Going, going, gone.

On April 10th we will be taking a big leap. That will be the final day we have Direct TV. No we are not replacing it with Dish Network, comcast, mediacom, or any other satellite or cable t.v. service. We are going old school (sort of) and will have only broadcast t.v. and what we can get through Netflix and the computer. Now before any of you feel too sorry for us you must realize we can get about 90% of the shows we watch from the three mentioned sources. The only difference will be not being able to watch the shows the night they air (most networks air their shows in their entirety via their website the following day) and no ESPN for me. The first issue is no issue at all as we have Tivo and rarely watch shows on the night they first air anyway. I will ease my ESPN addiction through checking scores on the internet and listening to ESPN radio.

Why are we doing this? Saving $700 a year is a pretty good reason in itself. Do you know how much beer I could brew with $700? Money, however, was not the reason. As more and more companies tell us how we "need" to have this and "need" to be connected to that we began to feel push around. So, we are pushing back. We do not need cable. We do not need a cell phone plan with unlimited minutes and texting. We do not need most of the "wants" that society has deemed to be "needs". So, we are pushing back starting with Direct TV and then in June giving Verizon Wireless the heave hoe.

There is yet another bonus to losing the satellite tv. No commercials and complete control over what the kids watch. We are very tired of the constant bombardment of material things toward the kids. All kid shows these days seem to be nothing more than filler between commercials for new toys. Nora and Nigel want 50 new things a day. Gotta stop.

The timing cannot be better. Summer and its busy schedule is quickly approaching and I cannot think of a better time to make a clean break. Stay tuned to see how it goes.

Cheers