Is it necessary?

My family lived for more than 10 years without cable TV because we didn't have the money to pay for it. Our income was used for things like rent, electricity, food, and insulin. Basically, basic needs. I spent years listening to Super D complain about not being able to watch The History Channel and The Discovery Channel. My children lived for trips to their grandparents' house so they could enjoy The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. My mom used to tape my favorite cable shows and mail them to me so that I wouldn't miss Monk or Battlestar Galactica.



The fact is: we simply couldn't afford cable TV.



As a responsible individual who is in charge of our family's budget, it is my responsibility to be sure that what little money we earn is used to buy the things we cannot live without. We must have shelter, therefore, I pay the rent. We must have food, so I go grocery shopping. We need clothing for our kids, gasoline for our cars, and electricity and natural gas to cool and heat our home. We cannot live without insulin or water. So, our income is used to purchase these things first.



As a responsible individual with a small budget, I looked for bargains to make my dollar go further. Our family of four lived in a 2-bedroom duplex for 9 years because our rent was only $475/month. We ate a lot of spaghetti and Hamburger Helper because hamburger meat is less expensive than steak. We took hand-me-downs when offered, and I frequented consignment sales because kids outgrow clothes WAY too fast to buy them in the stores. I have only ever owned one brand new car. We used many Buy One Entree, Get One Entree Free coupons we went out on dates. One winter, I even stood outside a department store at 4:00 in the morning because the first 100 people in the door were given a $25 gift card. That gift card bought three Christmas gifts that year.



I'm not cheap. I just know my priorities. My kids would have liked their own bedrooms, but they learned to share. Super D would have liked more TV channels, but he settled for PBS. I would have liked to eat out every week, but we spent the time and money at our dinner table instead.



As responsible as I was, I am embarrassed to say that my diabetic husband went years without visiting a doctor or checking his blood sugar because I just could not stretch our income far enough to afford Blood Glucose Monitor strips. Each strip costs about $1. For a diabetic to check his glucose levels 4 times daily, it would have cost us about $150/month.



If I had been able to come up with an extra $150/month, it would have been irresponsible for me to spend that $150/month on cable TV.



I wish my government could learn to live without cable TV.