renovation and tv

Okay, I think I get it now, this attraction to the tv that many people have. It all boils down to money, I do believe. This summer, I had to re-examine what I loosely call my budget. Actually, I never really had a budget, I just made sure the amount I spent wasn't more than what I made, so my cushion in my checking account didn't get a butt imprint from my good times sitting down too hard. Well, that hasn't been the case this summer. I had to get a new water heater, as the old one was about 17 years old and just wasn't quite up to the task anymore. So, there was an unplanned expense, but not too bad. I was able to put the device on a "6 months, no payments, no interest" plan and the labor was the only upfront, out-of-pocket expense. Cool. In fact, just last week I paid the final installment on the water heater. Yeah!
About the same time as that renovation, I decided that the time was right for new windows, to finally replace the old single-pane versions that had come with the house back in the 1950's. Actually, the window replacement had been on the agenda since moving into the house eight years earlier, partly because the windows were old and not energy efficient, partly because the doofus who had the house before had painted them all shut, making them useful only for viewing the outside world but not enjoying any cooling breezes. Anywho... As I was saying, I felt the time was right to replace some windows and I had a coupon that allowed me to put the cost of the materials on a "12 months, no payment, no interest" plan. So, I figured out how much the windows cost and how much I could afford to pay monthly for a year and let that determine how many windows I could buy. The magic number was seven, which allowed the front of the house to have new double-paned, double-hung, white vinyl windows. Fine, the back of the house would have to wait its turn, maybe next year. So, I purchased the windows, signed my name, and arranged to have one of my kin pick them up for me, as he has a truck.
So, there I was the proud owner of new windows. Woohoo! But who to install them? Well, honestly, I had ass-u-me-d that one or two of my brothers would help me out with that, especially as they were well-versed in that sort of thing. Yeah. Uh-uh. Not happening. Strike one! Sigh.
So, there I was the proud owner of new windows, which needed to be installed by someone I would have to pay. Woohoo. That was an expense I had NOT included in my plans, but a best friend of one of my brothers was in need of work and could take care of it for me. Alrighty then! I had known this guy for years and knew he could do the work. We never discussed money, though. Not once. Strike two! I just said "get 'er done!" and he said "no problem!" Well, those first two windows took him all of a day. No problem for me, I wasn't in a rush, as long as it got done.
Apparently, it was a problem for him, so he got a buddy to come help him. They finished up tout de suite the next day and came bopping along to get paid. Hey, I was glad to have the work done! I wasn't too keen on having had a stranger in my house, some guy I had never even heard of before, but it was done. So, now, my brother's friend is ready to get paid. Oh, and he "needs to pay his helper, too." Uh huh. Translated, that means I was going to be paying more than I had expected. Great. He wants $100 per window. That would be $700. Seven. Hundred. Dollars. And, no, he doesn't offer an easy payment plan, that needs to all be paid at one whack, preferably now, thank you very much. Damn. Strike three, and I am out of the renovation game for a while.
So, I write him a check. With just a few penstrokes, I have given away two weeks' take-home pay. In less than two days, this guy and his buddy determined they were worth the money it took me 80 hours to bring home. Yeah, those windows on the back of the house will definitely have to wait a while longer. The windows currently installed will be paid off by mid-April 2010... or I'll have to add on the interest, which I certainly do NOT intend to do! And, truth to tell, the house looks better now and is ever so much easier to cool in the summer. My house faces the sun from sunrise to sunset, so having energy-efficient windows HAS helped lower my electric bills, in addition to keeping my thermostat between 78 and 80.
At any rate, the dimple in my cushion has meant that I've had to more vigorously shop sales at the grocery store. Neat things like that. Also, I've cut back on how much of my pay goes into my IRA. Bad things like that. Mostly, though, since I don't engage in shopping as a sport, I've had to lean toward less expensive means of entertainment this summer. More often than not, I check to see how much something is costing me per hour. A night at the theater, not including treats? Well, that's about $5 per hour. Not bad. A night at a local playhouse, enjoying a show? That'll run at least $10 an hour. Hmmm. Just how much did I want to see that particular play?
In addition, I have to include my travel expenses this summer. I do, after all, have reasons to bebop off to Charleston every other weekend or so, as well as trips to hither and yon. Thank you, VISA and MasterCard, for allowing me to enjoy today and pay next month! True, I have spent less than I normally would during the summer, when I have more free time on my hands, but I've also had that much less to spend, thanks to home improvements. Eventually, those will pay off even more than they currently have. I keep saying this to myself, as I pay the installments every month for my lovely new windows.
Most recently, I turned to the Savannah Jazz Festival for my entertainment, accompanied by my Charleston bird for three of the five days I attended. This FREE event is one of my favorites these last couple of years, mostly because I have the luxury of being introduced to music and musicians I would otherwise have never enjoyed. And enjoy it all I do! I usually, half-kidding, tell folks that I go because I've already "paid" for my admission. Sure enough, that part is actually true! The City of Savannah is one of the major sponsors of the weeklong event, meaning my tax dollars are actually being spent on something for ME to enjoy. You better believe I'm there!
But when there's a dearth of free events available, what's a girl to do? Well, there's always the television. Not only is it already bought and paid for, it actually is supposed to provide countless hours of entertainment. I'm already paying the cable company for the basic seventy channels of possibilities, so I should maybe partake more often, or so went my logic. And you know what I found out? There ARE some good shows on the picture tube. There's some real schlock and drivel, too, but I just avoid those, including advertising-driven "news" programs and so-called "reality" shows. And of the seventy-odd channels available with my cable package, I actually tune in to twenty-two of them. Not every day, mind you. But the four music video channels (GAC, CMT, VH1, and MTV)? Yep, almost every weekday morning, along with my coffee. The Weather Channel? You betcha, especially during hurricane season. The other seventeen I watch off and on, and even so, most of those are reruns of old favorites, with a few new shows thrown in for good measure. Married With Children. Just Shoot Me. Frasier. Scrubs. Sex And The City. Futurama. The Big Bang Theory. How I Met Your Mother. Medium. Drop Dead Diva. Good Eats. Dirty Jobs. CBS Sunday Morning. Mostly, a little light fare before bed, with no blipped words or blacked-out areas of anatomy.
Admittedly, television programming has come a long way in filling a need for more thought-provoking shows, but mostly, it's there to entertain, not to enlighten. Oh, but there ARE enlightening programs out there, you say? There are many fine programs on The Learning Channel, The History Channel, PBS, and Discovery. Sure, there are, but do YOU watch any of them? And, no, Virginia, news programs are NOT included in this category. So-called "news" offerings are, by and large, video versions of The National Enquirer, filled to the brim with sex, drugs, and death. What we must not lose sight of this: television programs are written to attract ADVERTISERS. It's purely happenstance if the shows delivered through our cables, satellite dishes, or antennae bring us some modicum of mood-lightening or mood-enhancing entertainment. Enjoy!