So long cable bill!

We did it! We canceled our cable/internet. I'm still kind of in shock. Perhaps in denial too. I hate to admit it but we watch a lot of TV. Let me say that again... A LOT! I'm a bit confused, wondering what we are going to do with all that time!

Anyway, let me get to the story... My husband texted me on Friday saying that he thought we should get rid of our cable. I almost had a stroke! Although the idea was in the back of my mind, I never thought he'd go for it. So, I immediately agreed. I've been struggling with ways to reduce our monthly budget so that we could build up our emergency savings and start paying down our debt faster. Cable and internet are nice to have but definitely not necessities in life - especially when you're in debt like us. So, he made the call and canceled our service.

We went in to our local cable office on Saturday to drop off our cable boxes and internet stuff. While in the office, they had about 12 different TV's going at the same time and I could see my husband starting to second guess himself. Believe me, I was too! We stayed the course though and handed in our dusty old equipment.

I should explain that we are not going completely without some form of home and couch entertainment :) We have decided to still keep our Netflix account active. For about $10 a month, we do get a good amount of use out of it. Now, we're planning to get a lot more! There's got to be some old shows that we missed and good movies to catch up on. Also, I do get internet access on my work phone. Although the screen is tiny, it's still access! Lastly, I was able to score a wireless internet card for my work laptop, so I could use that at home as well. Although the speed it dreadfully slow, we're hoping it'll be sufficient to get us online as needed.

Yayyyy! So, that's my good - no, GREAT - news. It's only $120ish a month, but will certainly help us out. Oh yeah, one more bit of news - my hubby also willingly canceled his wrestling show account (about $4 per month). So, make that $125 going towards savings and debt. Today is a good day!

Question : Have you ever given up cable? If so, was it difficult? What did you end up doing instead to fill up all your spare time?