We drive a LOT. Therefore, we buy a LOT of gas. And unfortunately that also means we spend a LOT of money on gas. Probably more than we spend on groceries. It's really sad that it costs more to transport our family than it does to feed our family. Anyway...it does not seem like there is any relief from these prices to come in the near future, which has me thinking about how we're going to afford to continue traveling to work, school, and church. Jason and I have a had a few (albeit very brief) conversations about what we could cut from our budget to make room for inflated gas prices. Very few things in our budget are non-essential items that must be paid; they include TV, internet, and cell phones. And our Y membership. And frankly, that would probably be the first to go. However, we spend a LOT more on TV and internet than we do on the Y. So I've been thinking, which would I prefer to do without? TV would be the logical choice, because we can watch some of our shows online. Not all of them, mind you, and not Sports Center. Not that I care one lick about that, but Jason does. So then, would we give up the internet? That would mean no email, no blog, no Words with Friends, and *gasp* no more facebook. Whatever would we (I) do??!!!!
I was talking this over with a good friend yesterday, and she pointed out how much we are (willingly) trapped by the things of this world. And suddenly I felt like I should give these things up simply because they do consume so much of my time. Time that I could/should spend in God's Word and in God's presence. Time that I could spend playing with my children or talking with my husband, instead of us parking ourselves in front of one or more screens for the evening. After all, I grew up (as did anyone over the age of 25) without high speed (or any) internet access, cable/satellite/fios TV, and certainly I survived many years without a cell phone. So should the need arise, I could and would willingly do it again. But instead of seeing it as such a dreadful hardship, I might actually welcome the release from those things I consider so important, yet in the grand scheme of things actually count for nothing.
I just struggled with this myself and we ended up downgrading to simple basic cable (like 15 channels) and the cheapest (read slowest) internet. I firmly believe that we watched too much TV, and while I miss some of it, I absolutely believe it was the right decision. Not an EASY decision, but a WISE decision. Good stewardship of our monetary resources AND good stewardship of our time.
ReplyDelete(I would have cancelled the cable completely, but I need the internet for my work with Element. If you aren't a cable customer it costs $15 more a month and basic cable is $17. So the extra $2/month saves me from buying an antenna and climbing up on my roof.)