I called Dish Network to ask what kind of fees would be incurred and if it were even an option to have the technician pick up the satellite and stuff.

Of course it wasn’t an option. Nothing is ever that simple. I found out that contrary to what the customer service rep told me last month, my contract is not fulfilled. I have at least 6 more months (February 2010) and my cancellation fee would be $10 a month for the remainder of months on the contract.

Now what? I still have to buy the converter box and I’m still a bit afraid of not having cable or satellite service. Plus paying $60 just to cancel the service is ridiculous to say the least.

So, in speaking with the very friendly CSR of Dish Network, I managed to at least get my bill down by $20 a month. I cut out some kind of protection (fingers crossed that the dish won’t be struck by lightening in the next 6 months), went down a package, and did away with something else I’d never heard of that was $5 a month.

In case you’re wondering, my brilliant suggestion of paying a quarter a month for the channels I actually watch was not even slightly entertained. “There’s no package for that.”

I’m getting that converter box though because even $50 a month is a waste. I may just cancel Dish Network for New Year’s and pay the $10 for February.

So, here’s to having an extra $50 a month in 2010! I don’t know, but it feels like a “Freedom from Satellite Service” party is in order. You bring the food though, it’s not in my budget…

Next up…Cutting the Water Bill by Living Under a Bridge…(just kidding).

I switched from cable because I thought the satellite offer was much cheaper. And it was, except the channels I needed (ie, Nickelodeon, Disney etc.) weren’t included in the cheap package and I either upgraded or had them added. I don’t remember. My bill is almost $70 a month. Maybe that doesn’t seem like much.

Except my television isn’t pulling its weight around here (neither of the two are, actually). I don’t watch TV except for the occasional “end of the world” or “Bigfoot” story on the History channel before I go to sleep. The rest of the time, the TV is on Nick Jr. or Disney-which makes it worth even less because my daugther isn’t getting anything useful out of it either.

So, like everything else in my life, I’m debating whether I even need cable or satellite TV. Anything else that I feel is useless gets axed without a second thought. I get the news from the internet and honestly I can live without the History channel. I think my daughter could live on DVDs. It’s not like television is good for her either. Why can’t I just pay for the 4 or 5 channels we use? If I calculate my bill according to the channels that are available, it comes to at the most .15 cents a channel. I’d be okay with paying .75 cents a month for my satellite service.

My question is, am I being moronically cheap? Will not having a television turn my daughter into some kind of deprived weirdo?

I don’t know. I’ve kicked people out of my life that cost less than 70 bucks a month and although I don’t really remember, I’m pretty sure they were far more useful (most of the time).

Maybe I need to have a heart to heart with the television.