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Have you considered cutting your cable off when you get that big bill in the mail?
Do you find yourself wondering why you even pay that much for T.V. when there are so many “junk” channels? And never anything on?
Or have you thought about what you could do with all that money spent on cable? Or the time you spent watching (or binging) T.V.?
We made a decision when we got married to not sign up for cable. Two parts to that: 1.) We didn’t want to pay for it (or really even had the money to). 2.) We could only get satellite T.V. – Country living at it’s best!! So we just never got it, and I think that’s one of the best choices we could have made.
Now, we do have internet and a Netflix account. We don’t totally live off the grid!
And if you are an avid T.V. watcher and that’s totally your thing, then that’s ok, too! This is just our personal preference and if you’ve been on the fence about cutting cable, I hope this inspires you to take the plunge and do it! I don’t think you’ll ever look back!
How much can I save by cutting cable?
Just look at your monthly bill and multiply it by 12. Did you just do a double take and your eyes get real big? That’s a lot of money!! The average cable bill (according to Fortune) is $103 a month. $1236 a year!!
If you don’t want to ditch T.V. altogether, you can get an antenna to pick up basic, local channels for the news, and get a Netflix account for movies and shows. Antennas are less than $50 and a regular Netflix account is less than $9 a month.
If you could save over $1200 a year, what would you do with that money?
Take a vacation, pay extra on your mortgage, start an emergency fund, finish that home project? You could do one big thing with that money and it could make such a huge difference in your life.
What to do instead of watching T.V.
There are so many things you could be doing instead of watching T.V. every night. Things that will stimulate your brain, keep you in better health, and you might just enjoy more!
Here’s 20 things to do when you cut cable!
- Exercise or do yoga.
- Deep clean your home.
- Declutter your home.
- Learn how to meal plan.
- Try new recipes.
- Start a side business.
- Learn a new craft.
- Read real books.
- Explore your town.
- Redecorate your home.
- Volunteer.
- Go for nightly walks or bike rides.
- Plant a garden.
- Play cards or games with your family.
- Watch movies.
- Work on your budget.
- Plan weekly, frugal date nights.
- Have a dog? Play Frisbee or take them to the park a couple afternoons.
- Have kids? Search Pinterest for crafts and experiments.
- Start a blog – you’ll never be bored again! 😉
There really are so many more productive and fun things to do instead of watch T.V. If you aren’t ready to take the plunge, start by having screen free nights where you don’t turn the T.V. on the whole night.
Once you cut cable, or at least have T.V. free nights, I think you will find you have more time than you thought to do other things. And that feels so freeing and wonderful to have more time to do the things you enjoy and that will actually make a difference in your life and your family’s life.
Are you ready to do it? To take the plunge and cut your toxic and expensive relationship with cable? I’m here cheering you on!!
And, if and when, you go through T.V. withdrawals, refer back to this list to find more interesting and meaningful things to do with your time. I think it just might be a life changer for you.
Peace out, cable!!
What are your favorite things to do instead of watching T.V. ?
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