TV Junkie

TV and I go back, waaaay back. A lot of my childhood memories involve me or my family surrounding a TV. My mum had a huge obsession with soap operas and the Oprah show. Yes, her TV schedule occasionally meant she was late or didn't show up to pick me up from school. Yes, before DVR I would grudgingly walk away from the TV to pick her up from places too.

We recently switched from cable to Directv and I got the DVR (woot woot!) so I've been recording anything that's remotely interesting. Here's a list of my newest addictions:

Rugby

The X Factor

American Colony:  The Hutterites

New and old movies

National Geographic everything

Heartland

Revolution

Leverage

Revenge

Reality TV

Covert Affairs

The Glee Project

Opening Act

Rugby is my newest favorite sport. I love watching the teams from New Zealand because they have heaps of islanders and I like to copy their announcers' accents. I picked a bad time to watch the Australian 7's on Sunday night. It was after 11 p.m. and while the rest of the world was winding down, I was desperately trying not to scream at the players in frustration/celebration. I love the format of the 7's. The games are really fast so the teams have to stay focused.

As I was typing that last paragraph Extreme Cheapskates started; yes, I'm watching TV as I type this. I like to save a buck here and there and I've never seen the show so I was intrigued. The cheapskate of this episode has lived in New York for three years and she has the worst case of penny pinching I've ever seen. 

She saves the paper towels she uses in public restrooms because her hands were clean when she dried them - so the paper is clean too. She keeps a container of water, soap and those used paper towels next to her toilet so she can clean up at home - no toilet paper here. She showers with her clothes to save herself from having to do laundry. She dresses up like a bum to go dumpster diving for food - and then serves it to her guests! "When I dumpster dive I get the opportunity to eat really high end foods that I would never pay for." At least she has standards. She chooses to dumpster dive at high end restaurants and stores. 

There are more shocking details, but the thing is, she doesn't live this way out of necessity. She owns her condo free and clear and seems to have a successful career as a CPA. She had a great career until the dot com failure so ever since then, she's been trying to avoid paying for anything or pay the least amount possible if she absolutely has to pay for it. I wonder what she does with her money.

The next episode intro:  "I save money if I only flush it once a week." Whaaaaat?! I'm gonna go be disturbed on my own. I invite you to figure out how you can save more of your money.

Extreme Cheapskates.