Television


Killing your Television is worth a million bucks!

Yep yep. It’s true. I save space in my apartment and lots of money.

I have no extra energy costs.
I have no cable bill.
I have very few movies to take up space.
I canceled Netflix.
I have no entertainment center.
I have no game consoles. (But the Wii does tempt me.)

I think I lead a pretty full life without it. I go out to meet my knitter friends. I read a LOT. (I think I’ve read 5 books in the last 2 months. Two John Sandford books, Snow Crash, Goldfinger, and one more.) I am always doing something and frankly, it’s exhausting. When I want to veg out, I play computer games for hours on a DSL line I’d have anyway. The game is an additional $75 a year subscription rate, but that’s what some people pay in a month for cable, and if I’m really into it, I’ll play over 10 hours in week.

There is TV all around us for free. I hit up the local bars to watch special stuff like the Red Sox winning the World Series! Friends have TV and host movie nights. I just don’t miss it.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE TV. I DO. I loved watching Victoria Beckham last night. She was cute, perky, and very funny. I don’t think she takes herself too seriously, after all she did send out a blowup doll as a decoy. But I don’t see myself catering my life around TV programs. Rarely do I run around trying to find a TV even when one of my friends is on Jeopardy. (That made me sad when no one could TiVO it for me and burn it to disc.) I am horrified at the number of people who make watching American Idol the highlight of their day or week. That’s completely insane.

I’ve gotten sucked into the drama, sure. I was rooting for Chris Daughtry, but for the longest time I had no idea what the deal was with Sanjaya and never bothered to find out. My friends have to clue me in sometimes, but no, my life does not lack for my ignorance. Nay, it’s better for it. I’d rather sleep than watch TV.

ps- My friend on Jeopardy is probably one of the biggest frugal influences in my life. But that’s a story for another day.

WOO. I might have to stay late at work on Friday, 5pm Eastern to watch NCN’s first TV appearance. I’ve always wondered what he looked like after listening to his podcasts. (There is a weblink to the station on the blog post.)

But alas! I am so frugal, I don’t own a TV and the evil expensive accessories that go with it.

Such as:
Nintendo Wii (for which I might buy a TV, if I could get one.)
XBox
TiVO
Cable TV
Stereo system
VCR
DVD player
Extension cords
Rabbit ear antennae

Total it up and think about what you’ve spent on TV. I’m so glad I don’t own one anymore.