Why do people suggest cancelling Sky...

never-in-doubt

No - Not a chance

MrsTine wrote: »

What? No laptop? But how will I speak to my husband without msn? :eek:
Don't tell him but I've put scrabble on the list of things to give him for christmas oddly in the aim of spending less time with TV/laptop/games consoles. Apparently Scrabble isn't a fly by night game so I figured I'd give it a try... (after practising on my DS for a few weeks before hand ofcourse - otherwise I'd never stand a chance!)

Are you sure that is wise? After all you can now do scrabble online, on the ds, on the wii etc... in fact he could even play it through his beloved sky remote :beer:

euronorris

MrsTine wrote: »

What? No laptop? But how will I speak to my husband without msn? :eek:
Don't tell him but I've put scrabble on the list of things to give him for christmas oddly in the aim of spending less time with TV/laptop/games consoles. Apparently Scrabble isn't a fly by night game so I figured I'd give it a try... (after practising on my DS for a few weeks before hand ofcourse - otherwise I'd never stand a chance!)

Yep, no laptop. I was alright, the OH nearly cried at first! haha. That kinda thing is annoying though as I use the laptop for a lot of reasons. One of them is to keep in touch with friends and family. But, it's all OK now and it had to be done. I say blackout, I mean: they switched the power off to let the electrics dry out and fix the roof after water came spilling through! :rolleyes:

Ahhh Scrabble! I love that game, not very good at it, but I do like to think of the most random words I can, usually naughty too! hahaha. It is, quite possibly, one of the only games I'll beat the OH at. He's very intelligent but his spelling is just awful! Not his strong point.

OK, I have to head home now. Catch you all later!:hello:

taka

If someone posts their SOA, often they are in the midst of their LBM and are trying to get help on how to make it all stack up. An anoymous stranger on an internet forum is totally emotionally removed from their situation. The stranger can come up with solutions and thoughts on somethings that the SOA poster may not have thought about or fully comprehended before.

Painless cut backs can be made by reducing/make sure things phone and utilities are on the best package for their usage and not overbuying food (then not using/chucking it out) go etc. Not always enough to balance the books...

Next up are the more painful cuts... cutting back on entertainment costs, dropping a brand (or 2) foodwise, cutting back on transport costs, sky/virgin, spending less on Xmas etc. Reducing these things for some may make the difference between their SOA balancing and getting further into debt each month. For others these painful cuts will mean they can start to pay back more than their minimums...

Of course for some this is not enough... but I think cutbacks should be explored as an option for relatively small deficits before considering more drastic measures like DMPs etc IMHO.

Personally, I see sky/virgin as a luxury that some cannot afford at all. Freeview or freesat are perfectly fine (even start up cost for these are usually less than a yr of subscriptions for virgin/sky although you do need to find it in one go). I've chosen not to have sky/virgin at all.

That said... I think everyone on a tight budget of some sort (for whatever reason, not just debt) needs to have an amount set aside for entertainment as otherwise they'll struggle to stick to it for too long. If they spend it on sky then fair enough... it just leaves them less for other forms of entertainment. Its all a balance...

Good luck with your inbox fermi! (why does that sound rude somehow? :eek: ) :rotfl:

MrsTinks

Yes - Totally

never-in-doubt wrote: »

Are you sure that is wise? After all you can now do scrabble online, on the ds, on the wii etc... in fact he could even play it through his beloved sky remote :beer:

I fear you missed my point (purposely I know )
Isn't it bad enough we have monopoly on the Wii? (Why you may ask... simple... it was cheaper than buying the board game would you believe??? and you can't loose any of the pieces )

rog2

Yes - Totally

MrsTine wrote: »

Isn't it bad enough we have monopoly on the Wii?

I still have my original Monopoly board game (not some Politically Correct 'up to date' edition) - true it spends most of the year on top of the wardrobe, but it does get plenty of use on Boxing Day.

Just as well, cause we don't have a Wii. :rotfl: :rotfl:

nearlyrich

Yes - Totally

We used to have Sky full package all the movies sport etc, I relaised I was paying a lot every month (it sneaked up slowly from the beginning to about £50 when I spotted this) and monitored our viewing habits. It would have worked out cheaper to go to the cinema or buy the film or take the family to a real football match so we canned the lot. We have a freeview TV in the lounge and in ours and dd's bedroom and whilst there is often nnothing on worth watching I have seen people with Sky flick round and moan they have nothng new on.
It's always the case that people choose what to spend their money on, sometimes signing up to things like Sky start off cheap and end up creeping up in cost, mobile phones seem to do this too, we all managed without them both only a few years ago and it's a no brainer to cut out none essential spending to get the budget to balance.

funkymonkey

one thing i recommend is ring them up to close it down - they always offer a discount for 6months to stay with no aditional contract

rog2

Yes - Totally

nearlyrich wrote: »

sometimes signing up to things like Sky start off cheap and end up creeping up in cost, mobile phones seem to do this too, we all managed without them both only a few years ago and it's a no brainer to cut out none essential spending to get the budget to balance.

True, nr - and since it is usually paid for by Direct Debit, many, if not most, people simply do not 'notice' just how much the costs have risen until they find themselves in financial difficulties.
Whether it's SKY, mobile phones, gym membership or even the AA, I would never recommend anyone to sign up to any variable cost contract that is paid for by either direct debit or 'automatically renewable' card transaction.

gilligansyle

rog2 wrote: »

I still have my original Monopoly board game (not some Politically Correct 'up to date' edition) - true it spends most of the year on top of the wardrobe, but it does get plenty of use on Boxing Day.

Christmas night and boxing day would not be the same without old fashioned games. Monopoly, Trivial pursuit - not the fancy version, and Scrabble

MrsTine wrote: »

Swear at it, hit it, threaten to sell it and then open a beer/bottle of wine/whiskey/vodka and sit back and glare at it till it surrenders or does that only work on my husband?

Generally doesn't work but it does make you feel better. :beer:
At the end of the day, as many have said, its about choices. I chose to reduce my cable package, to throw money at debts. My DS, who has no debts (yet!) chose to upgrade back again so he could have Sky Sports and pay the difference. Best of both worlds :T

doobiesis_2

I agree, I cut my channels down but i would be lost without sky I mean lets face it, you ain't got no money to do bugga all else cept watch tv. And also, if you think about it sky at the moment costs me about £5 a week. :beer: