When I was in my twenties, I was not a person who watched a lot of television. I occasionally turned the TV on for background noise, but I didn’t have much interest in actively watching. I had cable because I liked to watch the occasional crime drama or criminal procedural show, but I was never one to sit and watch the Big Bang Theory, House, or Dexter.

As I grew older I started feeling like I was missing out on a lot of what people around the office were talking about. So, I started following certain shows and getting interested in TV. Two years ago, I moved into a place with Satellite and I thought I was going to enjoy watching all the channels I had missed. Nope!

The Satellite TV package offered by my apartment complex is good, but it does not allow me to DVR, watch on the go, or watch any of the on-demand apps via my smart TV. For some reason, based on a weird contractual agreement, I am a Dish customer, but I don’t’ have an account with them. I have an account with a third-party company who contacts Dish on my behalf and serves as a reseller and intermediary. All of this means I have Dish service but no account or benefits. So, if I miss a show I’m out of luck unless I’m home to catch the reruns.

One of my friends told me about Hulu Live TV. This is a Cord Cutting Service that allows you to stream live and on-demand TV programming from over 50 popular networks. Local news and sports are included as well, so even when I’m out I can watch my shows in real time or DVR them for later. The cool thing about Hulu with Live TV is that there is no contract involved and it is totally independent of the need for a cable or satellite subscription.

I took a deeper dive into cord cutting as a lifestyle and learned that nearly 33 million people have ditched the traditional cable subscription lifestyle for a low-cost video on-demand or antenna experience. With such services as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Sling TV and DirecTVNow the idea of an expensive cable subscription that increases year over year is less attractive than a combination of services that is inexpensive, contract free and customizable. In my case, two years ago my TV bill was over $200 and I barely watched anything. Today, I pay nearly $50 and I’m always watching something.

I still have a satellite TV package. It’s a part of my rent and a luxury that comes with living in my complex. That being the case, I rarely use it, and far more prefer to watch my Netflix, Hulu, or any other streaming service.

I’m a cord cutter and I’m proud of it.