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"I am in the middle of wrestling with a big decision and I need your help. I&amp;#039;m thinking about becoming one of a fast-growing group of Americans who are dumping their cable television and landline. I know that this may not strike all of you as a big deal, but for someone who is addicted to news programs and watching movies with my three kids, this is a full-size decision. Though it seems that I never use my landline because everyone I know was smart enough to give theirs up and they just call me on my cell anyway. Decisions, decisions.  I hate to whine and sound like a broken record, but the gas prices are butchering my already fragile budget. There is no longer a little cushion every pay period. Every last cent I have is going toward the increase in both gas and food prices. At this time, I can&amp;#039;t possibly work any more than I do (I have two jobs) because if I did, I would NEVER see my children, who mean more to me than anything else. So, bring out the hatchet because it&amp;#039;s time to cut. Again. Right now, even after renegotiations, I pay $160 per month for cable, telephone and Internet. With this neat little (expensive) package, I can call anywhere in the U.S., have high-speed Internet (required for both jobs) and all of the basic and non-basic cable channels along with three premium channels for movies. I would miss it, but I could definitely live without the movie channels and the non-basic channels. I do, however, love the basic channels with the news, etc. My kids, on the other hand, would probably start a riot if they couldn&amp;#039;t have their channels\u2014which begin right where basic cable cuts off. The phone isn&amp;#039;t an issue. To be honest, I can&amp;#039;t stand when it rings. I talk and talk and talk all day for work, both in person and on the phone, and I wouldn&amp;#039;t mind silencing it forever. Why pay? The Internet however; is a must. Could any of us stand to be without that? I know what I should do. I know what I&amp;#039;m probably going to have to do with gas prices making double-digit leaps on a weekly basis. Still, I&amp;#039;m torn. Some advice\u2026please? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a43045/the-cable-conundrum-7940/>