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1) No TV. I'd rather watch Youtube, Hulu, or play online games on my laptop.
2) No Cable. See above.
3) No Smartphones, although I'm currently shopping around to see what's the best deal and maybe get one for the first time.
4) No Landline. VoIP all the way (and a mobile phone for emergencies.)
5) No Gym membership. Exercise is free in the park.
6) No Ipod. Those old-school mp3 players are cheaper AND smaller to fit in my pockets.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,705 posts, read 58,031,425 times
Reputation: 46172
high speed internet...not available here
(Its a 'Left wing conspiracy' to get everyone to move to a city)
Seems that HS connectivity is a MUST for most your economizer ideas.
I did pay $15 for a used iPod, which is very handy since I don't do video / tv / DVD's / VHS.
Getting my podcasts via "pay-by-the-byte' snail slow dial-up is no fun. I have to drive to town and see how much I can download in the free 1 hr at the library, the one day / week it is open.
Splitting firewood, hauling hay, and fixing fence is my gym membership alternative (no playground / park at my joint)
I don't know what people have or not....but I'll take a shot at this.
No landline
No cell phone (well, my sister gave me her old one when she upgraded to a new phone...but I just do prepaid Verizon and put $ on it before I travel...but the rest of the year it's dead and in a drawer)
No cell phone contract
No gym membership
No fake finernails
No tatoos
No iPod
No mortgage (I got a dump and am renovating myself- without debt)
No car payment
No health insurance (this one is not fun)
No designer clothing or fancy shoes - I guess this is Opting out of the bogus 'must have' lifestyle.
1. No Internet for now, I live near the public library where I can use the internet for free, though I will probably start up the internet for a few months in the winter as I always do.
2. No cell phone contract, I use tracfone and purchase bulk minutes. It's a huge saver for me as I'm not a big talker or texter.
3. I held off joining a gym until I finally got a $10 a month plan with no termed commitment. There are no parks or any real roads around me (live off a major road), so I really really needed a gym membership, and I feel good that I'm not locked into a contract. I usually only pay for the winter months.
4. A huge DVD / CD collection. Just don't have one. I use NetFlix and it works out just fine for me financially. Provides a bit of entertainment without an expensive cable package. Also keeps me from going out to the movies when I'm bored.
5. I finally stopped buying books and have gotten more involved in my public library. There actually was NO library in the town I used to live in, so this is a whole new money saving world for me and I love it.
6. No car payment, I'm tying to make my 2004 Focus last until at least 2014, here's to hoping!
No mortgage
No credit card debt
No TV, no Cable.
No Smartphone
No Gym membership
No Ipod
We do have a landline [horrible voice, if someone calls we try to figure out who it is and cal them back on a cellphone. But the landline has DSL, so it allows us to get online]. We do have cellphones, but the last we checked the cell coverage here does not allow internet access. So we use the cell for voice and landline for internet.
Most people here we have met have no cellphones and have never been online. Most home landlines go to an answering service with the phone company. You call and leave a message, when folks come in from their fields or work at night before they eat, they check their messages and call you back. Sometimes it may take a week before you get the call returned.
For example among our church congregation only a few of us have cellphones, and exactly two of us go online.
We do have a car payment, $200/month, my wife commutes to work and wanted a newer model car for commuting.
It would be easier to list things I do have. I have cable, high speed internet, and a landline. No recording, if I'm not home it will just ring and ring. I never make long distance calls because everybody I know has unlimited long distance, so I don't need it. My phone is a portable, but I found it in the trash and it's worked for about 7 years.
My TV is pre-HD, and cable is used only to access sports and movies, which must be watched in real time because I have no DVD or anything.
If I ever want to listen to music (rare), I go to YouTube and find something I like.
I don't have a printer. If I have a print job, I email it to myself and print it at the library. No mike or cam on my computer.
No camera, still or video. No cell phone.
No car, I chose a place to live where I don't need one.
There is nothing plugged into the wall outlets in my kitchen. Just a stove and fridge. If I want toast, I hold it over a burner with a bent coat hanger.
All of my furniture together cost less than $100 at resale shops or next to the dumpster.
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