I don't have a TV before 30. (The Reasons Will Be Revealed)

Pardon me for a clickbait-ish title. 

But I would like to emphasise the key-points there at the start. I am turning 30 soon. I am not compiling a checklist or bucketlist of 'Things To Do Before 30.' I sound like a buzz-kill or a box of bore, but I'm at a point in life where things have it going well for me.

I want to focus on a single material thing, and how it changed my perspective, which in this regard of its absence.

The 'Television' Problem.

Six months ago before moving flats to London, me and my now fiancée had challenges in moving. Not only in the physical task of the move, but particularly on our personal items. We prioritised which ones we could let go through giving-away or selling items. At that time, we had 2 tv sets. A 37" LCD I bought from an Amazon deal, and another 42" LCD that I got as a second-hand deal. 

The problem was we were only using them very rarely. My partner mainly uses her mobile devices such as her iPad and mobile phone for media streams. I use the bigger tv for PlayStation games. We weren't using the other tv at all. 

It was a complete waste of resource and the value for its worth weren't good enough. So we sold them both for cash, in which we helped pooled in for funding our downpayment fee for the flat move. In short, we turned some 'frozen assets' into 'investing' into our future move.

So, why did we decide NOT to buy a new one? 

We gave it a few weeks of trial to see if we would feel our new flat would feel 'empty' without this appliance. It did at first, especially since I would love to use my then PlayStation whenever I felt like to. (Eventually sold my PlayStation 3 as well to fund another priority.) But 6 months down the line, we survived without one. 

I still love my films, music and videos. But the phone, a laptop or the ipad were doing those pretty much easily. I mainly use Spotify, Netflix, Youtube and the BBC iPlayer for those purposes.

What advantages did a TV-less home environment gave me?

I had to channel my supposed 'TV-time' to other things that I did not do as much as when we had 'TV'. It helped me stimulate my mind to find other resources of inspiration and entertainment.

I began to have more time reading books and comic books.
I would play more music and discover more artists and songs of old and new.
More time to take short naps.
More time to do house chores.
More reason to go out and explore the city.
More time to write.
More time to plan things.
More precious space in the flat.
More time to appreciate the simple things.
More time to spend on my faith and spiritual side.

And much, much more.

I could buy one easily, BUT...

This is not a humble-brag statement. Technically, I could buy one with an easy instalment. But I had to teach myself of the valuable 'art' of Delayed Gratification.

I started to discipline myself with expenses, with more focus on the needs vs wants. I try to learn the difference between spending and investing. I try to lean more on experiences rather than material things.

I had to ask myself each time: is it a Want? or a Need?

I am not suggesting for everyone to sell your possessions and items to reach true happiness. I am not entirely living life like a monk. Rewarding yourself after earning and working hard for it is totally necessary. This does not just apply to a 'TV', the TV here of course is just a micro-representation of a materialistic debate whether if its a Need or a Want.

The bottomline for me is this: I would spend more time looking at 'Home & Kitchen' section of a store rather than the 'Electronics & Gadget' department. I had more expenses on grocery than others. Who doesn't want to eat well? :)

It does sound like a 'boring dad' situation. It may be the aging. But if I place that perspective with a 'hipster-ish' spin into it and label it as 'maturity', then probably more people would be happy with that. 

I am getting 'old', hitting 30 soon. And I'm more than happy to tell my 20 year-old self:
'Hey, trust me you don't NEED that TV.'