Although unheard of a decade ago, it is not hard to spend thousands of dollars on a television set and hundreds of dollars a month on television programming. Watching television has gone from being luxury entertainment to being a luxury necessity. The average new television costs about $1500, and you can get television units that cost much more than that.
Here are some ways to be frugal about your television viewing and have hundreds or even thousands of dollars left over at the end of the year.
Forgo the HD everything and get a basic television set. Did you know that you can pick up a regular analog television set for just a couple of dollars at the thrift store? One store I know of regularly sells their television sets for 90 cents a piece! The televisions are all tested and nothing is wrong with them other than they had to make room for pricer sets. We have a large television set that was given to my husband many years ago. It is still sharp and works well. Are you worried about the analog-digital conversion scheduled to happen in February 2009? If you have cable, you won’t have an interruption in service.
Another way to save is to drop the cable all together and get your programs over the air. If you do this, you will need to purchase a digital converter box, but the good news is that the basic ones are free thanks to a rebate from the government. You can click here to learn more about digital conversion boxes.
If you don’t want to be without cable, downgrade your service to basic cable. You’ll be able to get PBS and the regular network channels. Compare a $10 a month charge to $90 or $120 a month (for my area).
Instead of broadcast television, consider using your television strictly for playing videos and DVDs. You can borrow DVDs for free at the library, or get them free when you use coupon codes with DVD rental machines.
How much do you spend on television?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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