Going “Cell Only” To Save Money
14 July 2006Here’s a trend that is increasingly common among younger people, and one that is a great tip for those who are frugal-minded: give up your landline in favor of cell-phones.
Many older readers probably wouldn’t even have considered this - a telephone in your home is just too ingrained in our culture. But for many people, it’s really just pointless - an extra bill each month for a service you aren’t really using.
Young people have discovered this in increasing numbers. Personally, I haven’t had a telephone in my house for the last four years - I cancelled the phone service, saved $40 a month, and never looked back. One other big benefit I discovered was that I can easily keep the same number when moving, unlike with a landline.
The reality is that for many people, a home telephone doesn’t really have any point anymore. You probably use your cell phone most of the time anyway - it’s convenient, it can be taken with you, and you can leave it on the kitchen counter when you’re at home just like a regular phone.
Why wouldn’t you want to do this? There are some situations where it might not be a good idea. If you have a large family, it could be more expensive to get everyone a cell phone. On the other hand, there are some fairly cheap family plans these days, and often they let you add additional phones for $10 a month or so. Get the kids a cheaper phone and strictly limit how long they can talk each month.
Another reason you might not want to is if you use the phone constantly. If you’re talking so often that you would be forced to buy the most expensive cell phone plan, it’s better to have a home telephone as a backup given that local calls are usually free. However, most people don’t fit into this category - and if you do, you can probably plan your conversations so that you rely on the free off-hour minutes.
The last situation in which you might not want to do this is if you have someone in your family with an illness who may need to call 9-1-1. You can still do this on a cell phone - but it’s easier to locate you on a home phone if you aren’t able to speak for some reason.
If you’re single, younger, or don’t have kids, however, it’s a no-brainer. Cancel the home phone, and save the $500 a year.
Discuss this in the Free the Drones Forums here.
One Response to “Going “Cell Only” To Save Money”
July 17th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
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