Life Without Dish...

No satellite TV? Come again?

Yep. That's right. We no longer have satellite in the Turner household. I cancelled our Dish Network subscription after living with and watching it religiously for the past two and a half years.

 

Why in the world would I do such a thing, you ask?

 

This decision stemmed from a few different reasons given below:

 

1) I was tired of spending $150 per month just to watch TV.

Of course when we signed up we had all of these great deals and offers to where we were only paying around $60, but those offers we no longer valid after the first year of service. Therefore, we have been paying full price on the package we had originally selected for the last year and a half. After taxes and random fees are included, our total bill each month was around $148! For satellite. No internet or phone is included in this total price. This reflects satellite only.

 

2) It wasn't a necessity.

TV is overrated. It is nice to have when it comes at a decent price. I do have my select few favorite shows that I watched consistently. At the same time though, they aren't worth the price tag that came with our satellite package. Our lives aren't going to end if we don't have those shows to watch and keep our time occupied.

 

... and the biggest reason of all...

 

3) Time spent with and as a family.

There's an abundant amount of time spent in front of a TV screen these days. When my brother and I were kids, we stayed outside playing all day long, came in for lunch and again at dinner. This isn't the case for kids today. I don't want Kaylee to think it's okay to sit inside and watch the TV all day. I want her to explore life, us be there to witness as she learns new things, and to make lifelong memories together as a family. I don't want her to ever think that if K and I are watching a show, it matters more than she does. These are things I want to prevent, and set as an example for her during these early years of her life.

Our little household has been Dish free for right at two months now. I'm not going to lie, the first couple of weeks did take some getting accustomed to. The TV had become part of our daily routine; I come home and start dinner, Kaylee will watch a couple of shows while dinner is being cooked, K and I would put Kaylee in bed and then relax on the couch while watching some of our shows for an hour or so before going off to bed ourselves. That schedule made things easier for me to get things done as soon as I got home, but I was missing out on quality time with my mini along with one on one time with K. Instead of her going into the living room and watching the Disney Channel, she could have been helping me with dinner and setting the table. K and I could have still relaxed on the couch, but conversed with one another instead of watching one of our meaningless shows.

 

We do still have our $20 monthly subscription to Netflix, and will always save that for a rainy day. I must say, it has been so nice having that extra $150 in our account these last couple of months.

 

For the three of us, life without Dish has been an eye opener, and so much more rewarding than I could have imagined. We play games, spend more time together as a family, and focus on the important things - each other.