might have to take a little time off here for a while

[oldgoat]

i have to restructure my budget

 

and work out a plan

 

cable bills and internet are way to high

 

along with other bills

 

some things just have to go. my bills out weigh my income

 

so i am going to shut down some things

 

like internet and cable and get that taken care of i don't watch tv that much but Comcast wont let me just go internet with out some kind of tv thing?

 

my income is $870 a month and bills are about $125 over that. i managed to slip and slide on what i could cover and what minimum i could get by with?

 

so i am thinking maybe dish internet? with plain on basic tv channels?

see about changing my insurance on the jeep and motorcycle? even though that is only $130 a month full coverage on both. i think i can do better?

 

PLEASE DO NOT READ INTO THIS THAT I AM ASKING FOR HELP!!!

 

just saying a wise old Harley man here told me i have to think about taking care of myself.

 

i am looking for a small part time job as i can make $400 a month with out interfering with my disability income.

so i been out looking heck i will even flip burgers if i have to

 

so if i m gone for a few weeks. at night time. i will go to the library and post and check up on you all in the day time

 

i will do this i know i can

[OrlinEngh]

Sure hope that things turn around for you, Need to get after those guys in Canada that keep leaving some door open and letting all of that cold air come down this way, And Fool to put that snow making thing away and bring on spring so that heating bill will be done with for awhile.

Hopefully you wont have to take much time off from here or make to many trips to the Library.

Orlin

[Flyinfool]

Hope you get it figured out.

 

I play the musical internet game here.

When the cable rate goes up, I pack up all of my equipment and cancel and go to ATT and sit on the introductory rate as long as possible, then when the ATT rate goes up I go back to cable for a year of their introductory rate. Yes it is a PITA once a year. But I end up paying about a third of what a good customer pays. Sometimes when you show up in their office with the box of equipment to cancel (calling does not work) they will renew your intro rate for another year just to keep you. If you went through the trouble of disconnecting everything to bring it into the office they figure you are serious. I know a lot of people that have just gone back to a TV antenna to get the free over the air TV.

 

So once a year I bounce back and forth between cable TV/internet and satellite TV/DSL internet.

The market for TV/internet is so mature.

[Venturous Randy]

I wonder if we will ever see with TV/internet what we have seen with cell phones. I was cleaning off some old e-mails, some going back to 2006 and when I started pulling up some Verizon bills, I was seeing between $150 and $175 every month, with a lot less service than I am getting now, but that was with two phones.

Now, with Straight Talk, for what I need, the $30 a month is working fine. I am considering upgrading to a smarter phone and better plan, but that is only about $50.

I have had a big round with Comcast after getting an evening sales call and agreeing to an upgrade that was to just cost slightly more. Turned out, it cost A LOT more. I had them take me back to the original plan with some discounts, but it is still way too costly.

Being retired, I know what it is like to be on a fixed income and when you get hit with something unexpected, it can hurt. Fortunately for me, I never used tobacco, as many have and it can become a big part of many peoples budget.

I wish you the best James and hope you can work something out.

Randy

[oldgoat]

right now im working on a plan.

 

have a PT job interview cleaning bathrooms taking out trash and doing the floors for a store here at the mall

 

just Saturday and sunday 12 hour a week $9.25 and hour

 

I will be going in on Monday to that. hope I get it.

might just cancel the whole Comcast stuff tv and internet. and go with just ATT phone inter net? they said I just need a home phone hook up it will be just dial up and not a real phone service. and that will work.

 

I am not realy a big fan of tv that much I can go with out for a while. I will keep you all posted many thanks

[oldgoat]

well I sold the Honda xl75 I put back together.

 

got a fair price out of it.

never going to get the time and labor I put into it.

so that will put a little$$$ in the coffer to get the ball rolling on getting my budget I hope back in shape?

will see how that small job offer goes tomorrow.

my brother -in law who had the stroke needs some work done on his lawn tractor for this spring and summer if it ever gets here LOL

he said he will pay me to put the new blades plugs oil change on it. that is not a problem I did it about 4 years ago for him.

if only my darn niece his grand daughter would stop hitting the edge of the curbs and sidewalk and chipping the blades. last time she broke the woodruff key and it would not start LOL

the I have to get his quad running been 8 months since if fired up? she runs but then dies out? when you give it full throttle ? a little seafoam maybe? he did dump some stable in it? but if I recall he did not have a new plug or check up done on it for 2 years. will see how that goes?

[cowpuc]

Good on ya Goat!! Couple bucks here and there can make a BIG difference in turning around struggling finances! You are in our thoughts and prayers!!

 

The quad sounds like it might need a good carb cleaning, maybe got some dirt in the main jet, especially if it runs fine at an idle. Depending on the carb, may have an access plug in the bottom of the bowl so you dont have to pull the carb - just unscrew the plug - grab a socket and pull the main out of it. I would pull the air cleaner and check for mice nests and pull the spark plug and make sure it aint fouled first though..

[djh3]

I was going to say play the "dish will do this whats your offer" I just had to do that. Onlu saved me like 10 or 12 buck but it helped.

[XV1100SE]

Call the cable company and ask for the "retention" department. No, they don't retain water, they are supposed to do what it takes to keep you as a customer.

 

Tell them you are going to switch to their competitor. Normally they'll give you 3-6 months at a discounted rate, or offer a plan better suited to your usage.

 

It's hard to turn things around but keep plugging away at it.

[oldgoat]

well I have a second interview for a small part time job cleaning a JC penny store here at the peru mall.

14 hours a week just Saturday and sunday nights minimum pay to start will know on march 3rd if I get the job.?

it will put about $300 or more a month into my income. and wont bother my motorcycle time this year.

after 3 months the pay goes up to $11 an hour. im keeping my fingers crossed xxxxxx

[BlueSky]

You said you are in the Comcast area but Time warner has a $14.95 per month plan for the internet regular price. Maybe Comcast has a similar plan. Supposed to be 2Mbps download and 1 Mbps up. Remember when we thought that was fast!?

[videoarizona]

Goat, yep...for sure check into the other basic plans. All companies have them, they just don't want us to know about them. Anything from Dial-up to the least expensive service should work with the forum. Just take a while with pictures to download.

 

As far as tv goes...if you have a digital type TV...check out a simple good old antenna. I'm 40 miles from the Tucson stations and with a good old VHF/UHF antenna...I can get all the local channels. Put the antenna on the roof....either strapped to the chimney or on a pole strapped to side of house near the top of the roofline. Heck, I know one guy who tied his antenna to a tree...it was a huge tree and had minimum movement. Worked great! You could probably get the antenna free as most people don't know the old style roof antennas work great for digital TV!

 

Regardless, Prayers Up that you find just the job you need to keep the $$ coming in!~

david

[Max]

i have to restructure my budget

 

and work out a plan

 

cable bills and internet are way to high

 

like internet and cable and get that taken care of i don't watch tv that much but Comcast wont let me just go internet with out some kind of tv thing?

 

so i am thinking maybe dish internet? with plain on basic tv channels?

see about changing my insurance on the jeep and motorcycle? even though that is only $130 a month full coverage on both. i think i can do better?

 

 

a couple of options to consider depending on your proximity to your phone company central office :

 

what some phone companies don't care to advertise is the option of an internet DSL 'dry loop'. in other words internet only over copper wire cable pair

from the phone jack connected to modem/router via a regular phone cord. there shouldn't be a charge for using their copper facilities, just internet.

copper 2w pairs support full DSL, again, if your near a phone company office. They can determine if DSL available by your zipcode. You can also keep or connect

a landline to that configuration. Most phone companies have less costly DSL plans dependng on download/upload bandwidth packages.

 

there might be free antennae TV available depending on your location, as an example over this way.. Free Toronto Digital/HDTV Channels

 

best of luck.