This didn’t really start out as a goal – it began as a cost saving measure, but could we really enjoy the guilty pleasure of TV without “cable”. We agreed last April (2011) when we moved into the condo that we would try. Let’s give it a 3 month trial – because the channels we love, the ones we really, really like to watch are only on the “upper packages” – so we wanted to see if we could live without that $90 – $120 expense. So instead we opted for a High Speed Internet package (in our area that is about 20 Mbps) and connected an extra computer to the television. We tried hooking up the netbook, but it just never seemed to work well.

3 months came and went and we didn’t even realize it. When breaking news happened – we found out on Facebook. When there was a change in weather, well, there was an app for that. And when we did want to indulge in TV, there was HULU. And of course for a movie (and many great TV series) there was Netflix and the occasional REDBOX run.

We watch TV almost everyday – just not “live” TV very often. When we heard of Bin Laden’s demise we surfed our computer to CNN because they were live streaming. When our beloved Jacksonville, FL inaugurated it’s first African American Mayor, many of the local stations streamed the event over the web. And there have been a few times where something was coming on that we really, really wanted to see – so we made plans for a visit to Mom’s.

Somehow a year has just slipped away – and honestly for a moment or two on a Sunday morning when I want to stay under the covers and just flip through the channels, I do miss it. But instead it gets me out of bed and enjoying a day that I used to laze away with hours of channel flipping just hoping to find something to watch.

Now we watch with a little more purpose – and we still watch WAY TOO MUCH television – but at least it’s things we want to see, that we have chosen and not just whatever comes on next. (In fact, we recently turned off the AUTOPLAY, so we do have to get off our butts if we want to watch another show. Very Good Choice – I’d highly recommend it.)

For Christmas our friends gave us the gift of HULUplus – which gives access to shows a little sooner, and access to more episodes of the different shows. For $9 a month – it really beats the cost of cable for most things, especially since it was a gift).

A year has flown by and on our last internet service bill the rate was significantly higher, when I called in I discovered our “promotional” discount ended – and of course we are up to paying the full price for the next 12 months of our 2 year agreement. (ARGH). The rep on the phone told me: … ‘we have a package for existing customers – and if you add our basic cable package, it will be the same price’. After much digging, it wasn’t really the same price, it would be about $10 – $12 more per month.

We carefully considered his offer, and when it was going to be the “same” price, and were really, really tempted. Then we realized, we really don’t need nor want to spend $12 more a month to have more channels that we really don’t need, after all, we do watch WAY too much television already.