I didn’t think it would be possible, but we’re living without a television set … and feeling okay!

To remind you, we’ve made a clean move from Michigan to Texas and currently living without furniture, appliances, cable TV, cell phones, car payments, and other “necessities”. I can’t say we’re unhappy!

So how are we getting by?

• We have a nice laptop with a wide screen. We use it like an entertainment center: Pandora for radio, Vongo for movies (although movies kinda B-ish), Google videos for miscellaneous, and, of course, Ze Frank for sarcastic fun.
• We work close to home and carpool using my Benz, which saves us a bunch in car-related expenses.
• We bought a local SkypeIn number for a few bucks a month, which saves us from having a landline.
• The whole sleeping-on-an-air-mattress thing is getting very old, but we are sticking it out until we have enough to buy a queen bed.
• We work out at a free gym and swim in a free pool (compliments of the aparment complex).

Of course, we’ll end up having the furniture, the TV, and the cell phones, but for now the money we’re saving on not having the aforementioned items is unreal:

• No car payment(s), less $220/mo.
• Reduced car insurance, less $80/mo.
• Reduced automotive repair, $1,200/yr or $100/mo.
• Reduced fuel expense, less $250/mo.
• No cable TV, less $50/mo.
• No cell phones, less $100/mo.
• No “City of …” garbage and water bill, less $50/mo.
• No gym fee, less $25/mo.

Total saved per month: $875.

Well, it’s not that perfect, though. We pay $200 more in rent, but utilities come out about the same – in Michigan you pay a lot in the winter for heat, in Texas – in the summer for A/C. Still, I figure we save about $500 a month after capitalizing moving expenses. As a bonus, we make more at our jobs, which will eventually push us back into the cell phones/TV/car/fuel/repair money pit …