A Cigarette, a Dime, and a TV!

We are continuing our efforts to find ways to cut expenses. One needs to parse expenses to the minimum to get out of debt.

“Hey, buddy, do you have a spare cigarette?”
“No, this pack only had 20 in it.”

There is no ‘spare’ money in a budget. There are only 10 dimes in a dollar. The goal is to cut expenses so that a dime saved on expenses, is a dime spent on reducing debt.

Here we have addressed ‘Mandatory Expenses’ and ‘Expendable Expenses’. Now look at ‘Slave Expenses’. There is a representative list in the article; ‘Solving the Crime'.

There are Slave Expenses that only reduce by getting out of debt, like credit cards. There are others that MAY be able to be reduced. The big targets are cable (satellite) TV service, internet service, and cell phone. There is a big CAUTION statement here. Get out the contracts for the services, TV, internet, and cell phone. IF one has not fulfilled the minimum term of service in the agreement, canceling or reducing the level of service is a waste of money. One is obligated to pay for the complete term of service whether one cancels the service or not. If one has agreed to a 12 month service contract, and 10 months into the service, cancels, one must still pay the remaining two months (usually the ‘service’ hits the guarantee credit card with the full balance due within two days of cancellation). That said if one has completed the initial term of service, or if one has added services that are not part of the original service, there is room to reduce expenses. It requires some hard choices, discipline, and a continued commitment to become debt free.

How many TV channels can one watch at one time? Having 150 channels of satellite or cable television is a waste. Look at the channel listings. How many channels are regularly used? There are only 168 hours in a week, is it humanly possible to watch one hour of TV from each station, sleep, eat, and work? If the studies are true and the average American watches more than 28 hours of TV a week, it would still take more than a month to watch one hour on every channel. How much would it reduce the monthly expense by cutting service from 150 channels to 50 channels? That is debt reduction money! [When I thought I was getting on my feet, after determining to become debt free, I made a very unwise decision (just goes to show, I am not perfect). After renting a place, I signed a 1 year satellite TV contract. Within a week, I was disappointed with the service. The services I thought I signed up for was not what was received (‘local’ news was from a city 200 miles away). Trying to withdraw from the contract was like running into brick wall. I paid over $500 for a year’s worth of television service. The day the contract expired, I cancelled the service (I was even petty and made them send a check for the 19 cents overpaid). I have not had any TV service for more than two years. I have not missed anything. Occasionally, at a friend’s house the TV will be on. Watching does not change that opinion. I do rent and buy movies, but no watching TV. Some have said I miss the news. No, I do not. If there is something newsworthy, it comes up in conversation. Ten minutes on the internet at two or three news-sites, and I know as much or more than the person that spoke of it in the first place.

I really did not understand the impact of TV until last Thanksgiving. I was invited to spend Thanksgiving weekend with a Godly family. They were having a reunion. Family came from all over the United States to spend Thanksgiving together. It was fortunate to be around such a family and group of believers. The hosts have a rather large home. They have six TVs spread throughout the house. Friday night we were all together in ‘great room’. There were games and conversations going on. The family was enjoying themselves. We were all having fun. Then 8 pm hit. It was as if a bomb had gone off, or the ‘rapture’ had happened. I found myself sitting alone at a table, snacks half-eaten, game pieces left unmoved, and an eerie quiet. Every single person, regardless of where they had come from, no matter that they only saw the rest of the family, maybe once a year, if that, was glued to a TV. All six TVs were in use, all tuned to different stations, so ‘everyone’ could watch their ‘favorite’ Friday night show. For an hour, the ‘tableau’ was unbroken. Then quietly some went off to bed, others to clean up, others still glued to the TV. Here was this Godly family, every one of them I admire for their walk with Christ, forgetting each other. They had come from miles away for a weekend together as a family, and for that hour, each was alone.]

There is a quote, supposedly by J. Edgar Hoover that goes something like, “We don’t need to watch Americans while Americans are watching TV.”

Perhaps Satan has realized he does not need to watch Christians while Christians are watching TV.

Consider TV as a prime source for cutting expenses! Kill two birds with one stone; have more money to pay off debt, and make Satan nervous.

Look out cell phones and Internet service!