I’ve read a couple of blog posts in the past few minutes that have really struck a chord with me. I encourage you to go to the following two links and check out the posts. Don’t stop there though, go through the comments and hear what others are doing in similar situations. Post 1 from Ragamuffin Soul. and Post 2 from Joshua Griffin. Check them out!
The reality is, we live in a fascinating time. We have dozens of affordable luxuries at our fingertips daily. The question for us should not be: “Can I afford that”, but “Do I need that”. What do we really need? what could we do without?
I’m wondering what some of you have to say about this. I’m wondering if you’ve ever gone without a modern luxury, so that you can tackle debt, be obedient to God, sponsor a Compassion child, to “Go Green”, or anything else along those lines.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel the need to say that I don’t do without any of these things. I’m not seeking to convict, just to spark conversation! Jenessa and I have digital cable with DVR. We have RoadRunner cable internet. We both have cell phones. We do NOT have a home phone, but only because we honestly have ZERO need for one. We drive two cars, but have no car payment… when we purchased a new car after totaling our old car, we stayed within the boundaries of the insurance check to replace that car.
I actually went through a period about a year ago where I contemplated killing the cable at our house. After thinking about it, and figuring out the money I would be saving, I determined that it wouldn’t be “worth it”. Turns out that I’m on some freaky cheap package with Time Warner Cable. I get Digital Cable + DVR + Roadrunner Internet for $85.00 per month. If I cancelled the cable, my RoadRunner internet would go up to $45 per month by itself. The nature of my work situation at Journey Church does not allow me to go without the internet at my house, so we determined that $40 a month was worth the Cable & DVR.
For the record, I could totally go without cable. There are resources & tools out there that would enable me to enjoy all of the same programming I do now, without the cost. My ideal setup would be: Apple TV + BoxeeTV + Hulu + Netflix. Now I just need someone to step up and buy me that Apple TV for Pastor Appreciation Month! (I never thought that I’d link to CBN on this blog!)
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