One of the best decisions I ever made came from a place of necessity. After my divorce, I had to find some ways to save money so one of the first things to go was my very expensive dish bill.

I don’t recall how much we were paying for tv but it was close to $100 a month. It bothered me at first that I couldn’t afford what I considered a very basic utility and right.

But you know something? I didn’t miss it for very long because it quickly became clear that I didn’t watch shows so much as I flipped channels. I had so much more free time on my hands because I wasn’t mindlessly flipping between HGTV and ALF reruns.

I live in the country where internet options aren’t great so I don’t use any streaming services but do have an antenna which gives me access to some fabulous entertainment. I’m listening to a great PBS concert while writing this and have access to a vegan cooking show, documentaries, some neat reruns and, of course all the modern stuff brought to us by the brilliant minds of network television executives today.

If the tv is on in my house, it’s to watch something specific and not to kill time. And since I’m not flipping through hundreds of channels all evening long, I have more time to read and to do other things I enjoy.

Not to mention, many tv shows (I’m looking at you Chip and Jo) and all commercials are designed to make you feel dissatisfied with yourself and your life. Plus, there’s just not much on television today that’s worth the brain cells you’re killing by staring at the thing. By minimizing my tv exposure, I have actually increased my happiness.

Thinking about cutting the cord? I say do it. If you’re on the fence, add up how much you spend on tv in a year and think about what you could do with all that money! Even if you invest some in a streaming service, you will be saving hundreds and possibly thousands a year!

It may feel weird at first but I promise you won’t regret it!