Television...could you live without it?
By golly, I think I could!
As a child, I did not have cable or satellite television in my home. Therefore, I have always learned to live without it. My favorite channel as a kid was PBS. I just loved watching "Reading Rainbow". Of course, I rarely had the chance to watch it.
Even if we had cable, my parents ruled the tv in our house. And we didn't even have a VCR until I was in 6th grade! HA HA! That was a very big deal. My dad loved being able to record shows all night, then watch (actually sleep through) them during the day.
It wasn't until my sister-in-law gave me a television of my very own in 1992 that I was able to watch my preference of television shows. So, for a brief period in my life, there were two televisions in the same home in which I lived.
I have to admit, the first two years out of college we had a roommate that had to have cable. But I actually never even watched it. I was too busy going to class and doing homework most of the time. And during my junior year in college, we didn't even have a television.
Eventually, I brought my little Zenith television from my parent's house to my college home. I had it for YEARS, and eventually gave it my mother to use in her bedroom once someone else gave us another television in 1999.
When we moved to New Hampshire in 2006, the television that was given to us by our college friend eventually croaked. We weren't even going to replace it, but my father-in-law thought it would be a crying shame for us to not have a television in our home.
Therefore, my in-laws actually purchased a television-a BIG ONE too, online and told us to go pick it up at Circuit City. I think it was a 50 inch screen. It was way too big for us, and we didn't even have a place to put a television of that size, so we ended up asking for a smaller version to take home.
You might be wondering if we have ever had a VCR or DVD player. We do, but we very rarely use them. Video rental is also something of a rarity in my home. We just don't spend the money on that kind of entertainment. We even own a few movies, almost all of which were gifts.
So what do we do with our time in the evenings for entertainment? We actually do WATCH TELEVISION! There is enough entertainment with the free channels that you can access with the adorable bunny ear antennas. I think one of our favorite channels is PBS. I can watch documentaries, Antiques Road Show and the life of animals all day long!
But we have often contemplated placing the television in the basement, where it would be next to impossible to get any reception, unless we placed the tv very close to the window in the basement bedroom.
But you really should stop and think "How much money do you spend EVERY SINGLE year on cable or satellite television?" I know most offer it for at least $30 a month if not more. That's close to $400 a year!
If I had actually been spending $30 a month for the past 16 years (192 months) I have been living on my own, that adds up to be $5,760! WOW! That's just wild to me!
So, maybe instead of buying cable, think about opening up a savings account for your kid or just a rainy day fund? It's definitely something to think about! Believe me, it's worth the sacrifice. Just one small way you could save some money.
 |
| Remember these ancient things? The old cable box, before wireless television remotes. |
As a child, I did not have cable or satellite television in my home. Therefore, I have always learned to live without it. My favorite channel as a kid was PBS. I just loved watching "Reading Rainbow". Of course, I rarely had the chance to watch it.
Even if we had cable, my parents ruled the tv in our house. And we didn't even have a VCR until I was in 6th grade! HA HA! That was a very big deal. My dad loved being able to record shows all night, then watch (actually sleep through) them during the day.
It wasn't until my sister-in-law gave me a television of my very own in 1992 that I was able to watch my preference of television shows. So, for a brief period in my life, there were two televisions in the same home in which I lived.
I have to admit, the first two years out of college we had a roommate that had to have cable. But I actually never even watched it. I was too busy going to class and doing homework most of the time. And during my junior year in college, we didn't even have a television.
Eventually, I brought my little Zenith television from my parent's house to my college home. I had it for YEARS, and eventually gave it my mother to use in her bedroom once someone else gave us another television in 1999.
When we moved to New Hampshire in 2006, the television that was given to us by our college friend eventually croaked. We weren't even going to replace it, but my father-in-law thought it would be a crying shame for us to not have a television in our home.
Therefore, my in-laws actually purchased a television-a BIG ONE too, online and told us to go pick it up at Circuit City. I think it was a 50 inch screen. It was way too big for us, and we didn't even have a place to put a television of that size, so we ended up asking for a smaller version to take home.
You might be wondering if we have ever had a VCR or DVD player. We do, but we very rarely use them. Video rental is also something of a rarity in my home. We just don't spend the money on that kind of entertainment. We even own a few movies, almost all of which were gifts.
But we have often contemplated placing the television in the basement, where it would be next to impossible to get any reception, unless we placed the tv very close to the window in the basement bedroom.
But you really should stop and think "How much money do you spend EVERY SINGLE year on cable or satellite television?" I know most offer it for at least $30 a month if not more. That's close to $400 a year!
If I had actually been spending $30 a month for the past 16 years (192 months) I have been living on my own, that adds up to be $5,760! WOW! That's just wild to me!
So, maybe instead of buying cable, think about opening up a savings account for your kid or just a rainy day fund? It's definitely something to think about! Believe me, it's worth the sacrifice. Just one small way you could save some money.
Comments
Post a Comment