Letting the cable sleep*

(*with apologies to rock band Bush for the paraphrase of their song title)

I did it. I have made a major lifestyle change.

As of yesterday, I no longer have cable television. I had it disconnected. It no longer fits my lifestyle, and in today’s tough economy, it’s just costing me money for something I’m not using.

I’ve had cable TV ever since I was a child. I remember when my parents had it installed, and we used a rectangular box with a slide bar to select the channels.

Television has come a long way since then, but in my own household, I have always just had the basic package. A few comedies and dramas on the networks were all my husband and I watched, so we just needed enough to get good reception. For many years now, we have not been beholden to the network schedule. We would tape shows on the VCR and watch them later.

Ever since the writer’s strike earlier this year, we have gotten away from taping network shows. For three months, there was nothing new to tape, and during that time, we switched over to buying full seasons of shows on DVD and watching those.

We’ve gotten spoiled. We don’t have to deal with re-runs or commercials, and the next episode is on whenever we decide to turn it on. It’s great!

As the economy has started to slide downhill and gas and food prices are increasing, we decided we could kill the cable and use the money to offset the rising prices.

Even when the new shows come back on in the fall, I don’t think we’ll be going back to cable. We’ll be content to just wait until they put the season out on DVD and buy it then.

How does cutting my cable off fit into a healthy life?

It is an example of evaluating your needs and your wants. I no longer need cable, but I do need extra money to fill my gas tank and buy groceries.

It's also a lesson in patience. We have been used to taping the shows when they're on, then watching them a day or two later. Now, we'll have to wait several months to a year to buy them on DVD.

In the meantime, we'll save some money.

In order to keep your life healthy, you need to reassess things from time to time, and if you see something that is no longer serving you – especially if it’s something you are paying for – let it go.

You can reduce your costs, as in my case, or you can reduce your stress or gain time by making lifestyle changes that reflect what you need – and maybe what you want – at this time.

What lifestyle changes have you made lately? Let me know.