Originally Posted in July of 2007
Mrs. Frugal and I don’t have a T.V. When I tell people this, the usual response is, “Why? How do you live like that?”
There are several reasons we don’t have a T.V. One is the cost savings ($60 per month in cable bills and we don’t have a T.V., so we’d have to shell out $600-1,000 for a good LCD).
Another is the space. We don’t really know where we’d put a 30″ screen, and so…well…we haven’t gotten around to it.
The third reason is the sensory overload. When you go without T.V. for several months (over half a year and counting), when you finally watch it at someone else’s house, the screen and sound give you sensory overload. The commercials are loud and annoying (I know Tivo skips through them, but what if you watch live T.V.?), and even the shows seem to be screaming at you in order to keep your attention.
The final reason we don’t have a T.V.: we don’t really have the time for it. We’re too busy wasting our time doing other things like talking with each other, reading, surfing the internet, blogging, and balancing our checkbook.
There is one show we enjoy watching: American Idol. But for that, we go to my parents’ house when it’s on. If the show isn’t worth driving 10 minutes to go watch, the show probably isn’t worth watching (for us).
We aren’t people who are stuck up and think that we’re elite because we don’t have a T.V. Television has had some wonderful shows that I’ve loved over the years. What’s different about not having a T.V. is that it causes you to really think about each show you watch one-by-one. If we want to watch a video, we watch one on our laptop on the bed. We have some shows on DVD, and we watch them, too.
UPDATE: APRIL 2009
We moved out of that apartment after about 18 months and bought a home. We didn’t get a TV until Mr. Frugal’s sister gave us an old, 27″ TV. (The label on the back says it was manufactured in December of 1997.)
We don’t have cable, but we have a collection of DVDs that we watch and occasionally rent a DVD or borrow one from a friend.
It works for us and we don’t miss cable at all.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I certainly know what you mean about living without a TV, David. Stan and I lived without one for the first 4 years of our marriage, and we didn’t miss it at all! When my parents came over to visit us here in CT in 2004 (before we bought our house) they were completely shocked that we didn’t have a TV. They just kept asking: “How can you live like that? Not follow news or anything…”, even though we repeatedly told them that we were reading news online and subscribing to magazines. They ended up buying us a TV (even though we didn’t want it, but we didn’t want to offend them either), but we still hardly ever watch it
Life is just better without it, especially when you have so many things to do 
When I was single I did have a TV, but only used “rabbit ears”. I didn’t miss the cable shows at all. Now that I am married things have changed, but know that if it was only my choice there would be no cable, no bill and I would get more done.
We ditched our cable a few months ago and don’t miss it! We also watch DVDs and videos (I know, archaic) and have enjoyed checking things out from the library (which has a much-more-extensive video collection than DVD).
We also enjoy Hulu.com when we’re in the mood for television.
The biggest advantage for us is that our 2-year-old is growing up seeing the television as an occasional diversion, not an every-night activity. We spend plenty of time after dinner playing together as a family, rather than staring at a screen. For that reason alone, I don’t want cable service… though I will miss live-action Dodger games and am considering paying for online viewing.
I read with interest your article on going “without” TV, to me, be it Tivo, Hulu, Cable or renting DVD’s, it is still paying for what was free when we were younger… and that grates.
As a married couple we, however have the most basic cable that allows for fast internet, and just don’t turn it on as often. YES, it has an off button! Living outside the metro area, there are only two internet connection options, and satelite was cost prohibitive.
When I was single I had put my TV in the closet. I was living at the beach and living was better than watching. I am trying to convince my hubbie of that, but he works long night shifts and when he stays up all night the last day off, TV is his fav “activity”… any suggestions??