Should you drop cable?

I've been streaming since ... well, I was initially going to say 2010, but I actually did some streaming before then. Streaming didn't become my primary way of watching TV until 2010 though. I mention this for a couple of reasons.

One reason is that you know that I'm not new to streaming. I've been doing it for a while. Sure, others have been streaming longer, but I have been at it a while.

The other reason is that you know that if I've been doing it this long, it's because I think it's the way to do it. I dropped cable and never looked back. (Okay, that's not true, but it kinda is true. It's complicated.)

What about someone who has cable today? Should they drop cable? And the answer is ... maybe. Or maybe not. It depends.

Now that's much of an answer is it? Well, it might not be the answer you want, but it's the answer that is true. What is the better way for me may not be the better way for you.

Thing thing is, streaming isn't perfect. Many of the things you don't like about cable are true about streaming as well, just to a lesser degree. But is that degree worth the change? Again, that depends.

If you want to save money, and that alone is your goal, then yes, drop cable. But that doesn't mean you need to start streaming. You can save money by not streaming. Drop cable and don't start streaming, and you save some money. But it doesn't get you what you want. You have to make some decisions, and some decisions are hard.

Some people simply avoid hard decisions. What they don't realize is that not making a decision is a decision. Maintaining the status quo is a choice. You don't have to do any math, you don't have to learn anything new, you can just sit and do nothing. Except pay high cable bills. But that's because you chose to continue to pay high cable bills. You did make a choice.

But is sticking with cable, and high cable bills a bad choice? Maybe not. Sure, my choice was to drop cable and lower my bills, but that was because I determined that the changes would be worthwhile to me in the end. And they were.

Someone else may not find it worth it. And if I were to say they were wrong, well I'd be wrong. I can't say what is right for them. What I can do is lay out as much information as possible so they have enough information to make an informed decision. But their decision is their decision.

Cable has one advantage over streaming for many people. They grew up with cable and understand it. I was completely unfamiliar with streaming when it first started, but picked up after a while. I found it fascinating, but wasn't about to change how I watched TV unless there was a benefit in cost. It took a couple of years of serious research, advances in technology, and wider streaming support before it became a better deal insofar as bottom line cost was involved.

However, what was the deciding factor, the real factor, for me isn't necessarily the factor for someone else. Some may think that learning a new way of using their TV isn't good enough to offset the savings from cable. And if it's not worth it to them, it's not worth it to them.

But it's worth it to me. That's why I have a Streaming Life, and I enjoy it. But if others don't, as long as they enjoy how they watch TV, that's okay too.