Cable TV, The Internet, and Other Conveniences (KJ)

KJ — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

This topic has been on my mind for quite some time now, but I didn’t know how to address it. Like I said before, we are not simply moving into an RV, we are supposed to be changing our lives. That being said, next week we are turning in our cable boxes. When we do that, we will also lose our main internet connection. The only thing crazier than not having cable and the Internet is how much it will cost to get them in the RV.

There’s some receiver thingy that costs $1500 which supposedly allows you to order data plans through any cell phone company for about $90 a month. We can get an airport card instead for $25 dollars and $50 a month, but the signal won’t be as good. That’s just the Internet. If we want to get cable while we are driving, it will cost us $2500 for the satellite and $90 for Dish Network service.

Now that I see these numbers on the screen, I’m really starting to think that all of this is bananas! I don’t want a bunch of new bills. I think cable is out of the window. We have an antenna that will allow us to get broadcast HD channels, so that will have to do for now.

It’s a little harder with the Internet connection. I use the net a lot for both work and play, so I would like to have something that gets good reception, but $1500 is a deal-breaker.

This whole experience is teaching me how to minimize spending and conserve funds. We don’t always need professional level products and services. I would like to try to go with the cheaper options first, and if I’m unsatisfied then upgrade. So often, we buy more than we really need.

Besides, we should be focusing on the sights and sounds from our environment, not the television!

Life Imitating Art (KJ)

KJ — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:47:50 +0000

First things first, I’m over my little temper tantrum. Thanks, Chris (one of our readers), for the reality check. Tonight TBS (the cable channel) threw a pick-me-up my way in the form of the movie “RV”. Perfect! If you haven’t seen this movie before you have to rent it, or catch an “encore presentation” on TBS on Sunday night. We had this movie in our Netflix queue for almost a year. We kept pushing it back and then one day we forgot to push it down and we got it. CM & I reluctantly watched it with the kids, but we ended up laughing the entire time. Robin Williams is hilarious. I think this film planted the seeds for our transition to RVing. The day after seeing the movie for the first time I got on the phone with an RV rental place.

Have you ever tried to rent an RV?? The rates are outrageous! A lot of RVs start out at $100 a day and that doesn’t include the miles you put on it or the fuel. Renting the cheapest RV for a week would have cost over $700! There was no way we could afford that. As a matter of fact, our loan payment on our RV for the entire month is well under that amount. That’s why CM & I never tested out RVing before buying. We were always scared that if we rented one for a week and decided we liked it that we wouldn’t have enough money for a down payment because we spent it all on rental fees.

I thought it was interesting how everyone at the RV park was pretty young, albeit they could’ve been extras in “Deliverance”, but young nonetheless. I can’t wait to go to my first RV park and see what people are really like. As far as demographics, did art imitate life or did the filmmakers use younger actors to mirror their target audience. I read on an RV organization’s web site that they actually expected and received a bump in RV sales/rentals from the movie.

So go check out the movie and let me know what you think.

Watch the trailer below:

2 Adults 2 Kids » Entertainment

Cable TV, The Internet, and Other Conveniences (KJ)

Life Imitating Art (KJ)