Save Money and Improve Your Life by Turning Off (Or Getting Rid of) Your TV

I recently ran into this piece from The Juggle about how her family had gotten rid of their television. They tried turning off the TV for a week in the past and they "got to bed earlier, read and talked more, and generally felt like we had a little more time in the evenings." They're finding the same sort of results this time around -- and they kind of like it.

After seeing this post, I did a bit of searching and found out there's an organization dedicated to getting people to spend less time with their TVs. Here are some highlights on them:

Center for Screen-Time Awareness (CSTA), formerly TV-Turnoff Network and in an early incarnation TV-Free America, is an international nonprofit organization that provides tools for people to live healthier lives in functional families in vibrant communities by taking control of the electronic media in their lives and not allowing it to control them.

Founded in 1994 by Henry Labalme and Matt Pawa as an environmental organization, CSTA has grown into an agency dealing with diverse issues including obesity, illiteracy, violence and the impact electronic media has on our lives. The organization is dedicated to making information and tools available to people that put them in charge of the “electronic tools” in their lives, using them in ways that enhance the quality of life and contribute to stronger families and communities.

CSTA has helped millions of people do just that. Our primary programs, Universal Screen-Time Reduction; A lifestyle for the 21st Century and Turnoff Week (formerly TV-Turnoff Week) are keys to our organization’s success.  These programs put the power in the hands of individuals and families, helping them make the best decisions for themselves, with the best information available.

I've written that you can earn $1 million by not watching TV. Others have listed Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television (and ten things to replace it with) and Twelve Reasons to Turn off the Television. Seems like there's a trend here.

But not only can you save a bundle of money by canceling cable and limiting the amount of "I gotta have that" commercials you watch, it seems likely that there's a better quality of life associated with not having a TV (or at least not using it much.)

We watch very little TV -- maybe a handful of hours a week during the football off-season. (and not that many more during the season, though I do like to catch at least part of a game every week.) We spend most of our TV time playing video games -- though this could be as bad as watching TV.

I'm interested in hearing for those of you who have cut down/eliminated TV or are thinking about it. What is your thinking/experience on the issue?

Comments

[Emily]

Good for you... you don't watch a lot of TV. You must have a lot of better things to do with your time, like read. Personally I LOVE TV! My husband and I watch several shows each week that we look forward to with anticipation, fast forward through comercials (DVR), and talk about together. It is couple bonding time, as well as a nice time to veg out. I get not watching reruns of Sinfield, but there is nothing wrong with TV. I think life would be extremely boring without TV, and people who dont watch it probably surf the net, or talk about how advanced they are for not watching a lot of TV. Did you ever notice how people who watch a ton of TV don't talk about it, but those who only watch a little LOVE to state that fact. Just check out www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

[FinancialFinesser]

I work in a male-dominated field, and I feel like I almost have to watch TV for professional development purposes. Usually if I'm in a meeting, whether internal or a client meeting, while waiting for the meeting to start, the conversation will be about a recent television show, nearly 75% of the time. So if I just sit there like a bump on a log while everyone else is talking about last night's baseball game, or the most recent episode of Lost or Law and Order, I think that actually reflects poorly on me, since I can't contribute to the conversation, no matter how trivial.

So typically I watch shows like Best Week Ever and The Soup, that way I can keep up with stuff like American Idol and all the other reality shows that I hate, and then I use a Tivo to maximize my TV-watching time, but not having to watch commercials, and being able to watch a particular show whenever I want. And even though I don't like sports much, I check ESPN.com every morning to watch highlights of games so I can be prepared to discuss.

I know it may seem silly, but whether it's about sports or project work, I want clients and bosses to notice me, and that means speaking up, no matter what the topic is.

[Gloria]

I canceled cable over one year ago, and have not missed it. I still have a television, and watch videos from time to time. I believe my quality of life is much improved now.

[J in FL]

Emily, thats a hilarious blog by the way...

However, I don't think FMF's intentions are of an elitist nature... he just points out the pros vs. the cons of spending time in front of the TV, ect

[Angela]

I love living without TV. We have no cable (and no TV reception without it). We watch about one Netflix movie a week, but our TV viewing is limited to occasional channel surfing when we travel or visit family (after which we usually say "Oh yeah, THAT's why we don't watch TV. Thank God!").

Without TV, we're not endlessly influenced by Hollywood's idea of life. We get to be who we are -- and closer to who we want to be. I find very little I want to emulate in most of the characters portrayed on television, so why watch it?

[Dave]

I have a very expensive 40 inch HDTV, with Directv service, and an HD DVR. The tv was a gift from my in-laws and cost about $1,800. The HD DVR was $200, and Directv costs me about $71 a month.

I'm not going to lie -- I love my TV and have not an ounce of regret of how much it costs me (in terms of time or money). I probably watch on average 45 - 60 minutes of TV a day. The high def travel shows I watch are highly realistic and probably saves me $$$ by letting me feel like I've been there w/o actually going. I love talking about my favorite shows - 30 Rock, The Office, How I Met Your Mother - with my friends and family. And I love being able to watch a 3 and 1/2 hour game in 60 minutes, commercial free, on my own time, and still feel like I was there. I also typically work out when I'm in front of the television.

To each his or her own. For me, I believe the value I get from television far exceeds the price paid. I'm not a TV-junkie, but I use it as a product to enrich my life. As I've said before, at some point you need to start living your life, even if that means spending some money. Otherwise, you are just hoarding money for money's sake.

[TheMightyQuinn]

My wife demanded we get cable when our daughter was old enough to watch tv. She didn't want her eyes ruined by the fuzzy picture we picked up with our rabbit ears. But now our daughter is three, and she watches too much tv, as do we!

I'm building my case to cancel cable, get a digital converter box, and return to our antenna. If the picture is clear enough, we'll get a half dozen channels and save $360 a year. Plus we'll spend more time interacting!

[ryan]

we got rid of cable a couple months ago. i love it. after a couple weeks you dont even care what's on anymore.

it is quite liberating, you have more free time than you ever realized. plus there is no detriment. you can catch the news on the internet in the morning in about 10 minutes.

TV will take up all of your free time if not checked.

[Christopher Smith]

Basic cable comes with my apartment at no additional cost, and for the incremental cost of a TV tuner card (about $100 for a good analog/digital one), the MythTV software records my shows for me and automatically skips commercials (along with all the other great stuff it does!).

I can still watch the shows I like (I'm a regular of Jeopardy!, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and the History Channel), but I can do it on my own time, such as while I'm at the gym (MythTV can export to a personal media player), and watching a 30-minute show generally only takes about 20 minutes of my time.

[billbillbillbill]

We moved into a house and chose not to put a tv in the living room. We used to watch tv while we ate breakfast, dinner, and while cooking and doing dishes. Man, we don't even miss it. We talk during dinner and I don't think we will ever go back. We also got a used TIVO for cheap and it records all the shows we want to see. I can handle $10 a month for a TIVO, versus the huge price cable and satellite charge to get a DVR.

[Jim]

Hello, my name is Jim and I'm a cable TV addict.

We watch a decent amount of TV at home. I really do enjoy TV and I consider it a pretty reasonably priced form of entertainment overall even with a hefty cable bill.

But its easy to see that cutting cable can save you an easy $50-100 a month or $600-1200 a year. That is a lot of money. So if you're not much of a TV fan then it certainly makes sense to get rid of cable. Broadcast network TV plus a Netflix subscription is a very good priced alternative. Netflix is $17 a month for 3 dvds and gives you tons of viewing options including most new TV shows.

But theres some areas, especially live sports, that nothing but cable can compete with. So for the time being I'm still a cable customer.

Jim

[Cathy]

I don't have a TV. Basically I've seen very little TV since 1979. I never was much of a watcher and always had lots of hands-on hobbies that I liked better. I get travel DVDs and movies from the library but I often forget to watch them.

When I compare myself to my TV-watching friends, it seems like I'm more immune to the usual consumer messages. I don't see ads for the latest whatever, so it doesn't occur to me to want it. I don't see shows about people with a higher standard of living, so I don't feel deprived. Someone else's mileage may certainly vary, however.

Being TV-free may also have encouraged me to be more entrepreneurial--I have the time to try my hand at lots of things and build my sense of mastery, while passively watching a TV show probably doesn't do that as well. I also don't get exposed to as many unhelpful messages about what women should or shouldn't be like. I own my own business now and love it.

I'm clueless about American pop culture, but I can usually fake my way through TV-focused small talk by asking questions.

Instead of watching TV, I play an instrument (usually with other people), go dancing, listen to audiobooks while working on my house... I get my news from the internet and radio.

[Joshua]

TV is such a waste of time. I mean American Idol? Reality shows? What the crap is that? I have digital over the air channels and I get about 30 and they all have as many useless shows as cable. Now internet....that's a different story. I pay 44.95 for internet. I can't live without it. Get rid of TV and your life will be so much better.

Finally a post where FMF and I agree! :)

[Bill]

I'm toying with the idea...we have two TVs, we watch just a little TV, our oldest boy watches 30 minutes per day, max, of Barney. We like NCIS, Dirty Jobs, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Letterman, and Deadliest Catch. But we don't watch them.

I'd love to get an Apple iMac and download stuff and watch it on my HD TV (that I don't have), so that would entail getting an HD TV, which is counter to our goal of saving money.

To us, it's about saving the monthly $50-100 we spend on something we rarely use. It's also about not wasting time. We veg out on the couch every night just to "wind down" but we could certainly talk, read, or go to sleep. Or start a blog about how to save money :)

[Mydailydollars]

We ditched cable TV around Christmas and haven't missed it one bit! We use Netflix and the local library, and I watch a few shows + PBS documentaries online. I love being in charge of my time. I have noticed that life is great without commercials too. I was sick in a hotel a month or so ago and watched TV all day. The next time that I was in Target, I had this major urge to buy a lot of cleaning products. I realized it was the effect of that day of advertising!

[Duane Gran]

I've been tv-free for about seven years. As I think of all the family time I've had, I wouldn't go back for anything.

[Ann]

I stopped watching TV 4 years ago and have loved the money saved (satellite and energy fees). I promptly dropped 10 pounds and bumped up my reading to 5 books per week. Plus I slept better.
Wouldn't go back to it, personally.

[Kurt]

Get rid of the TV in the bedrooms, all of them. When it follows you from room to room it becomes background noise instead of a treat.
Get rid of cable. Netflix and broadcast will do just fine, thankyou.
Get a DVR. Make the TV work for you instead of the other way around. That way you watch only what you want, when you want. Not what you want, whenever it's on, and mindless channel surfing when you're bored.
And if that doesn't work: get rid of your TV. No one needs one.

[Khyron]

I haven't had cable since mid to late 2005. Before that, I lived without it when I lived in California from 2000 - 2002. If I watch anything, its movies that I own. I use the Internet for entertainment.

TV is a time sink. I won't rehash previous comments, but its such a waste of time and intellectual capacity.

It should be a crime to allow your children to watch TV. I'm not trolling or flamebaiting here. Whether you agree or disagree, do you. This works for me. I just can't think of any less worthwhile activity. I only watch TV when I'm at my parents' house, given that there are so many, or at my best friend's house. Even then, if I have a choice, I watch CNBC (usually) or Bloomberg (rarer). Those are the only 2 channels I would actually get TV for.

I'm not even bothering to buy a converter for the digital conversion. My DVD player works fine. I watch "Wall Street", "Boiler Room", Robotech, or listen to music using it.

Watching TV should be considered self-abuse.