My family is currently cable-free, (although we did partake during the summer for World Cup Soccer) which is normally an easy sacrifice for me. Library DVD’s and the recent addition of streaming Netflix provide all the commercial-free TV a nonconsumer gal could want. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer!) But the recent premieres of a few key cable TV shows are making me want to break into a neighbor’s house. (It’s okay, I have a key. 😉 ) Because the last few weeks have brought us both Extreme Couponing on Discovery and tonight’s Cash and Cari on HGTV.
I’m not looking to begin my transformation into an extreme couponer, but I really want to watch the show anyway. (I kind of want to make fun of it, but I also feel there’s probably something to learn.) And Cash and Cari follows Cari Hucksey around as she runs estate sales and searches out the treasures that might not catch other people’s eyes. It looks really good!
I’m already hooked on The History Channel’s American Pickers, (Mike and Frank rock my boat) and I watch on-demand episodes whenever I can. I feel like if the whole labor and delivery nurse racket ever dries up, I’ll start my second career as a picker.
Here’s a promo for tonight’s premier episode of Cash and Cari. Be warned though, it’s oddly loud.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
He! He! You are a girl after my own heart! My palms get all sweaty when I see all the fabulous things they find on “American Pickers”! I am a thrift store, estate sale, flea market junkie. I can’t wait to watch Cash and Cari.
P.S. I did watch ” Extreme Couponing” so that I Could make fun of their craziness. I coupon for things my family uses, but I do not see a need to hoard 10 years worth of cheap toilet paper…..where do you put that much toilet paper, anyway?
amen. These people are getting some kind of high off this extreme coupon clipping and using. Soon they will be diagnosed with overcouponitis and have another show with some Dr. and their therapy group.
Also, I still haven’t seen a coupon for apples and lettuce.
Don’t do it! Us cable-freers need to stick together!
Don’t worry, I’m too cheap.
Katy
Don’t you mean you’re too frugal? There is a big difference. You’ve got to feel proud that I’m learning about these shows from you!
I do believe that I can be cheap AND Frugal. It’s semantics, as I’m keeping my money in my wallet either way.
Katy
I’m with you – cable TV and Comcast were sucking away too much money. So no “Extreme Couponing,” which I kinda wanted to see. I’m hoping once it’s been shown the 4 times listed that it will show up somewhere online like hulu…
I dropped some major hints that we should turn the Dish back on so we can watch the college bowl games (they are almost all on ESPN) but husband didn’t bite. He said he enjoyed a football-free weekend so he could be with the kids and get some things done. The sacrifices I make…..
I have a strange mental illness that makes me feel inspired when I see something like the couponers. I can acknowledge that they’re over the top and yet a part of me wants to rush out and try my hand at it…
This will make you cable-freers feel good: my monthly cable bill is $180. That includes 2 phone lines (one for work), cable internet access and our HD cable TV with HBO and Showtime (which we really use because we almost NEVER go to the movie theater and don’t subscribe to NetFlix). The high monthly figure bothers me, but I guess we get what we pay for…
We’ve got the lowest type of “cable” that Comcast lets us have– we get about five channels (like NBC, ABC, Fox, and PBS). We have a player hooked up to the TV that lets us watch Netflix streaming and Amazon media stuff (husband is really tech-y, I have no real clue how it works).
I end up watching most of my cable TV on Netflix or while I’m at the gym. I figure at least while I am at the gym I am doing some a bit more productive than just sitting on the couch.
I thought I was the last person in America who doesn’t pay for TV! It’s been over 18 years since we had cable–and we’ll most likely stay that way until someone comes up with a “pick 6” or something like that for $25.00 a month or less-and our 6 would include The History Channel, HGTV, Food Network and Discovery. Most days I consider it a blessing we don’t have these channels, as they could become a serious waste of time. If you do watch “Extreme Couponing”, I’ll be curious to read your comments–honestly, I use coupons whenever I can to save on what we would buy anyway, and I do match them up with store sales and stock up on non-perishables, but these people sound like hoarders. And they buy lots of things we don’t–we don’t use many packaged foods, and don’t buy soda. And while we do use toilet paper, where in the world would you store a thousand rolls?!!
I’m so cheap that when the American public was forced to purchase (yes, with the coupon) an HDTV box I revolted and got rid of our TV’s. It’s tough! I LOVE TV! Hulu has helped heal the wound.
We were warned the tv would go black on June 12, and to my shock, it did. Now, the paid-for box gets me nothing on tv. I have to shell out more money before my tv will work. I paid for Direct tv for 6 months years ago and could not afford that! So, except for that little time, I have watched fuzzy tv. Since June 12, I have not had tv at all. All this tv talk is just torture! And, they do have coupons for lettuce and apples and bananas! I use them. I do not use tp anymore, but if I did, I could store anything I got that was free. Okay, I would figure it out. OH, the final straw–my flash player does not work! No hulu, nothing!
I am very interested in veggie and fruit coupons. Please tell.
The only ones I’ve seen in my days are for packaged fruit..the Chiquita fruit bites, frozen fruit or veggies, dried fruit, or freeze-dried veggie snacks.
I have never seen a coupon for lettuce. 😉
I take that back…there are coupons for lettuce in the bag.
But bare-naked produce? You won’t be able to find piles of coupons for it.
I’m more interested in how you don’t use tp (toilet paper, right?) anymore. What’s the alternative – leaves?
That Extreme Couponing show was just too much like Hoarders to me…those folks have some sort of addiction to play that game. How can you ever use a stockpile of thousands of items they have in their garages…certainly they expire before use.However, one man did give an enormous amount of cereal to a food bank.
I loved that couponing show, but I’m sure they made it look as extreme as possible so that the show would be entertaining. Apparently the people don’t normally do such large shops, and the show also didn’t show that a lot of that “stockpile” was donated, which is too bad. On the forums where people talk about how to get things for free with coupons, many of them say they give to the foodbanks or other charities – which is awesome! And even though the food isn’t healthy, those that use foodbanks are grateful for any food.
I’ve done the coupon game, and it’s fun to see what you can get for free, or almost free. And if you don’t use it, you can give it away to friends or foodbanks.
I’d be interested to know what they advertise on shows like that. I mean the point of the programming is really to get you do watch the ads and buy the stuff right?
I’ve also always been a bit disturbed about coupon people who donate stuff to foodbanks that they wouldn’t want their own families to eat…
We watched the first season of American Pickers on Netflix streaming and really enjoyed it. While visiting relatives over the holiday we were able to watch cable, but it seemed so full of commercials compared to Netflix streaming and Hulu that we did not find it nearly as enjoyable.
Another show we have been enjoying on netflix streaming is Pawn Stars. The drama is a little much but there is some intersting stuff on there.
never had cable, converter works for us, and these days many shows are available online or thru Netflix eventually, so prob no need to miss anything. Best part of NOT spending $$ on such things is being debt free & able to afford the memorable things that money can buy. Sign me:
Frugal, not cheap
I love Mike & Frank, too! I only watch a couple of TV shows, and that’s one of them, the other being Hoarders. I’m sure I’ll find Cari’s forays into the world of picking at estate sales fascinating, but then again, I don’t want to be encouraged to start a PICKING habit that would segue into HOARDING! I’ve seen too many people start collecting items they say they’ll sell later, and then whoops! the house is full of STUFF.
I’ve ventured into selling items I no longer use on eBay, but when I weigh the value of my time against the monetary gains, I end up hauling it all to donate to the Council for the Blind Thrift Store. Stuff I considered selling on eBay last year that I ended up donating instead included two typewriters from the 1920s and the 1940s, my wedding gown, two sets of dishes from the 1950s, and a laptop computer. Gone! Space freed in my house, what a relief!
i’ve been without a television for years. one day, i was complaining (only a little, really) about not being able to watch True Blood. someone told me about watch-series.com… check it out and you won’t need to go to the neighbors’ for cable shows. 🙂