TV or Not TV

I don't know whether to laugh or be disturbed by the Wednesday episode of The Middle.

In what must have been an effort to bring levity to the unemployment crisis, this episode shows the Heck family in a situation where they get behind on their bills and their electricity is turned off.

They talk to a financial coach who advises them to get rid of the non-essentials in life. Sadly, they are confused about what is considered non-essential, a far too common error. They finally agree to give up things like coffee-shop coffee and their precious cable television.

Initially their children are freaked out when faced with an indefinite amount of time with no television, but they prove to be resourceful and find things to occupy their time.

The parents are another story. Their discussions revolve around what TV shows they are missing. And one scene even portrays them sitting in their back yard, in lawn chairs... watching TV through their neighbors open window. After this incident, they decide they are in serious need of developing some hobbies.

The rest of the episode has a fairy tale ending... they win $1000 in a bingo game and Mr. Heck gets his job back. The financial coach had advised them to pay off all debt, but with their new-found money, they immediately go back to their cable television.

I find it extremely sad {and telling} that the parents couldn't enjoy their life together without TV. It is nice to have a show {or two} that you enjoy watching together, maybe snuggled on the couch. But to be so wrapped up in your shows, that you can't function in life without them is terribly sad. It also bothers me that it is normal to stay in debt and enjoy the non-essentials {no matter the cost}.

We have cable TV, but we cut back to basic cable several years ago. We don't miss regular cable and we have saved money over the years that we have been able to put towards other things. We have time to read and hang out and enjoy our various hobbies. We like watching 24 and Criminal Minds together, but if we miss an episode, it is not the end of the world.

Debt

This is a topic that probably concerns everyone - both individually and also on a national and even world level right now. It is amazing how much debt we have all accrued.

For some time, Daniel and I have tried to slowly pay off debt that we have accumulated over the years. Our greatest amount of debt fall into the categories of our mortgages, student loans (I put myself through college at a private school, with help from scholarships), and credit card debt - most of which remains is what we have put towards home renovations. We own old vehicles (that we have purchased outright) so no debt there.

In the past 10 months, since I started working full time again, we have really upped the amounts we are paying towards debt. We have worked hard to be frugal in many parts of our lives. On a combined five-figure income, we have managed to pay off significant amounts of debt this year.

Recently Daniel sat down and figured out that if we continue down our current path (with absolutely no changes) we could pay off ALL of our debt in six years (including our mortgage). This is pretty astounding to think about. I am not saying that this will happen, but it is definitely within the realm of possibility. This does not take into account having a family or any change in jobs.

I have no idea what our financial future holds, but with all the financial crisis' that are happening, it makes me feel better to know that on a personal level, it is possible to be completely debt free by the time we are 34.