Mandatory Luxuries #Oxymoron

Trust me.  Nothing at DirecTV is $29.99.

I've always tried to figure out how some of my family members raised so many kids on such a small salary.  Now, my parents only had two kids, so they didn't have to feed as many as some of my relatives.  I have some older aunts and uncles who raised anywhere from six to 13 kids.  How can you feed and clothe that many "crumb snatchers?"  Well, I think that I figured it out the last time that I sat down to pay my bills: they didn't have "mandatory luxuries" that we do today.

A "mandatory luxury" is an item, with a recurring monthly payment, that you don't need, but can't live without.

Check this out: Aside from my house note, a very large sum of my pay check goes towards these items:

• AT&T U-Verse Internet service ($50/month)
• DirecTV satellite service ($90/month)
• DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket ($50/month for up to six months)
• Verizon cell phone with unlimited minutes and 6 GB of data ($100/month)
• Netflix ($17/month)
• Xbox Live ($5/month)

Approximately $312/month which is $3,744/year.  That's where my money is going!  Every month, I'm paying for something that I don't need, but I gotta have!  And it's worse for some people who may also have satellite radio/Pandora Premium, a gym membership (important, but our elders stayed in shape without them), and some other things that slip my mind at the present time.

My elders didn't have these options and that allowed for them to take care of large families on a middle class salary (or less) and / or save money for future generations to have.  If I were to cut at least three of those items out of my life, then it would be like giving myself a raise.

But, I'm not doing it!  LOL!  I have to give props to Corporate America on getting me hooked on things that I don't need.  That takes skilled marketing!

Geesh!  I need to get my priorities straight!

Do you spend a lot on "mandatory luxuries?"