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January Goals Update and New February Goals – We FINALLY Eliminated Cable

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 61 Comments

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January Goals Update and New February Goals - We FINALLY Eliminated CableHello everyone! Time for another life update post.

January was another good month for us. We worked out a good amount, we ate fairly well, and it was a month full of exciting planning for our future.

Last month, we decided to put our house on the market and find a new place to live. We definitely sped up our moving timeline a decent amount, but I’m excited for all of the changes we are about to experience.

During the last week of January, we traveled to Colorado in hopes of finding a rental house. We spent a week there and found one that we really liked. I talked about that here.

 

We got rid of cable!

Yes, you read that right. We finally cut cable out of our lives. We are about to move, so it made the decision a little easier. I figured we wouldn’t have time to watch TV the next few weeks, so I thought this would be the perfect time to cut it out because we probably wouldn’t miss it at this time anyways.

The cable company did beg for us to stay. They offered us probably 5 or 6 different options, even putting our cable on hold for free until we decided we wanted it back again. While that was a tempting option, I knew that it just wouldn’t be worth it.

We spend way too much time watching TV, so it really wasn’t just about the money that we were wasting. In just the past week that we haven’t had cable, we have done much more than we would have ever been able to do if we would have kept it turned on.

I think this is a decision we will never regret.

 

January Goals Update

  • Work out! PASS. We did well with this but slacked off a little towards the end of the month since we went on a last second trip to find a rental.
  • Work ahead on MakingSenseofCents posts. PASS. I am still doing well with this! It’s nice being a little ahead with blog posts, especially when things get a little hectic, such as with our move in just a few weeks.
  • Successfully lead a 5.10b at the rock climbing gym. PASS. Lead climbing at the gym is still something I need to stop being afraid of. I’m getting better with my fear of falling to my death though. 🙂
  • Create a plan to get our house ready for sale. PASS. We made major progress with this. We made a complete plan, we had our realtor over, we have already started painting the whole house, we’re almost done packing, and we had a contractor over to fix a bunch of things. Also, we have a company coming over next week to replace our garage door (we had the consultation last week). I feel stupid for not doing all of these things before because now we actually love our house!
  • Declutter. PASS. We’ve donated a ton of things in the past week. We also rented a dumpster last week and threw away a bunch of items. I cannot believe how much we decluttered. It feels so nice to have it done.
  • Spend less than $100 eating out. FAIL. As I discussed the other day, we failed at this goal. We actually spent $169 on restaurants last month.

 

February Goals

  • Work out! This will be a hard goal for me since we are preparing to sell our house, we are moving into another house over 1,000 miles away, I want to hang out with my friends as much as possible before I leave, and I still have to find time to work. I don’t know how much working out I will get in, but I at least want to make an effort.
  • Work ahead on MakingSenseofCents posts. This is still one of my goals. I have heard of other bloggers being months ahead with their blog posts, and I would love to be at that point one day.
  • Finish preparing our house for sale. We are trying really hard to have our house ready to be put on the market by the end of February. We are on track, so I just hope we stay on track.
  • Move away. I hope to have a safe and as stress-free of a move as possible. I am going to miss all of my friends, so this will be truly hard to do. I have tears in my eyes right now just thinking about leaving them! I know this is a somewhat normal life event to move away from those that you love, but I’ve had the same group of great friends for almost a whole decade now. I hope I can manage the distance!

What amazing things are going on in your life? How did you do in January? What is your main goal for February?

 

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  2. Kari says

    Cutting out cable?! Whoa! I’ve had the urge to do that so many times but just can’t seem to pull the trigger. I did pretty well last month. This month’s biggest goal is to work out!

    Reply

  3. G says

    Congrats for cable elimination, honestly I don’t watch a lot of tv so in my family isn’t been necessary have cable, normal tv offers great variety of movies, fiction, cartoons, programs & co-yep with tons of publicity but for our use it is ok!!! Good job!

    Reply

  4. Michelle @ Modern Acupuncture says

    We don’t have cable either. We watch Netflix and whatever we can find for free at Hulu, and that works out great. If I need a cable fix, I go to our gym, where each cardio machine has its own TV with cable. Sometimes wanting to watch HGTV really is my motivation for exercising! I know we’re lucky to have this particular gym and I’ll really miss it when we move this summer. Congrats on meeting all your goals last month!

    Reply

  5. Cari @ Coffee With Cari says

    Congrats on the cable cutting! I have lived without cable for almost two years now and it’s great! We use Netflix and it’s perfectly fine for us. We don’t watch TV a lot so it works out well. I just have to walk away if people talk about current seasons of shows so I don’t hear the spoilers 🙂

    Good Luck with your move! I am thinking of relocating from the Northeast to the South in the next ten years and while it’s what I want, it also terrifies me to be away from family but I would love to be in a new environment and make new friends.

    Reply

  7. Beth says

    That’s awesome. I have been thinking about cutting cable for a while. I also think you shouldn’t be hard on yourself for going over your eating out budget since you went away for a week and probably had to eat out during that time. Good luck to you and your husband on your next chapter in your lives. 🙂

    Reply

  8. Amy says

    I agree that there are reasons beyond money for cutting cable. We cut it in December, but miraculously still get the basic cable channels. But having fewer options – about 70 vs. about 300 – helps limit the mindless cable surfing we used to do. I can’t say I NEVER do it, but I’ve definitely gotten better about turning off the tube and reading.

    Good luck with all the moving prep! It sounds like you’re off to a great start!

    Reply

  10. Rust says

    We’re done with cable also. Way too expensive and to be honest, so much on cable is unwatchable these days. Very poor quality programming; my money is best spent on things I enjoy.

    Reply

  11. Robin @ The Thrifty Peach says

    Awesome on getting rid of the cable. That has been on our to do list for a year now, and we still haven’t done it. Its like we are too chicken to do it or something. Ugh…That makes me feel so stupid!!

    Reply

  12. Melane says

    Congrats on cutting out the cable! This comment is going to reveal my age, but the hubs and I agreed to dump cable when it hit $30.00 a month… yeah, that was in 1997. But we managed to raise two kids and stay culturally aware without cable service. PBS was our go- to for TV entertainment!

    Reply

  13. Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom says

    Congrats on cutting the cord! If you enjoy the productive time, don’t look into cable alternatives! We still watch too much tv even without cable!

    Reply

  14. Fervent Finance says

    My February goals include completing my personal income taxes (although they will be the most frustrating S.O.B. this year due to my moving states). I always try to find time to work out no matter how busy I am with work or other things. The stress release it gives me is well worth it!

    Reply

  15. Ree Klein says

    Clever strategy! I like that you made the cut when you knew you’d be distracted. After the move and your “new normal” sets in, I bet you’ll never miss it because you’ll fill the time with other more rewarding activities!

    Cheers,
    Ree

    Reply

  16. Barrie says

    Last summer when our DirecTV contract ended, we went to antennae and ROKU and have no regrets! Besides saving a TON of money, we watch tv less and spend more time as a family! The shows to watch are endless too!

    Reply

  18. Mrs. Maroon says

    Cutting cable is such a good idea. More than reducing your spending, it helps you to fill your life with meaningful activities. We did it nearly two years ago and have no regrets at all. Our marriage is happier without it. Oh yeah, and with two minis now, we’d never find the time to watch!

    Reply

  19. Brenda says

    We cut out cable in May last year. We have Roku. We are in the process of setting up an antennae. Hubby was not happy not being able to watch his Nascar races. Every month when I pay for our internet (which is our through our cable company) they are always trying to get us back on cable and phone. I do have a house phone but it is with magic jack and at a cost of $32 a year it can’t be beat.

    Good Luck with your move it sounds like you have everything well under control. I hate moving and you could not pay me to move! Our home is paid for and we like it here. I do love to travel though.

    Reply

  21. Dawn says

    Cable is a big argument at our house but I have been out voted. So I cut other areas to compensate 🙁
    January was great until a dental emergency wiped out my whole year’s allotment. But paid it by end of the month without touching emergency savings. That is a first so very excited!
    February goals are to continue my quest for budgeting knowledge and set up reasonable debt repayment plan. Last week our transmission died so a new goal is to pay cash for repair. With tweaking my paper budget can do it. Big goal is to live what is on paper!
    I am glad I found your site, thanks!

    Reply

  22. Wanda says

    Congratulations on your cable decision! I’d been toying with the idea of getting rid of cable for over a year and finally pulled the trigger about three weeks ago. I don’t miss it one bit and LOVE having the extra money to put toward debt repayment. Wish I’d done it long ago!

    Reply

  23. Jayleen @ How Do The Jones Do It says

    My February goals are to get the taxes done and list all the stuff piled the corner of the office on eBay! I would love to cut cable but the hubster isn’t on board with that one;0)

    Moves are so exciting, yet hard at the same time. Keep us posted on your progress!

    Reply

  25. Mark@BareBudgetGuy says

    Chromecast + the internet = All I could ever want. All I want to do in Feb is live within our grocery budget. I think we just might do it this month. Our kids’ appetites just keep getting bigger…

    Reply

  26. Jessica says

    We also cut cable when we moved and I’m so glad we did. Good luck getting everything ready for the move. Planning a cross-country move is no small feat, but it sounds like you’ve got a great plan in place. And I feel you about having the same friends for a decade and then moving. We were the same way before we moved and we still talk to our “old” friends frequently and it’s nice being able to visit each other as well. Good luck with everything!

    Reply

  27. nicole dziedzic says

    Congrats on eliminating cable, It would be so hard for me to pull the plug on that, great progress on your goals I think, does keeping track of your goal by writing them down/keeping a list help? It seems like you have it pretty organized.

    Reply

  28. Crystal says

    Good luck with your move! We stream our main shows through our computer via an HDMI cable into our tv or projector. It’s working well for us and we do spend less time watching pure time wasters. Now we only go through the trouble for shows we really enjoy. 🙂

    Reply

  29. jackie says

    good luck with your move! we just put our house on the market too and we did the same thing – all the little fixes made us like our house so much more haha.

    Reply

  32. DNN says

    That was a pretty good move you made at the time by eliminating cable because not only did you save money, but you can easily pull up Google Docs on your smartphone to create content for blog posts. And the money that was saved could’ve (if you want to promote affiliate links as sub-domains) been invested into PPC ad networks on AdWords and Bing just to make a quick come up on some side hustle millionaire $ gUaP $. 🙂

    Reply

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