What’s Your Favorite TV Show?
Guest Post by: APB
It seems like with each up and coming generation, Americans have fewer hobbies but more and more favorite television series, shows, and movies. So much of our time, money, and conversation is dedicated to the “lives” of the “people” we watch on television. Here’s a thought – set a goal for yourself and your family to significantly reduce the time spent in front of the TV because remember, time is money and building your wealth takes time. What does turning off the TV have to do with fattening your wallet? I’m going to tell you.
Advertisements
• Watching television shows also means watching commercials for all of the cool new things that you really need to spend your hard earned money on. Some of these things we would never even be aware of if we hadn’t seen the commercial air. You may think that you are immune to ads for products and maybe you really are, but what if you see a commercial letting you know that your favorite store is having their “best sale of the year”? Gotcha! Just remember that if you don’t know about it then you can’t waste your money on it.
Electricity
• Televisions increase your power bill every time they are on – significantly so if everyone in your household has one and they spend more time powered on than off. Not to mention the PS3, Xbox, cable receiver, dvr system and so on that are also drawing power…
• You may have also never considered how hot these machines get, and again, depending on how many you have, your air conditioning may be turning on more often due to the heat output.
Costly Cable
• If you can be included in the minority of Americans because you rarely, if ever, watch television – cancel your cable! Don’t just let your cable bill turn into one of those things that you keep paying every month because it’s easier to pay it than to call the 800 number and make it through the prompts necessary to cancel your subscription. Scary to think about not having cable at all, just in case something catches your interest? Don’t forget that almost all networks post everything they air on their websites for you to be able to watch, and guess what – most don’t have the commercials.
• Can’t really live without cable? At the very least, take a minute to check out your monthly bill. Look into any extra fees you may have (DVR, premium channels, etc.) and take the time to make some changes. If you got some fabulous deal when you signed up, chances are that it was a limited time promotional package, so it may be time to adjust everything. If you need to change companies, just do it! Telling your provider that you want to cancel everything is excellent motivation for them to work with you and give you what you want – if they won’t make your deal what you want, no worries, someone else would love to have your business.
Physical Health
• Most of us have some weight we need to lose and almost all of us aren’t as fit and healthy as we possibly could be. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to put a huge dent in your bag of potato chips while you are distracted by the television? Snacks and TV just go together too well, no one can deny that, so the more time you spend watching the more you are going to eat. Why is your TV snacking affecting your saving?
o Snacks cost money, duh!
o Poor diet and low activity level = poor health = increase in medical bills!
Step Up
Take the challenge and cut back on your television time and keep up with how much you are saving. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much it will affect your bank account as well as your life in general.
Try a few new things to do with your time, maybe you’ll even pick up a new hobby that is very low cost, more active, and allows you to spend more quality time with your friends and family.
Have you thought about not watching television? Have you tired leaving it off for a week or so? Come on, join the challenge, we’ll all be better for it!
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Tags: how to save money, save money, stop watching television, watching tv costs you money
Good points – reality TV, quizes, game shows and other things all poison our time.
In the UK we have the publicly funded BBC which doesn’t show adverts and we have a lot of free-to-air digital channels (no analogue TV at all) so we don’t have cable. Our satellite system seems to have stopped working but that is of course also free.
Adverts are a nuisance and rarely prompt us to buy something.
One thing you can also do is to unplug the tv or any other electronics when they are not in use as they still take up electricity even when not in use. In terms of physical activity, I usually get up during commercials to do whatever it is I may need to do.
[...] Turn Off the Television and Get Ready to Save “It seems like with each up and coming generation, Americans have fewer hobbies but more and more favorite television series, shows, and movies. So much of our time, money, and conversation is dedicated to the “lives” of the “people” we watch on television. Here’s a thought – set a goal for yourself and your family to significantly reduce the time spent in front of the TV because remember, time is money and building your wealth takes time. What does turning off the TV have to do with fattening your wallet? I’m going to tell you.” The Millionaire Nurse Blog [...]