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Health & Fitness

Save The Money, Cut The Cable

Penny Pincher, Rachel Lauzon, shares her insight with cutting the cords and living a cable free life. It will save you money.

I know what you’re thinking. “She doesn’t mean television?” Yes, that’s exactly what I mean, and let me tell you why you should cut that cable.

Last April when my husband and I bought our first house, we didn’t transfer our service to our new home. Simple and to the point— it eats away precious time and can cost a little fortune every month.

Weaning my family from television was much like what I would imagine a smoker would feel like when trying to stop smoking. It was painful and you crave it, a lot.

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I found out that I, as a mother, use TV as a drug of sorts. Basically, I wanted to sit in front of the screen and go dumb. No, I didn’t mean numb, I mean dumb with a d.

I wanted to not think about that pile of laundry that so desperately needed attending to, and I wanted to live vicariously through another. Not to mention, I’m not ashamed to admit it that watching a show where somebody had problems in their life was somewhat satisfying because nobody deserves a perfect life if I can’t have one, too, right?

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Here’s what I can tell you. My kids, 11 and 6 years old are doing fine without it. They don’t sit in the corner crying themselves sick and they excel in other areas of their lives.

My son could read when he was 5 and doesn’t give me a list of “I want that” because his mind isn’t filled with commercials telling him what every kids wants this season. My daughter can read chapter books within days and enjoys reading.

Now, here’s the secret. The Internet. I have my favorite series that I cannot miss. The key is watching them when I have time. I’m addicted to Grey’s Anatomy and haven’t missed an episode even though we don’t have TV. That’s the beauty with the Internet. You’ll find some series online, so you can get caught up when you have the time and not be tied to the TV.

Yes, my kids still watch TV in the sense of renting a movie and such, but it’s not a driving force in our lives like it used to be.

You’d be surprised how easy it is once you try it. And, you’ll be even more surprised how you find other things to do with your time.

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