by Claire
In March of this year, when I began blogging, I made significant changes to my basic living expenses. One of the biggest decisions was cutting the cord on cable and switching to a digital antenna. It’s been eight months since then, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to go cable-free! Thankfully, I haven’t encountered any issues with my new TV aerial. However, I’ve made sure to keep a list of reliable installers handy, just in case I need tv aerial repairs in the future.
Before buying anything else for television-watching purposes I challenged us to use an old PlayStation to watch Netflix and HuluPlus. I’m pretty good about setting these challenges to make sure I stick with something before I spend extra dollars on extras. (Tangent: The same rule applies to workout clothes. Nothing new until I am consistently exercising for at least six months. You should have seen some of the items I went to yoga in at the very beginning. Hello, 1990’s! I liked to consider myself retro. :-/)
The PlayStation worked fine for the initial experience although it was cumbersome to use. I found that to be an added benefit as it prevented the kids and I from just mindlessly turning the television on instead of doing something more productive. I still have not purchased my own Roku but I am borrowing the Roku of a friend who isn’t using it very often. I love it! So, I decided to post about it since it has been awhile and maybe there are new readers who could benefit from my television cutback decisions.
We get all the local channels in HD and then we stream Netflix and HuluPlus via the Roku. I can’t find a flaw with this arrangement especially given our very busy schedules. My friend says he doesn’t need his Roku back anytime soon (he primarily uses the xbox to access) and he has generously offered it to the kids and I for the short term. I’m not in a hurry to buy one so even if he needs to take it back, I won’t be purchasing my own very soon. We did fine with the PlayStation! But for now I’m welcoming the opportunity to enjoy this great item!
If you are still paying for cable, do some research. You may find much cheaper alternatives!
P.S. Although you are likely sick of hearing about the latest in “As Steve and Claire Divorce…” I’ll share that I got another one line snail mail letter today. He instructed me to provide any suggestions for the divorce decree to him directly no later than November 30. Gladly! In fact, I’ll beat that deadline!
