A wire coat hanger shoved into the back of the TV to get it working
Going next door to borrow the phone because you've been downloading something all day and didn't want to lose it
Being hyper aware of the current status of the street lights in summer evenings
OMG, yes!
When I was like 11 or so, we had a company called EarthLink for Internet, and when we tried to cancel one month because we were broke, they gave us 3 months free. After the third time of that happening we realized we didn't have to pay for Internet anymore, and spent the money on a second phone line instead.
It. Was. Glorious.