C'mon Everyone's Doing It (Why I Shut Off My Home Phone)
Nicole at Budgeting Babe beat me to the punch, but I was going to write about finally shutting off my land line. I've had a cell phone since the late '90s, but I recently decided to chuck my land line. I have to admit this decision was a long time coming, but when I opened my Verizon phone bill and discovered I'd only made three (yes, 3) calls during the entire month, I realized it was time. I was being billed about $40 a month, for a basic line after all of the taxes. I already made the switch from dial-up to DLS in March through my cable company, so the only thing I won't be able to do is use my fax machine. Thanks to pdf files, that won't be that much of a problem.
I have to admit there were two crucial times that my land line came in handy: September 11, 2001 and the Northeast blackout of August 2003, where my land line (and non-cordless phone for the blackout) were my keys to the outside world. Sprint PCS and other cell phone providers simply couldn't keep up with the demand. If another event were to happen, I'd be SOL. It's another thing to think about these days.
Anyway, over the next few months, I'll evaluate my cell phone usage and I may need to upgrade my plan. All I need to do now is transfer the saved income in my savings account.
This is also posted at Financial Freedom Trek.
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Don't forget about 911 service. Check with your cell provider and make sure you have some type of GPS enabled 911 on your cell phone. Otherwise when you call for help and can't tell them what is wrong they won't have a clue what to do about it.
Almost all cell phones now have E911 service so that they can locate you. Even if you turn off GPS and location services, E911 is exempt and they can still track you.
I agree. My landline just sits there and eats up money. I hardly use my home phone. I was able to reduce my plan from $35 to $20 a month now. I'm keeping it for emergencies -- if I lose my cell phone or something.
