Guest Post: Living TV-Free Saves Us More Than $37.99 Each Month

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 Money Saving Mom: 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.

Comments

[wv_mom]

Not tv free, but I only get 2 channels (PBS and NBC) with antenna

[kp]

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.

[Tasha Via]

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=)

[Debbie]

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

[Rachel]

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.

[Spoodles]

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!

[E.M.C.]

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! =)

[julie]

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...

[eunice]

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!!! :-)

[Denese]

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!

[Morgan]

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
mvalencia@astoneagency.com

[Tara]

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.

[Cherilyn]

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.

[Kimberly]

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.)

[Emily]

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

[Jeannine]

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.

[Katy]

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...

[Trixie]

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/

[Ann]

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...

[Camille]

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!

[Elizabeth M.]

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!

[Nicole]

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.

[Shayleen]

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!

[amanda]

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!

[Jennifer Caldwell]

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.

[FoxFire]

We are TV free too! IMO, it's better for your mind and spirit to be TV free anyway.

[The Thrifty Mama]

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).

[Robin]

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.

[Melanie]

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!

[Melanie]

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!

[Bethany]

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.

[MangoMom]

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). :D

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!

[Erin]

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!

[Cathe]

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.

[Jeana]

We're the same as you--we pick up a few channels with rabbit ears, but mostly it stays off.

[jeremiah's mami]

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.

[Ann]

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

[Melissa]

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!!

[Lisa]

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.

[Samantha Zundel]

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.

[Samantha Zundel]

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.

[Sarah]

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.

[Babychaser]

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.

[Christina]

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!)

[Andrea]

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... ;)

[Cassandra]

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.

[Shannon]

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!!

[Brittany]

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.

[Monica]

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! :)

[Lauren]

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.