Breaking up with the cable company pt 1.

So let’s start our journey on the why.

I’ve been a cable customer since I was born. Honestly it was the only thing I knew existed. Sure you could use an antenna to get a few TV stations, but it was fuzzy and you only got the local channels and the news. So cable was the only game in town.

Over the years new services arrived. Satellite TV popped up and got big for awhile, then the fad faded and the cable companies merged together to form mega conglomerates to keep their hold on the markets. So today, they are still pretty much the only game in town.

They control everything you see and hear. Don’t think so, Upworthy.com has a nice info graphic explaining why you are wrong. I don’t want other people controlling what I’m allowed to hear and see and know. That kind of defeats the purpose of a democracy I feel. AND on top of that I’m over paying them for the services they use to do it?

Nope. I’m done with all that.

On to the money.

Here’s a copy of cable bill I was able to dig up.

Notice I pay $140.31 a month for service. This includes family cable, 3 boxes 1 with DVR and my internet service. That’s no movies channels, no G4TV, no anything. just the basic 40 or so channels which are mostly filler, 10 news stations each with their own slant, 7 music stations, all of which play nothing but reality TV and then your basic broadcast networks where all the actual shows are on.

I use my DVR everyday. In fact, it’s the only way I watch TV anymore. I set it to record my favorites, then when I get a day off, I sit and catch up on the week before becoming a functional member of society.

Speaking of function. Here’s a soliloquy .  There was a period of time for about a year and a half where my wife and I went without cable completely. We were saving money for a house, and both worked a lot, so we didn’t really need it. Turns out that when we were home, we were super productive. Shit got done without TV.

So there’s 3 reasons to get rid of cable

• Too expensive
• Media control
• Productivity

Now you know the Why, next I’ll explain the PLAN.