Re: Cable- To help save money...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/10/2006 8:38:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, skaggs@... writes:

Another idea is to get rid of cable TV, if you have it. This will save a lotof money each week! Also, if you have a bike, ride it where you can so youdon't use gas. Walking is great, if you don't have a bike and both aregreat exercise.Kenda

We didn't have cable years ago when I worked -because no one was ever home to watch it.

It is a great idea for some people to give up cable, but in our case... I know people think it's bad to watch too much tv, but when you have no kids, can't drive, don't have a regular phone to use (and couldn't sit and chat on it if you did), don't have company (EVER), and you're inside for days at a time and only leave the house on the weekends---you need something to occupy yourself. If I couldn't watch movies and get online, I'd have nothing to do but stare at blank walls.

Also, we use the "On Demand" channels a lot to watch movies when we spend time together.

If we weren't watching movies or tv, we'd be leaving the house and doing something else that requires spending money on gas and something to do. To go to the main cities, for gas it costs $25 to go to one and back, and $15 to go to the other and back---that's just gas alone. Not to mention doing anything in either one.

We spend $100/mo for cable and internet. ($30 of that is internet -which is a MUST.) For the hours of entertainment, it's cheaper. If we cancelled cable, and it made either of us leave the house 4 times to do somethine else ---it wouldn't be worth it.

Someone will probably suggest playing games or cards to occupy time, but I can't do that alone --- and can't do it with a husband who isn't into that, either. He works so much, that when he's home, he just wants to kick back and relax. (Before I got REAL sick, I've tried initiating a "game night" in the past to have occasions to socialize with friends!) There's just so much you can do.

We don't live close enough to any place we need to go to ride a bike -which we don't have anyway. There's no local recreation, or even much recreation to speak of in the bigger cities.

Sometimes I think WV must be a whole other world! lol

Thanks for the suggestions... and especially for the kind words!!! There is no support in my life like what I get from here. I wish I'd found this board years ago.

Brig

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/10/2006 1:13:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, skaggs@... writes:

Ok, since cable is a necessity for you right now, can you buy a cheaperpackage, like maybe only local channels? Or, how about reading? If I wasin your shoes, I think I'd choose a topic to educate myself on and read likecrazy. The library is really cheap! :)Kenda

I swear I'm not trying to be complicated here, just answering!

The range in cable tiers is less than $15. Minus internet, it literally went from like $58 for basic to $70. We just got the cable we have now about a year ago when we got rid of our home phone to get cable for the internet. The 2 lower tiers don't come with the On Demand movies -which is what I was saying we use. (It's cheaper than renting movies, and WAY cheaper than going out for a movie. Plus, the internet is cheaper with the bigger packages -so it comes out about even. It's also cheaper than satellite... but that's not an option anyway.) There are tens of channels which have movies (and shows) available any time you want to watch them. (Not to be confused with pay-per-view... this viewing has no additional charges.) The channels with movies change their line up every so often, so the movies are always changing. There are tens to chose from at any given time. If we watch 12 movies or shows on it per month together (I actually watch more than that myself), you couldn't rent them (not to mention gas) for the $12 difference. That's a low example, because including shows (not just movies) we use it even more. Watching movies is how we spend time together... and like I was saying, it's way cheaper than leaving the house in the long run.

(When I'm alone, Lifetime Movie Network occupies a lot of my time -though it's not often hubby watches it! That's also only available in the higher cable tier -which was actually why we got it to begin with.)

I loved reading books before I got PTC (Pseudotumor Cerebri). (That was also back before the internet, so you actually had to go to the library to check books out.) Reading print messes with your head when you have tunnel vision and enlarged blind spots. It makes your eyes hurt, and provokes migraines. I also don't read emails people send with long jokes for the same reason. It's hard to read a lot at once. (I imagine it to feel like if you wear prescription glasses, but tried to read a book without using them-having to read the same things over and over and focus your eyes constantly.)

That's one thing I've slowly been doing -selling books off! I take them into used book stores when they are offering to 'buy' instead of 'trade.' I used to put a few on eBay, but I never know when I can get out to ship when I sell on there -though you get more money back out of them than from used book stores. I'd been doing that for a while trying to pay off credit card debt. (But ya'll know how that goes... you pay one down, then something comes up you have to use it again.)

I really think we've cut about everything we can that's economical, and did so long ago for other reasons we've needed money. No home phone, no newspapers, no magazines, etc. I do miss getting the Sunday paper for the coupons, but then again -it seemed like I bought things 'just because there was a coupon' and ended up spending MORE money that route!

We don't have room (or money) to buy in bulk ---though I agree that's a great option for people with kids. We do it with meat, though, when we can. It's hard to have that much money at once.

The thing I'm really hoping to make some money on is selling off almost all of my clothes at a consignment store. My plan is to take them the beginning of September, because it's mostly fall/winter clothing since I can't go outside hardly at all during summer.

I'll let ya'll know how that goes. I'm working on getting things together. I have quite a bit of clothes, yet hardly go any where... when I do, I wear cotton wide leg pants (thin sweats) and cotton t-shirts (or sweatshirts) ---because any other fabric seems to make inflammation and rashing worse. (Do any of you have that problem?) I literally have about 30 pairs of the same wide leg pants because the fabric hardly touches me when I'm standing or walking -so they don't inflame me. My husband hates it, because I wear my clothes so huge, because if I don't and they aren't WAY loose --- I stay inflamed head to toe with redness and increased pain.

Brig

[Guest guest]

Ok, since cable is a necessity for you right now, can you buy a cheaper

package, like maybe only local channels? Or, how about reading? If I was

in your shoes, I think I'd choose a topic to educate myself on and read like

crazy. The library is really cheap!

Kenda

>

>

> We didn't have cable years ago when I worked -because no one was ever home

> to watch it.

>

> It is a great idea for some people to give up cable, but in our case... I

> know people think it's bad to watch too much tv, but when you have no kids,

> can't drive, don't have a regular phone to use (and couldn't sit and chat on

> it

> if you did), don't have company (EVER), and you're inside for days at a time

> and only leave the house on the weekends---you need something to occupy

> yourself. If I couldn't watch movies and get online, I'd have nothing to do

> but

> stare at blank walls.

>

> Also, we use the " On Demand " channels a lot to watch movies when we spend

> time together.

>

> If we weren't watching movies or tv, we'd be leaving the house and doing

> something else that requires spending money on gas and something to do. To go

> to

> the main cities, for gas it costs $25 to go to one and back, and $15 to go

> to the other and back---that's just gas alone. Not to mention doing anything

> in either one.

>

> We spend $100/mo for cable and internet. ($30 of that is internet -which is

> a MUST.) For the hours of entertainment, it's cheaper. If we cancelled cable,

> and it made either of us leave the house 4 times to do somethine else ---it

> wouldn't be worth it.

>

> Someone will probably suggest playing games or cards to occupy time, but I

> can't do that alone --- and can't do it with a husband who isn't into that,

> either. He works so much, that when he's home, he just wants to kick back and

> relax. (Before I got REAL sick, I've tried initiating a " game night " in the

> past to have occasions to socialize with friends!) There's just so much you

> can

> do.

>

> We don't live close enough to any place we need to go to ride a bike -which

> we don't have anyway. There's no local recreation, or even much recreation to

> speak of in the bigger cities.

>

> Sometimes I think WV must be a whole other world! lol

>

> Thanks for the suggestions... and especially for the kind words!!! There is

> no support in my life like what I get from here. I wish I'd found this board

> years ago.

>

> Brig

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/10/2006 7:40:14 PM Eastern Standard Time, saxony01@... writes:

You may want to check out Netflix . . . Thousands of movies . . . You can watch as many as you can turn around in the mail for one monthly fee . . less than $20 a month.

Rogene

Yeah, we were doing that with Blockbuster for a while (because you also get free in store coupons), but it's one of the expenses we cut out. I'd recommend it to anyone who rents movies! It's a great deal!

Brig

[Guest guest]

You may want to check out Netflix . . . Thousands of movies . . . You can watch as many as you can turn around in the mail for one monthly fee . . less than $20 a month. Rogene

[Guest guest]

That is a great suggestion. We started using it...

It is a lot cheaper than renting movies elsewhere....

>

> You may want to check out Netflix . . . Thousands of movies . . .

You can watch as many as you can turn around in the mail for one

monthly fee . . less than $20 a month.

>

> Rogene

>