dollars saved

It is a well-known fact, and no secret kept, that I thoroughly enjoy watching television. Call it what you want - an addiction, a problem, a time-waster, a brain musher - I still love my beloved television and the host of horrible shows that come along with it. Cause let's face it, The Real Housewives of ______ isn't exactly quality TV watching. Nor is Kendra, or Teen Mom, or Dance Moms, or Gene Simmons Family Jewels. There are, I believe, a few shiny moments in my TV lineup like Breaking Bad, Modern Family, Frontline and the newest additions: Up All Night, Suburgatory, and Pan Am. Somewhere in between are the competition shows like Top Chef, Top Chef: Just Desserts, The Amazing Race, and Project Runway.

I know. It's exhausting just reading over them all. And slightly embarrassing. What can I say, TV is my vice. That having been said, what I DO NOT like about all this television is the bill. Big Red and I have a bundled service. We get the TV, cable and telephone all lumped into one bill in an effort to save some scratch. The reality of it is that we've been paying quite a bit for our luxuries. Because our cable subscription included every channel under the sun except maybe one or two premium movie channels, our bill each month was $193. A bit sickening. I'm always looking for ways to save us a little more money, money that could be used for Roth IRAs, home projects, or even vacations. A few weeks ago I made it my mission to cut down our bundled services bill.

One thirty-minute phone call solved the problem and I was able to execute my mission. I have to admit, as pathetic as it may seem, while on the phone with my cable company, I was actually nervous. Nervous about losing channels that housed my most beloved programs. In some quick editing, my fabulous operator was able to lower our monthly bill by $60. The best part? I didn't have to sacrifice a single channel. Well, totally not true. I did have to give up HBO. What am I losing? True Blood. The good news is that if when True Blood starts up again next year and I feel I really, really need to see it, I can order HBO for those months while it's on, and then cut it out again. Or, if I'm really slick, I'll just wait for the missed season to come out on Netflix. I'll have to wait longer to see it, but I will be able to see it.

All my other shows remain intact!!

We can lower our bill even further if we were to cut out our land line, but I hesitate in doing so. I'd really much rather talk on the house phone than my cell phone. The sound quality is better and it's much more comfortable. Perhaps someday down the line we'll get rid of it, but for now, we're keeping it.

So there you have it. One phone call = $720/year savings. More money for Big Red's retirement, more money to put into the bathroom remodeling, and possibly more money for vacation.