to sit and watch tv. We do have rabbit ears and get a few local channels and PBS. I try to limit my daughter’s tv watching to a 1/2 hour a day, if that. I grew up with satellite and cable and occasionally miss the decorating shows on HGTV, but I think I tend to “want less stuff” when I watch less tv.
We went without any t.v. for about a year. Only recently we added our limited basic cable for about $13 month. With it being the election year we wanted to have it back for a while. Essentially we have local channels and some PBS channels (love PBS!). Without this we aren’t able to get any type of signal.
I actually find it’s very frugal for us. We don’t rent movies in general. We also don’t go out much so for $13/month it’s a deal and is basically our entertainment besides having a very basic internet plan. My husband loves football & sports in general so he enjoys being able to see an occasional game. It is also helpful when I need to rest and need something to take my mind off of being in daily pain. Like anything else, it takes discipline to not let something take over one’s life. Having some t.v. back has not affected my shopping habits because I’m already determined before I step into a store these days to not be taken in.
I’m sure most everyone knows this, but you’ll need a converter box after 2/17/09 if you rely on rabbit ears or an antenna or you won’t have any reception.
We don’t have cable and we only miss it every now and then when we are over someone else’s house with cable. This actually gives me more time to do productive things as well rather than being distracted by the television. However, we did go out and get the digital converter box which gives us more basic channels and better reception. I can live without cable and probably t.v too!
Oh yea, we are avid fans of Netflix, I am actually giving away five free one-month trials at my blog http://newwifememoirs.blogspot.com.
Sorry, I forgot to mention your local library may be a cheap (or free!) option for renting movies instead of paying for NetFlix or the like. Or you could always use the free Redbox codes!
We don’t pay for cable so we only get a few channels (though we gained a couple more when we got our digital converter box!). We don’t really watch TV, but we do rent movies for ourselves and the kids. I like that we don’t have to bother with commercials. Our kids don’t even know what they are and they rarely if ever ask for things.
We don’t have cable and we only miss it every now and then when we are over someone else’s house with cable. This actually gives me more time to do productive things as well rather than being distracted by the television. However, we did go out and get the digital converter box which gives us more basic channels and better reception. I can live without cable and probably t.v too!
Oh yea, we are avid fans of Netflix, I am actually giving away five free one-month trials at my blog http://newwifememoirs.blogspot.com.
We have a whopping 4 tvs in the house, but we don’t have cable. One TV is in the Master Bedroom for piling on the bed to watch an old movie. We have two living spaces and a tv in each room. Three of the four tvs were given to us by people who “felt sorry” for us, because we homeschool and chose not to have a tv for a while. We watch DVDs from time to time, and watch the news and weather, which is a must in Oklahoma (Tornado Alley!). Otherwise, the tvs are off and the cable money stays in our pockets.
We do have cable- I feel it is our one area of entertainment as we never go out to eat or go out to see movies or rent them. Our daughter is only allowed to watch PBS or Noggin (no commercials). We usually only watch the news or baseball games or some reality shows like The Amazing Race. I also DVR Jon & Kate + 8! If we had to drastically cut back cable would be the first thing to go.
We only watch DVD’s on our TV. My husband was a TV junkie when we got married 30 years ago. He’s weaned now. A relative gave us an old TV when we got married; when that died I bought another old TV at a garage sale for $30. We’ve never purchased any other TV.
The last time we watched an actual TV program that I can remember was on Sept 11, 2001. We kept it on all day to watch the unfolding news.
We haven’t yet invested in that converter box thing we’ll need to keep using our TV, so I suppose soon we won’t be able to even watch the important news. But then laptops work fine for that.
We don’t even own a TV. Not only does it save money, but it saves time. Besides, 99% of what’s on there is not fit to watch anyway. I have never once felt deprived because I didn’t have a TV. If there are major news happenings, we are able to watch them online.
I agree. We have been TV free for years. We let the kids watch videos. but no TV. we dont miss it, and our kids don’t have a terminal case of “Mommy, can i have” the way some of our friends’ kids seem to. Also, being a christian homeschooling family it is good to know we are monitoring what goes into our kids minds.
We have gone without cable since our summer move! The only thing that I miss is the morning news but other than that there has been some benefits…(1) The kids get outside to play more (2) there is an amazing amount of TV via the internet for free and (3) we are saving approximately $45 a month. I am interested to see what is on the kid’s Christmas list as they have limited media influence these days. Our family and neighbors think we are a bit strange – but it is working for us right now!
We watch mainly family films together and can easily get our news off of the radio. I think it is a good move for us. I feel more motivated to exercise, cook our meals, clean, and best of all play a lot with our little one, and even take a nap now and again.
We have been TV free for about three and a half years now. Here in the UK you have to buy a TV license (£139 per annum) to watch the basic BBC and commercial channels (5 in all). If you want cable/satellite channels on top of this you would pay an additional monthly fee which varies according to the package you choose.
We can truly say we do not miss it or regret it for one moment. We listen to audio books, read aloud to each other, listen to podcasts and mp3 sermons and talks. And of course, there is always conversation! As we tend to be early to bed people it would be hard to see how we could fit tv watching into everything we do in an evening. Also, given the quality of the vast majority of UK TV programmes (or rather the lack of it) I cannot imagine us ever going back to it.
It is heartening to see that we are not the only ones to actively choose to be TV free. Here in the UK it is considered a rather unusual choice. If homeschooling and being car free doesn’t confirm you as being odd to most people, being TV free will certainly do it!
we do not have a television. the kids watch videos on the computer once in a while. we have a “no media on school nights” policy. the computer used to be in our bedroom so we would watch netflix but we canceled that and moved the computer into another room. now we don’t watch hardly anything. it would be nice to watch musicals on fridays as a family, but i have a hard time regulating my television consumption. even when we just had the local stations, i wanted to watch pbs all day long. it’s best for us to be cold turkey.
Right now, we have one old TV with rabbit ear attenaes. It is in the basement and it is good enough for us. The only thing we miss is when we get together with friends to watch a big game, it has to be at someone else’s house.
We live at the foothills of a mountain range, and don’t get reception unless we have cable…which we refuse to do. So, we don’t watch network tv at all.. We have Netflix, and sometimes we rent movies from Blockbuster. My kids see some tv at their grandparents’ homes, but that’s fairly infrequent. I get my news from the internet. I have to say, my life is much more peaceful without the constant buzz of the tv (as it was years ago). The news started to make me anxious. It’s less emotional if I can read it instead.
We don’t have a cable connection to our t.v., although I’ve thought about it because we love the Food Network and Discovery and History channels. I know it can lead to being a temptation though. We get a few channels through rabbit ears (that’ll end in Feb!) and we rent a lot of movies from the library or cheap video stores like Family Video
I sometimes wish that we could go without TV, too. We live frugally in almost ever other way but we pay over $100 per month for cable and internet. My husband says we can’t do without it! The cable and the high cell phone are the last two areas I really wish we could cut back!
We are not entirely TV free…we do have TV and we have basic cable, but only because our internet would be a lot more expensive if we didn’t have cable…it’s actually cheaper to pay for internet and cable than just internet alone. But, we almost never watch it. We go weeks without watching TV and only use the TV for movies…which for my husband and I averages maybe once every 6-8 weeks. I love not having the TV on!
we’ve been TV free for about 2 months now, and quite by accident. We can’t get satellite and I’ve been procrastinating switching to cable. We’ve saved some moolah, but I’m really starting to miss TV and my husband wants to catch football season. We also just got a brand new 42″ HD LCD TV, and really want to start watching goodies on it. It’s an expense that we’re willing to pay for…just because it gets so much done around here – like folding laundry.
We cancelled our satelite in January. It took a couple of months to get used to no tv, but I can honestly say I do not miss it one bit. There was so much junk to sift through to find the good stuff – and even then the commercials were ridiculous! NBC and CBS now many of their shows online. My husband hooked our computer up to all the tv’s so we can still sit on the couch and keep up with the Amazing Ract together!
We have a tv and get in 3 local stations. I only watch it for news in the morning when I exercise for 45 minutes. Otherwise we borrow DVDs from the library. Our almost 2 year old dd has no interest and we do not have videos for her.
I’m sure it saves us money for several reasons:
1- most obvious- no cable or satellite bill
2- less temptation to buy
3- my daughter is active and so are we
4- no requests from my daughter- she doesn’t know Big Bird from Superman.
We have a TV in our living room, and one upstairs in the bonus room over our garage. I would love to have no TV in our living room. The one in the bonus room is not set up for regular channels; it’s just used for the occasional DVD.
I’m a SAHM, and I very rarely (once a month?) turn on the TV during the day. My DH loves to watch an hour or so of TV at night after the baby is in bed…and for that, we pay $40 a month. 🙁
We don’t watch tv, either. My husband borrowed his dad’s digital converter and tried hooking it up, but we still didn’t get a decent reception, so back it went.
It’s nice, actually. I live in Wisconsin, where everyone is a Packer fan. Since we don’t have tv, it gives us a good excuse to visit with family on Sundays to watch the game together. We have a system down, now. Every other Sunday we hang out with my husband’s parents and the opposite ones, we go to my parents! I love the “forced” family time and our siblings have started making it a habit, too 🙂
We have been cable free for about 7 years now. Based on the rate for basic cable we had when we first moved in our house, we have saved more than $1500.
We have old rabbit ears and are able to get ABC, Fox, NBC, Peachtree TV (used to be Turner), 2 PBS stations, CBS, WB, and UPN for free. We do live in metro Atlanta so I am sure that helps. When we first canceled the cable, we bought a $50 antenna. We found that the old rabbit ears hubby’s dad had in his basement actually worked better so we returned the new antenna.
This works for our family since we rarely watch TV. This month, I have watched one show in addition to the news/election coverage.
My kids can watch a little bit on the disney channel and cartoon network websites which keeps them feeling a bit “normal” but we really limit that. They may watch one or two shows each week but never more that that.
We rent at least 1 DVD a month for each kid and for us, but never more than 2 (unless hubby is traveling – then I get 2 for that week for me :).
I can relate to Lisa’s comment. We didn’t have tv most of the time I was growing up. And for most of the time before marriage. It really used to bug some people.
On two occassions people gave my parents their old black and white tv when they upgraded to colour just because they felt sorry for us. We had more fun without one, I think.
Take Care,
Trixie
we’re tv free. And have been for our entire marriage. I can see that my 3 and 1.5 year old girls have a lot different play habits and wants than kids who watch tv, and that’s a good thing to me. Sometimes I miss being able to watch a movie, and I definitely miss watching the Cubs, but other than that, I’m very happy to be largely out of the media loop.
We have been without TV for 2 years now. We first gave it up after the local station stopped airing the Friday night Red Sox games on the “cheap cable” package we had. We’ve never missed it since!
We sold our TV at a garage sale over a year ago and don’t regret it! When we feel like watching something, we can usually find it online. My family and our friends can’t believe we don’t own a TV, but we don’t feel like we’re missing out on much.
Also, she mentioned cloth diapers. Great way to save money in my opinion, as well as help out the environment. It’s also MUCH easier than most people think!
I just moved 2 weeks ago and went from TiVo and having the TV on ALL day long for background noise at least to pretty much silence. It has been weird. We have one TV with an antena that works most of the time in our bedroom. The other TV’s have DVD players, so I pop in a movie if I need noise. Plus a lot of stations have their shows online. We plan to watch Survivor that way this season if it doesn’t come in clearly on the TV. My mom will be coming to stay with us for a few weeks because I’m due in a week. She watches TONS of TV too and has a lot of programs on TiVo. It will be interesting to say the least… 🙂
We have been very happily tv free for almost 4 months. I love it more every day!
We have been cable free for over a year now. The kids play more, do crafts, etc. Plus we can check out movies for free from the library…or the redbox movies are only $1 or get free promo codes online! Also..there are a few shows I like to watch..like survivor, big brother, etc…but you can watch the full episodes online on the computer anytime you want! love it!!
We haven’t had cable in years, and we don’t bother trying to get any other channels. We do have a huge DVD and VHS collection though. At night my husband and I watch movies together instead of television.
I also like that it gives me more control over what my young daughter watches. She has a shelf of classic children’s movies to choose from. Even if I approve of a TV show, the commercials are likely to contain something I don’t approve of.
We have not had a TV in our home since 1989! My daughter was 2 when we decided it was not in the best interests of our family and she is now 21. Our sons have not had one their entire lives. I think we are all a little (alot!) better for not having it in our lives.
We aren’t TV “free” — a couple at church gave us a really nice handle-me-down TV because they felt “sorry for us” — but we never watch it except for DVDs. And yes, it is possible to have a life and enjoy it without TV!
There is so much on TV (and movies for that matter) that doesn’t belong in my home, much less my heart. As a helpmeet, I can encourage my husband to “set no wicked thing before (his) eyes” (Ps 101:3) by keeping the TV off and carefully researching our movies before we watch them (I like pluggedinonline.com for this). Ps. 101:3 is just as important for us girls, too! Its hard for me “to do all to the glory of God” if I’m wasting time or watching something that will pull my heart away from Him. I’m not saying that everything on TV is bad; we just want to be careful.
I’m glad to hear that we’re not the only “weirdos” out there. 🙂
We also don’t pay for cable, but are able to get a few channels. We rarely watch tv, though. And if there’s something I want to catch or a particular show I want to watch, most of the networks have free episodes online. Also, we mainly use our tv for netflix rentals!
We have two televisions and depending on the weather we get 1-5 channels with the antennas. Funny thing though, the each tv (located in two different rooms) picks up different stations. We have recieved enough video tapes of Little Bear and Dora to satisfy the kids. The tape shuts off after a half hour so the kids aren’t in front of the tube all day or blasted every few minutes with comercials for things we don’t need. We have spent so much more time together as a family doing activities without the TV. Besides missing out on some of the Buckeye games, we are definately ok without a hundred stations, most of which we wouldn’t watch if we could.
We get all of our news online, and only get PBS as far as channels go. We rarely watch it. I’d rather let my ladies watch a dvd that is pre-screened and commercial free! It is easier to set a time limit and to know what kind of things they are seeing!
One thing we love to do on vacation is enjoy the cable – we watch news or I watch Martha – it is something special when we only enjoy it once or twice a year! 🙂
We don’t do the TV thing either. However, the girls do have their DVDs and we subscribe to Netflix for about 8 bucks a month. I really like Netflix because I can read the ratings before I request a movie…I don’t have to worry about inappropriate content flashing up or commercials.
I don’t think you’re crazy! I love not having a cable/satellite or any other kind of TV bill. My husband, though, doesn’t like it and would love to change that. He knows we can’t afford it though, so he watches football highlights online and agrees we are working toward better things – being debt free! We have a five year old and want more children, but I do not want to raise another baby in daycare, so we are holding off until I can stay at home! 🙂 So kudos to all the great NON-TV watchers! It’s all-around better for the budget and more importantly, better for our families!!
We don’t have t.v.! We have a television- for watching dvds and tapes, but we don’t have any stations to watch. We just know that tv would be addictive to us, so we’d rather do without! We do like our movie nights. We have Netflix- you can get it very cheaply per month. We love it.
OUCH! TV Free?!? I commend those that choose this!
For Aaron (DH) and I, TV is actually the one “splurge” we take advantage of. We both love to watch the current events channels (CNN, MSNBC, etc), especially during an election year. We watch History Channel, Food Network, Military Channel, PBS (who doesn’t love Masterpiece Theater!?), Fine Living, and TLC incessantly. We just bought our first home, and while we certainly can afford it, we emptied most of our savings to do so. We’re more homebodies anyway, so for us, this is our “going out” money. We hardly eat out, so I figure, where some families like to go out to eat, we stay in. After all, we live in Wisconsin. And we all know what that means…Snow 8 months of the year (okay, not quite, but at least 6!).
We monitor what is watched on our TV – Liam watches a bit, but those are usually baby shows on Noggin, and for 5-10 minutes at a time. Otherwise, he’s more interested in turning it on and off, on and off, on and off. 😉
We do watch a lot of movies and such as well – Family Guy (naughty naughty as it is, well, is a guilty pleasure), History Channel Miniseries (we HIGHLY recommend the Revolution Series!), and even A & E mini series are usually watched more than regular network programming. I hate commercials, and when I do sit down to zone out with my 4 remaining brain cells, I want to enjoy what I’m watching, not be bombarded with why the way I’ve chosen to live is not the best way.
Part of this all though, is because my MIL and StepFIL just gave us their brand new 37″ flat screen plasma HD tv – they’re moving to CA, and just don’t want to take it with them. I’m grateful, Aaron’s grateful, and we use it wisely.
We plan on starting a movie night on Mondays soon – I told Aaron about the free Redbox movie, and he’s on board (who can argue free?). We also utilize our local library and consortium quite a bit – I AM going to grad school to be a librarian, after all… 😉
Loving me sacrificially, my husband chose to pay for the internet at our home instead of ESPN! I do however use PBS to get 1 more hour of rest in the mornings (George and Sid have kept this still up in the night mommy of 2 sane!)
No TV here. We watch DVDs or online programs on the computer, but we don’t even have a tv set. Wastes time, costs money and, really, we don’t have space in our little home to put one. I love that our living room is arranged around… well, not a TV. I’ve never really liked how living room furniture is always set up pointing at the tv.
We are TV free. We have rabbit ears but our lone signal died this summer. We do watch videos on our television but depend on NPR radio for all our news.
TV FREE & HOME PHONE FREE &LOVING IT!
We have a large screen TV. Perfect for friends, gatherings, and the like. We Netflix. My family would be commercial junkies if we had TV. We do settle in nightly for a family hour of something on DVD. I think that it frees our family, it allows us lots free time to time to play games or color together. Our kids would rather spend time together playing Sequence of Go Fish anyhow.
Most of my friends think I am crazy. But that is what most thought when I told them that I also didn’t have a home phone. What is the point of having a home phone when almost everyone in the US has a cell attatched to their hip? Why pay both a cell and a home phone bill? We have been TV free for almost 16 years and home phone free for almost 3 years. My kids seem to be growing up normal without either! Love your site! Keep up the good money saving tips.
TV FREE AND LOVING IT!
We have a large screen TV. Perfect for friends, gatherings, and the like. We Netflix. My family would be commercial junkies if we had TV. We do settle in nightly for a family hour of something on DVD. I think that it frees our family, it allows us lots free time to time to play games or color together. Our kids would rather spend time together playing Sequence of Go Fish anyhow.
Most of my friends think I am crazy. But that is what most thought when I told them that I also didn’t have a home phone. What is the point of having a home phone when almost everyone in the US has a cell attatched to their hip? Why pay both a cell and a home phone bill? We have been TV free for almost 16 years and home phone free for almost 3 years. My kids seem to be growing up normal without either! Love your site! Keep up the good money saving tips.
We did not have a TV which upset my parents so much my father went out and bought a huge flat screen for us so my children would not be deprived. Soooo…now it takes up space in the living room. The kids watch movies every once in a while.
We cut down to the 16 channel cable when I decided to stay at home. Our bill was $63 and it went down to $18 with the cut — but we have not been brave enough to cut it out total!!
We’re completely TV free. We’ve lived without it in our grad school years and lived with one in our first 3 years of marriage, touching it no more than once a week, so we decided we can live without it. And we LOVE being without TV. We do choose movies to borrow from the library and watch it on the computer though. (and our kid watches Sesame Street or other DVDs on the computer with me). We can limit the time.
Ann in NYC
i lived without cable for four years and found i didn’t really miss it. about a year ago, my husband and i splurged for basic cable which is 13.50/month. we don’t watch much tv, but it’s nice to have it when we want to watch a football game, American Idol, or some other event. it’s almost never on during the day, while i am home with our 7 month old. most importantly, i find that i still have plenty of free time to bargain hunt and spend quality time with my husband. however, if we had to cut out an expense, cable would be the first to go.
We’re the same as you–we pick up a few channels with rabbit ears, but mostly it stays off.
We are TV-free and have lived that way for years. We have cable internet and telephone, but not television. There are many benefits. In addition to the ones you mentioned, especially the one about not being led into temptation and covetousness by commercials and commercialism, there are a couple others that are mostly spiritual issues for me.
1. I abhor the celebrity culture that comes close to idolatry. Our ideas about “praiseworthy and of good report” are no longer based on a person’s achievements. It’s about marketing celebrities and making them into heroes and gods. People actually value the political and social opinions of actresses and actors – and are often more swayed by that than by a careful examination of issues. Which leads me to #2…
2. Television is a powerful tool in shaping one’s worldview. Why do you think they call it “programming”, anyhow? Children and adults just sit there absorbing the message. All sorts of bad behaviors and attitudes are presented as exciting, fun, and not only acceptable but perfectly normal. As a Christian, I can not be entertained by that – at least, not a steady diet of it!
I don’t mean that we are isolated and expect a perfect godly world. We all have computers. We also have netflix and my college-age sons and my DH (also a full-time college student) sometimes go to a friend’s house to watch a Packers game. We all read a lot. I like adventure movies as long as they aren’t smutty.
But we don’t need television. The reasons in your post are very true.
We currently do not have anything but our bunny ears. We get three channels. One channels is a religious channel that we can watch devotionals on as well as some educational kids cartoons in the morning and then at night we have one channel to show us the news (which we never watch, its too depressing) and then we have one other channel that we occasionally will sit down and watch Everybody Loves Raymond on for an hour. We also have 2 amazing libraries in our area with ALOT of movies so we rent movies from the library on the weekend or get a free redbox movie on monday night for family night. We LOVE not having the T.V.
Our kids do watch an hour or 2 of educational cartoons in the morning while I get ready for the day and pick up the house but other than that our T.V. for them is not on a whole lot.
Why pay $40 or more a month to sit on the couch and get more lazy and overweight every month!
To answer your question- we are similar to your family in this regard. We have rabbit ears to get a few local channels, and tv time is VERY restricted for the kids (occasional PBS shows plus videotapes… YES!!! we still use a VCR lol), and somewhat restricted for the grown-ups (DH and I watch a couple of junky shows every week). 😀
I agree with your reasons, too- cable/satellite not an expense that is “worth it” to us, and I think most of what’s on tv is total garbage anyway, that I don’t want my kids exposed to. We’re actually debating whether or not to buy the digital converter thingie!
My husband and I decided to become free from the TV when we got married and have never regreted our decision. During the day (I am a stay at home mom) I find I spend time reading, crafting, playing and enjoying life and my kids rather then sitting infront of the tube. Many people have questioned us and say that they would die without TV but we wouldn’t have it any other way. At night when we are together as a family we spend time talking and playing games and really spending quality time together. My children play outside more, read more and spend more creative time to fill their day. I think the most wonderful thing about not having TV is not having the negative influence of the media in our home. We feel that our home is more peaceful and calmer and we know that we have been blessed as a family in numerous ways. Thank you for posting on this topic becuase it is something that I feel strongly about because it does make such a wonderful difference in your life.
I’m 27 and have been TV free for over 6 years now. After the initial withdrawal I haven’t missed it at all, although I do follow two series online!
In 13+ years of marriage, we’ve never paid for TV, which wasn’t really a problem until we moved last year. Now we get very little reception where we’re at because we’re between major TV stations. But, we’ve discovered the joy of internet TV watching, so if we’ve just *got* to have something, there’s as much or more to choose from as if we had cable or satellite!
We’ve never had cable, ever, or even considered it. We have had a TV for some years now though. It was free. We got the Digital TV Converter box (about $20 after government coupon) and it made the antenna work better and now we have 8 PBS stations, that is nice. Personally, I don’t watch much. Maybe 1 hr a week, or less. But others in my family use it more. I can’t imagine paying for any sort of TV service (it’s not just $35 around here, either). I think if free TV goes away, we just won’t have one, it’s not that important to us.
I used to go without TV. I’m sure we could do without it again if need be. But it’s nice to especially have a DVR with it. We love shows like Survivor and American Idol, and it’s nice to record them and watch them when we can. Plus we can skip all the commercials. Would I go without TV if we needed to financially? Yes. Do we watch it all the time? No.
With blogging, and selling online, along with sewing, cleaning, and taking care of two kids I hardly watch more than two shows a week (if that). But, I am able to sit down and watch them when I am able because they are recorded.
Watching the same videos over and over again, is just no fun.
However, with Redbox letting us rent a free movie a week, I imagine we could do without it. But then I couldn’t stand missing this season of survivor and having to wait for it to come out on DVD (just my obsession with the show).
We are TV free too! IMO, it’s better for your mind and spirit to be TV free anyway.
We don’t have a TV, both for personal and religious preference. We did have one for about two years and I was sooo relieved when we got rid of it again and I don’t miss it at all. It’s like walking through sludge. Funny thing, my kids don’t miss it either! And the author is sooo right, we save more than the $40 cable bill every month.
We are cable free. We find that if we want to watch something we pop in a movie or watch something online. It’s great except for the Texas A&M football games I’m always missing!
We are like Rachel in that we don’t get any channels with rabbit ears. BUT we aren’t TV free. We called the cable company and asked for just the network channels and it only costs us $10 per month! A lot of people don’t know this is an option and the cable company doesn’t offer it when you call and ask what the cheapest package is. You have to specifically ask for it. I love it because for some reason, we get Disney and GMA with it also…shhh 😉
I am totally fine with no cable channels. I’ve never had them…not even growing up. I do love having network channels though!
We don’t have cable in my apartment. My roommates and I decided against it for many reasons. We’re all in school right now and the television would be a constant distraction, plus, we need the money more for groceries and textbooks.
Beside of that, it’s much easier to watch your favorite shows (albeit a day or two later) online.
Oh yes – for us it’s a no-brainer to be TV free (except for whatever we can pick up with rabbit ears). My husband and I have agreed we’d have to have a lot more money to actually think it was worth to pay for TV over the other things we could use the money for.
We enjoy occasional rented DVD’s and DVD’s by mail through Blockbuster.
It is very counter-cultural though. Most people seem to think of TV as a basic utility!
We were TV free for 5 years until last year when our landlord added “free” cable to our rent (by increasing our rent $40!). It was still cheaper to stay put than move so as not to be forced to have cable. But I REALLY miss our TV free days!
For the first six years we lived in our house, we did not have cable TV–if we did, our house rennovation project would have moved much more slowly. For some crazy reason, we broke down and got the most basic, “public” stations only package for $15/mo…and our house progress has come to a standstill! Hmm…maybe DH would actually pick out some trim if we cancel the cable…
Hello,
I love your reasoning for not paying a cable bill!
We have satellite tv with a DVR. We tape lots of our classic tv sitcoms and old movies. We really look forward to our tv time each night we usually watch 40 minutes of commerical free laughter.
I completely understand why many people choose not to have tv and/or cable but we really enjoy a fun show now and then. We also watch some good documentarys and the How It’s Made show on the science channel.
Take Care,
Trixie
http://farmhomelife.blogspot.com/
Oh, how I wish we were TV-free! Alas, my husband wants to have some entertainment running in the background when he’s working on his laptop. He would NEVER consent to getting rid of our dish, now that we’ve gotten it. We signed a two-year contract last summer, too. I feel trapped by it, personally. I enjoy a few shows, like Jon and Kate Plus 8, but it’s not worth $50 a month!
Maybe one day I’ll be able to convince my hubby to let it drop. I can always hope…
We have been TV free for about 4 years. I have absolutely no desire to go back.
I have much more time now to sew my own clothing, sew my children’s clothing, mend my husband’s clothing, bake bread, bargain shop, fold laundry, wash the cars, help with ministries, donate to ministries, teach my children, read the Bible, sing hymns, bake cookies, garden, pray for others, clip coupons and much more.
Hello,
We ‘took the plunge’ a few years ago. We did, however buy a digital receiver (fancy ‘rabbit ears’) and so we get network and public channels. It is free, however I feel like I should be donating to Public Television!
I try to keep the TV off in general unless there is a specific show we want to watch. It’s very peaceful actually. I just need to limit my internet time now!!!
Ha – my daughter doesn’t know what a commerical is ~ and I don’t have to field requests for junk!
Em
We, too, live TV free and save the money. We occasionally watch a movie, but other than that, the TV never gets turned on. After we get home from work, do around the house, fix supper, clean up, pack lunches, it’s time to get ready for bed and another day….when do people find time to watch all those TV shows? (However, the music stays on at our house 24/7.)
I love this! We have been TV-free for over 4 years and at first it was a hard transition but now I wouldn’t have it any other way. With everything I have to do in a day – I don’t know how I had time to watch it before.
We don’t have a TV in our home–it truly does save on the cable bill. We can’t receive channels without cable. We do watch TV when visiting our parents, and we still love to watch movies. Most days I don’t miss TV at all! I am very thankful for our computer, though.
We are TV-free. It wasn’t planned that way, we just got married in January and I was job-less and we had just paid for a wedding and a cross-country move…we simply did not have enough money to spare to pay for cable.
The television we do have is a hand-me-down from my parents. It only plays DVDs, it doesn’t get any channels.
Our initial plan was to get cable when we had enough money but now….we would NEVER go back to having TV!
We love it! I can’t imagine how much time we would be wasting if we had television. We only turn it on about twice a week when we get a Netflix in the mail.
I can’t imagine wasting all of our time together in front of a TV. We play cards and play with the dogs and go for walks and play basketball and study the Bible together instead. It’s great!
-Morgan
[email protected]
We haven’t had television service in 7 years! Of course, where we live, we can’t get a signal, there’s no cable and I don’t think we can get satellite either, too many mountains and trees.:) We do watch family films and educational programs on tapes and DVD’s, and we get most of those at the library. I have an 11 year old daughter and a 7 year old son and they don’t miss TV at all. Of course, they’ve never really watched any of it! I have to agree about the commercials, and some are not so silly, they’re just plain awful!
I was raised w/o tv, but my husband’s family had it. We decided before we even got married, that our home would be tv-free. can’t imagine how we’d find time to even watch it!!! 🙂
We are not completely TV free, but recently we moved the TV away from kitchen and living areas. We don’t see it and don’t use it as much. Mostly my daughters watch videos now.
We don’t have cable, but my husband bought a digital converter (with $40 coupon) and hooked it up to an antenna (bought off ebay) in our attic. So we get a great picture for the one-time set-up cost.
We like to watch presidential/political news as well. It seems to be pretty important this year…
We don’t have a TV so we watch movies (from Red Box, sometimes using free codes or using coupons from BB for free rentals) on our computer. It has saved us lots of money & time too for the same reasons!
Thanks for the great post. Amen to everything there! =)
No TV here. We don’t have a decent broadcast signal around here, and no way are we paying for that junk! However, we do download certain shows (Dr. Who, anybody?) and watch after the kids are in bed. We’re not opposed to DVD’s either, as long as they’re free (library, friends, Redbox promos, etc). Our entertainment budget comes to $0 most months, and we like it that way. Most days, we just have peace and quiet, the way humans were meant to live. In fact, my extended family has started turning up here on especially hard days, just to escape the noise and confusion of the rest of the world!
We live pretty much TV free. We don’t even have a TV in our living room in fact we don’t even watch movies, we have watched only 1 this year (and it was on the computer). We do occasionally watch basic programming on my husbands computer (he has some type of digital convertor and antenna.) We have found that we are much more productive and spend more time with each other since we don’t have cable! And the major advantage is we are not bombarded with worldly influences that slowly creep into our thinking when we are subjected to it via programming, commercials, and even the news.
Not to sound negative, but we have lived without tv ever since we were married 33 years ago. Five children have grown up here without it also. They were at the top of their class, it sure didn’t hurt them. When we have seen tv on vacation we have been embarrassed by just some of the advertisements…why let that filth come into your home? We try to live that if God walked in, he’d be comfortable, after all He is here. Have a good day! Debbie
My husband and I have really been taking advantage of watching our favorite shows on the internet for FREE. We can cuddle up in bed or on the couch together and watch it uninterrupted without most of the commercials. It’s like going to a movie, without having to pay for childcare=)
We live tv-free also. It’s just so expensive to have cable! We do have rabbit ears which gives us 2 channels, but we very rarely bother looking at the poor quality they offer. We use our TV for a short video in the morning for the kids (since they wake up so early!) and family movie night once in awhile.
I do watch some shows I like online (many are available in full ABC, Fox, etc.) when I exercise.
Not tv free, but I only get 2 channels (PBS and NBC) with antenna