Huge Cable & Phone Bills

[Pixildust]

Where is the consumer outrage?

It probably costs companies about 12 cents per person to send signals to our houses and cell phones, but for some reason we're willing to pay fifty, maybe a hundred bucks a a month or more for the services.

How are companies so damned succesful at convincing us we NEED that stuff?

I just cancelled my cable back to basic 'cause I got tired of paying so much.

Lately I've been trying to become less of a mindless consumer and really assess my need of something before I buy. Books and magazines are a particular weakness of mine. Now I try to ask myself, "couldn't I just get this at the library?" or "could I read this online?"

Part of the battle is combatting my own desire for immediate gratification.... Going the library is so inconvenient. I need to know what UK lesbians favorite television programs are now.

Spending habits are hard to break, no matter how stupid the buying urge seems.

What do you do to combat the big consumer lurking inside of you?

[Caffeinated]

One thing I started doing a while back is to stop all impulse buying.
If I want to buy something on a whim, I make myself wait a few days (or longer depending on how expensive the item is).

I have found after a few days or so I realize I really didn't need it.

[Lepus]

I am no longer buying new books. Some of the books I am interested in aren't available at my local library unless on loan. I hate that. It takes forever for interlibrary loans to come through. So, I at least save some money by buying used books. Plus, I still get the joy of ordering something online and getting to wait for it to come in the mail. Half.com and Amazon are trustworthy for getting used books.

I try to remember how irritated I will be when I get my credit card bill. It helps but sometimes not enough.