View Full Version : Anyone get rid of their home phone?
Belmont31R
02-14-11, 13:10
Between the cost of internet/phone/cable we were paying around 180/mo. Add in cell phones (two) at another 130/mo its just unreasonable for all these "extras".
We got rid of the 2nd cell phone too, and just cut $125 from our monthly bills combined with the land line. Took all the extras off the cable, too.
May be a little harder with just one [cell] phone for the both of us for everything but I get sick of seeing so much money go out the door every month. Once the NHL season is over (already paid for center ice) Ill be getting rid of the box with HD/DVR and just using basic cable on all the tv's.
Next up is quitting smoking and my daily Rock Star. We want to cut at least $750 in monthly expenditures including eating out only 1-2 times a month, and finding low cost meals. I found out I can make a kickass lentil soup for less than 6 dollars, and it will feed a good size family for a meal. All it takes is a bag of lentils (50 cents), cut up tomato, carrots, broth, and any other veggies you want. Throw in some seasonings, let cook for few hours, and its good stuff.
Its too easy to get wrapped up in things that cost a lot money, and that we can go without but just have to get used to not having it. I didn't even have a cell phone until a few years ago, I didn't grow up having cable, ect. Ill be glad when we cut our monthly costs in half.
We got rid of our landline about two years ago and have never regretted it. My wife and I both have a cell phone for less than one cell and a landline. As far as TV, we have had rabbit ears for about four years now.
I went through the same thing recently, although I switched to using Comcast digital voice and canceled my cell contracts. We were paying ~$140 to AT&T for cell phone service that we didn't fully use (we were gaining ~500 rollover minutes a month). We were on a 1400 minute family plan. After calling them multiple times asking if they had a 900 or 1,000 minute family plan and being told "no," I told them I was canceling. They immediately transferred me to the cancellations department, which informed me that I qualified for a 1,000 minute package that was only available to people who were canceling. Of course, that just made me cancel even faster, since they had been lying to me all along.
Comcast had a special in our area where we 22Mbps internet, basic cable, and phone (plus modem rental) for $55 a month, flat, for one full year. It was cheaper than the basic cable internet package on its own, so we took it (we basically saved money by getting the phone line).
I got my wife an AT&T prepaid phone (she only uses it when she's not at home). It only charges you $2 per day that it's used - the calls and texts for that day are unlimited. Buy a $100 prepaid card and you're set for 6 months (or more, if you don't use it much).
I was going to get myself a Sprint wireless plan, but my friend had an unused slot on his 3,000 minute family plan, so I pay him $20 a month to use his unused minutes.
Between both of our cell phones, house phone, and cable tv/internet, it's $95 / month. Once our promo ends with the bundled cable + home phone, I'll just downgrade to the standard internet package and pay the additional $20/month for Comcast phone (that should bring the total cost to $120/month).
Got rid of the land line a few years ago. Wife and I have cells and for home office, T-Mobile@Home. They no longer offer it but still support existing accounts, voip, flat $10/month, using time warner cable.
Belmont31R
02-14-11, 13:51
Comcast had a special in our area where we 22Mbps internet, basic cable, and phone (plus modem rental) for $55 a month, flat, for one full year. It was cheaper than the basic cable internet package on its own, so we took it (we basically saved money by getting the phone line).
I would do all 3 for 55 a month but the cheapest time warner has here for all 3 is 130/mo not including taxes (38/mo extra).
When I cancelled today they didn't offer me any lower cost options.
I would do all 3 for 55 a month but the cheapest time warner has here for all 3 is 130/mo not including taxes (38/mo extra).
When I cancelled today they didn't offer me any lower cost options.
If you have Comcast available in your area, call your local Comcast office and ask for the contact numbers of your local sales reps - there's usually two or three per city. The sales reps have offers that aren't in the main billing system and can only be obtained through them. The actual offers will vary from city to city. I've done this twice now, once when I moved into my (then new) apartment 3 years ago and then again last year, when I bought my house.
These sales reps get paid commission for signing people up to these intro plans, so they want to save you money (since they get paid for it). You can also keep signing up for these offers as new ones become available, as they get paid for the signups regardless of whether they're existing customers or not.
If you don't have Comcast, I found the best way to save money is to forgo cable TV entirely. Otherwise, with cable TV, you're at the provider's mercy.
We just have 2 cell phones on a family plan. No land line.
I pay for basic cable plus internet from Comcast. (I have an OOMA phone system but we took it to Las Vegas a year ago for SHOT and when I got back I never got around to hooking it up. OOMA is a one time thing though -- you pay once and get US phone for no charge monthly [guaranteed for X years]).
Call your local Comcast office and ask for the contact numbers of your local sales reps - there's usually two or three per city. The sales reps have offers that aren't in the main billing system and can only be obtained through them. The actual offers will vary from city to city. I've done this twice now, once when I moved into my (then new) apartment 3 years ago and then again last year, when I bought my house.
These sales reps get paid commission for signing people up to these intro plans, so they want to save you money (since they get paid for it).
Except he said his local cable is Time Warner, not comcast.
TW probably is set up similarly though.
Except he said his local cable is Time Warner, not comcast.
TW probably is set up similarly though.
Sorry, you caught me before I edited my post to reflect that. Most of the major providers should have something similar, as you mentioned. If not, then best of luck.
RancidSumo
02-14-11, 14:11
I haven't had a land line in ~5 years. Everyone just has a cell and it is so much easier.
variablebinary
02-14-11, 14:13
I haven't had a house phone for over 9 years.
Landlines are great. I have no future plans to rid myself of it.
Yes. Some time ago. Am very close to dropping G&R's line as well and go with a Cell for it.
C4
I haven't had a home phone since... 2005?
I briefly had home phone through the cable co back when they introduced to my neighborhood as part of a special deal but it messed up my internet so I canned it.
Its too easy to get wrapped up in things that cost a lot money, and that we can go without but just have to get used to not having it. I didn't even have a cell phone until a few years ago, I didn't grow up having cable, ect. Ill be glad when we cut our monthly costs in half.
I really commend you on this. It's a worthwhile effort but tough to do. I'm trying but it is really tough to make the cuts in some areas.
We're working on buckling down on the eating out and groceries, since they are budget busters for us each month (not to mention a health issue eating out with crap food).
Belmont31R
02-14-11, 14:29
Sorry, you caught me before I edited my post to reflect that. Most of the major providers should have something similar, as you mentioned. If not, then best of luck.
Yeah Comcast doesn't serve this area. We had them back when we were still at Ft. Lewis...
I found another company here that is regional but has all 3 for 70/mo. Ill check into it.
VooDoo6Actual
02-14-11, 14:50
I did three years ago.
Living through Hurricane Andrew and then not being able to use radios due to all the towers being blown down, Im keeping the land line.
Cagemonkey
02-14-11, 14:52
We have a package deal with Comcast. I don't even know my home phone number. I list my cell number for everything.
Living through Hurricane Andrew and then not being able to use radios due to all the towers being blown down, Im keeping the land line.
Agreed. We don't really get natural disasters in this part of the country, but it's remote enough that cable and cell just simply aren't reliable enough for emergency phone calls. OTOH, virtually all of the telephone lines around here are underground and I just don't recall ever having had a landline failure.
RogerinTPA
02-14-11, 17:02
I got rid of my land line 8 years ago. No regrets at all.
We got rid of ours and went with a Magic Jack. The quality was iffy enough that we went back and got a land line. My wife makes and recieves a ton of calls for some volunteer work so quality was needed. Cell coverage is ok but its nice to have a dedicated phone, especially if the power goes out in the area.
I've never had a landline. Never missed it.
have a vonage line ? but thinking of dumping it ? but the problem is we have clients all over the world we need to talk to ? lucky not to often but we do call Europe and Australia and a few other countries once in a while ? so not sure how to deal with this
but we did this week cut out $60 of our cable bill :) bare min now and going to start also controlling things the kids watch a bit more not just financial but the commercials and such these days are not what I want my 6 year old watching
trying to get a few things else under control with extras we pay for
jklaughrey
02-14-11, 20:29
Been wireless since '98. Wife has been as well since we were married in '05.
We got rid of our land line around a year ago. We bought cell phones for our kids (10 & 12 yo) and added them to our plan. It's nice for them to have a phone so that we can get a hold of them if they're at a friends house or during sports season/after school activities. We all share 700 minutes with unlimited texting and we still have roll over minutes. It seems like everybody uses AT&T so all of the cell to cell calls are free. In the end, we saved $70 a month.
I've only had a landline for 1 year out of the 6 I've been out of my parent's house. I'm about to drop my internet completely and downgrade the cable to basic. I'm tethering off my Sprint Evo right now getting 4MB down and it costs me nothing over my unlimited data plan & I have unlimited rentals from Blockbuster for $25/mo that I use more than watching the stuff that comes on the movie channels that I've already seen.
I have never had a landline. I technically have one now, but no phone is hooked up to it. The discount earned on Fios for having the phone is greater than the price for the line.
Military made me wireless, absolutely no going back.
Google Voice and a good internet connection makes most landlines redundant in my view.
Belmont31R
02-14-11, 23:59
Glad to see Im not alone in scaling back all this stuff but seemingly a bit late to the game.
I got a question for all you bug out guys, what happens when something causes a power outage or an emergency that causes and overloaded and crashes the cell networks :p
My humble land line will work even with when the power goes out and doesn't have to worry about crashing due to volume. It might be antiquated. But some times simple shit is the best shit.
How about them m35's, how great are those things for crossing the desert when the zombies go on strike! :fie: Just need a couple of .50's and external self sealing fuel tanks and you're golden. Don't forget the 2 year supply of MRE's... I'm just punning.
I've only had a home phone line for about 6 months total of my adult life.
Glad to see Im not alone in scaling back all this stuff but seemingly a bit late to the game.
not just you but anyone else what are your reasons ?
curious if you are scaling back to save some money or just to de clutter life ? I know I am doing it for both
we keep our netflix account so many kids shows on it
ripping all my kids DVDs going to take them out of the case and store just the DVD away and get rid of clutter then stream it to any TV
trying to read books I have been wanting to them paying them forward
all future books are going to be ebooks or audio books
cleaning up old clothes etc..
some of the best times in my life was living 6 months out of a 2 man tent with nothing
next best times to now with kids was living in Honduras with 3 bags to my name lived in the Bay Islands for a year
when we moved off island to the mainland some years ago all our stuff fit in a half container now we have so much I doubt I could get it in a full container and want to cut way back and simplify life
I got a question for all you bug out guys, what happens when something causes a power outage or an emergency that causes and overloaded and crashes the cell networks :p
My humble land line will work even with when the power goes out and doesn't have to worry about crashing due to volume. It might be antiquated. But some times simple shit is the best shit.
How about them m35's, how great are those things for crossing the desert when the zombies go on strike! :fie: Just need a couple of .50's and external self sealing fuel tanks and you're golden. Don't forget the 2 year supply of MRE's... I'm just punning.
ham radio :)
land lines can also go down and circuits can get busy
power failures my cell has worked in the past no issue
we had lines go down when I was a kid all the time as lots of areas they are above ground and can get blown down ?
I dont think their is a perfect solution :)
ham radio :)
land lines can also go down and circuits can get busy
power failures my cell has worked in the past no issue
we had lines go down when I was a kid all the time as lots of areas they are above ground and can get blown down ?
I dont think their is a perfect solution :)
Aluminum can and a few miles of string and some underground conduit. Bam! No power and easily replaced with salvaged material. :thank_you2:
I am all about cutting back on expenses, and we have certainly done that, but the land line stays for us. We move so much, and signal quality is iffy from place to place. Plus, every time I have to give my number to a "business, etc.", I don't want to have to give out my cell number. Don't need my cell blowing up every time the American Red Cross calls to remind me it's time to donate more blood, telemarketers, etc.
Put me in the land line group.
got rid of: land line, directTV (use antenna), nice car (got old truck), smart phone, gym membership, and refinanced home. we are really living skinny so my wife can be at home with your first baby. kind of fun though to see that the frequency of "50 dollar purchases" were raping us.
When we had the rolling blackouts two weeks ago I never lost cell service. I will admit I was a little surprised. Yes a landline is more reliable but I have never had an issue where I thought it was needed.
Only reason we haven't gotten rid of our landline service is that our alarm system is monitored and if the landline is gone we would have to put in a cell station. Cost of monitoring would go up by about as much as the decrease in the landline service. We would also have to pay for the hardware of the cell station. So no real cost savings. Would make the security monitoring more reliable but no cost savings overall. I'm with Time Warner also an no other alternatives here.
do any of you consider a vonage line a land line ? since its really cable based or whatever your internet is ?
curious if some of you with land lines live in a area where they are all underground ?
we switched our alarm to cell and lucky for us was cheaper than the landline cost we came out ahead about $10 a month and no fear of anyone cutting the line on the house :)
do any of you consider a vonage line a land line ? since its really cable based or whatever your internet is ?
curious if some of you with land lines live in a area where they are all underground ?
Cable is a much less mature infrastructure around here. I periodically lose my cable TV and/or my internet. I have Skype, but VOIP is a very dicey deal in this part of the country.
No, VOIP phones like Vonage are not the same as a landline. If you lose power you lose your phone.
I understand they are not the same just curious if some consider them the same ?
hope that makes more sense :)
I know we have not had a TRUE land line since about 1995 or so but have used cell and VOIP setups
we did have a land line for our security as stated but never used it for a phone
I understand they are not the same just curious if some consider them the same ?
hope that makes more sense :)
I know we have not had a TRUE land line since about 1995 or so but have used cell and VOIP setups
we did have a land line for our security as stated but never used it for a phone
I guess one could consider VOIP a landline since it’s physically connected to your house but I don’t think of them as the same because it uses a different technology then the POTS (Plain old telephone service) system.
RogerinTPA
02-15-11, 20:47
I got a question for all you bug out guys, what happens when something causes a power outage or an emergency that causes and overloaded and crashes the cell networks :p
My humble land line will work even with when the power goes out and doesn't have to worry about crashing due to volume. It might be antiquated. But some times simple shit is the best shit.
How about them m35's, how great are those things for crossing the desert when the zombies go on strike! :fie: Just need a couple of .50's and external self sealing fuel tanks and you're golden. Don't forget the 2 year supply of MRE's... I'm just punning.
During the aftermath of Katrina, when all other cell phones were inop, the folks with Blackberries, were the only ones that could send text and emails, just sayin.;)
My humble land line will work even with when the power goes out and doesn't have to worry about crashing due to volume. It might be antiquated. But some times simple shit is the best shit.
I bet your landline dies in a SHTF scenario really quickly. Landlines today are not copper wire all the way to a central office full of mechanical switches. You have copper to some little box in your neighborhood or somewhere more local to you than the central office, depending on how old your development is, and then it goes digital over fiber to the central office. They have battery backup and auxilliary power in those little boxes but once that is exhausted your landline is toast too.
And the landlines all go digital once they hit the central office so you cannot call anyone once that stuff crashes down.
I haven't had one since 2003. I don't miss it at all.
Quiet-Matt
02-16-11, 16:32
:cray:As a telecom lineman this thread makes me sad. Naw, seriously though we saw the writing on the wall long ago. Cellular servive has been our saving grace, its just the next evolution.
I bet your landline dies in a SHTF scenario really quickly. Landlines today are not copper wire all the way to a central office full of mechanical switches. You have copper to some little box in your neighborhood or somewhere more local to you than the central office, depending on how old your development is, and then it goes digital over fiber to the central office. They have battery backup and auxilliary power in those little boxes but once that is exhausted your landline is toast too.
And the landlines all go digital once they hit the central office so you cannot call anyone once that stuff crashes down.
Mine still worked the last power outage :P A few months ago. My Cell, well hell it doesn't work half the time when I'm right next to the tower. WOOT! AT&T
Heck it's been probably 7 years since I had a land line at home.
Yes. Some time ago. Am very close to dropping G&R's line as well and go with a Cell for it.
C4
I would suggest setting up a google voice account for this. I have a coupe for work and other purposes.
Mine still worked the last power outage :P
Yes, the last little outage in your neighborhood. When we talk SHTF type thing, or a citywide power outage that last more than a few hours or a day, your phone substations etc will probably not last long as their own power will go out and then your line will go dead. Landlines aren't what they used to be either and go digital in most cases not far from your house (1-10 miles or so).
Yes. Some time ago. Am very close to dropping G&R's line as well and go with a Cell for it.
C4
Depending on how much you get called etc that could be very expensive! After the 2008 election my cell bill exploded to hundreds per month as I had my office phone forwarded to my cell for when I was out of the office...
Anyway, for my office, I buy VOIP service (bulk wholesale supposedly) from Gafachi (gafachi.com). I installed a VOIP "PBX" on an extra Mac Mini I had (running VMWare for the PBX -- currently an Asterisk thing of some sort but will eventually be SIPX) and got a couple VOIP phones and a nice wireless headset that will interface with one of the phones. My 888 number is like 1.8 cents a minute on average (depending on the mix) and my dial out is also liek a penny a minute or two depending on my mix of calling. There is no minimum charge and a $2 a month fee for a toll free number. They also do local numbers in some areas.
Anyway, it greatly cut down on my phone expenses for my business.
Resurrecting this thread to maybe get some advise on voip services.
Currently using tmobile@home for voip replacing our landline from way back. I still need a voip service for home office. Planning on closing our t-mobile account in the next month or two. Going to port our landline number over to some service also.
Any suggestions / preferences on voip services with hardware? Two I've been looking at are ...
Ooma
http://www.ooma.com/
Gets a fair amount of good reviews.
Obihai
http://www.obihai.com/
Using google voice in a obihai obi100 I noticed some latency and slight echo.
Thanks for any advise!
VooDoo6Actual
09-14-12, 19:41
Long ago, many years.
DeltaSierra
09-14-12, 20:41
Google Voice and a good internet connection makes most landlines redundant in my view.
Yup...
I would get a satellite phone before getting a landline.
That would make my communications nearly invulnerable - got internet, can make calls... got cell service, can make calls... got none of the above? Oh, I can still make calls... :p
Only with vonage
Which we are now dropping and just going to use the free vonage app
Which so far is working OK
Going to port our number to google to forward messages to and juat use the free vonage app to call back other countries and use our cell for all incoming and in US outgoing
We tried both the skype andmvonage app and seems the vonage app has a bit better quality even if it gors pay like the skype app its still way cheaper than regular vonage
Which I could tell you more about the ones you mentioned but nly used regular vonage for some ten years
Resurrecting this thread to maybe get some advise on voip services.
Currently using tmobile@home for voip replacing our landline from way back. I still need a voip service for home office. Planning on closing our t-mobile account in the next month or two. Going to port our landline number over to some service also.
Any suggestions / preferences on voip services with hardware? Two I've been looking at are ...
Ooma
http://www.ooma.com/
Gets a fair amount of good reviews.
Obihai
http://www.obihai.com/
Using google voice in a obihai obi100 I noticed some latency and slight echo.
Thanks for any advise!
Resurrecting this thread to maybe get some advise on voip services.
Currently using tmobile@home for voip replacing our landline from way back. I still need a voip service for home office. Planning on closing our t-mobile account in the next month or two. Going to port our landline number over to some service also.
Any suggestions / preferences on voip services with hardware? Two I've been looking at are ...
Ooma
http://www.ooma.com/
Gets a fair amount of good reviews.
Obihai
http://www.obihai.com/
Using google voice in a obihai obi100 I noticed some latency and slight echo.
Thanks for any advise!
I have an OOMA in the house. Works fine. I rarely use it as we use the cell phones for everything at the personal level and I have an incoming VOIP system for the business but I sometimes use it to call out or call people back on and when we travel outside the house we take it with us and hook up in the hotel or resort and we take it to Japan when we visit the MIL and have a USA phone while there to call out with etc. I might use it more if I could get a good but inexpensive headset to interface with my POTS phone I have hooked to it...
My dad has been using OOMA as his only phone (his cell phone doesn't count -- he has some $1 /month plus minutes simple phone for emergencies and his alarm system notifications). He's had it for like 4 or 5 years IIRC. Has worked fine for him.
Thanks Chad. I'm really leaning towards the Ooma. One of the key features of interest is when cable goes down the calls can be automatically forwarded to cells. We are on time warner and that happens a few times a year. Just want to make sure we make the right choice switching, there won't be going back once the number's ported.
Magic_Salad0892
09-15-12, 10:13
No reason to have a home phone, I haven't had one since I moved away from home. Also no reason to own Stereo, DVD player, or a BluRay player, as my PlayStation serves those functions. Which cuts down on electricity.
No reason to even have cable, because I can watch anything on my PS3, or computer. Thereby saving even more money, and electricity.
Me, and the woman have more fun making food, than we do eating out pretty much ever. So that's out.
My phone bill is super cheap because I don't have a smart phone. And my phone holds it's charge for multiple days at a time which saves energy. As does my girlfriends. My phone calls texts, and saves pics. That's it. We have the cheapest phone plan Verizon offers. Just enough so I can use my phone for work, and a few personal calls. I don't use my phone much.
Our apartment is super cheap. Our cars are paid off, and we're on the same insurance plan.
But easily, the phone thing, and cutting down how many electronic devices I had in my house that all served the same function definetely cut down my monthly costs.
Oh and my quitting smoking (2 packs a day. ****.) again. I still drink a 20 oz. Red Bull a day. But I'll be cutting that out soon.
After being raped By Charter that was suppose to give me a land line for 19.99 a month with a bundle .
i sat down one day and looked at the fees attached to the Phone ,it was over 70.00 a month:rolleyes: dropped it in 2008 and never looked back everything I do know is on the cell phone
After being raped By Charter that was suppose to give me a land line for 19.99 a month with a bundle .
i sat down one day and looked at the fees attached to the Phone ,it was over 70.00 a month:rolleyes: dropped it in 2008 and never looked back everything I do know is on the cell phone
Charter works very hard selling their phone service. I'm not buying it. My power goes out every now and then, my cable goes out somewhat more often, and every so often a cell tower goes down or Verizon's computers get scrambled. I have yet to ever lose my landline phone service. I need to be reachable for emergencies...can't drop the landline until the other possibilities around here step up their game. Cost isn't an issue for me. Reliability is.
eternal24k
09-15-12, 10:47
I have not had a land line for about 7 years, have not missed it a single bit.
Only down side is everybody uses the cell, and has high expectations that you are always available :suicide2:
Its too easy to get wrapped up in things that cost a lot money, and that we can go without but just have to get used to not having it. I didn't even have a cell phone until a few years ago, I didn't grow up having cable, ect. Ill be glad when we cut our monthly costs in half.
I'm too old school to give up all my landlines. I still prefer the clarity and reliability of a landline and cell signal spotty at my house.
I got rid of one landline (was dedicated fax line), and replaced it with a magic jack line, which I can recommend without reservation. Saved $50 per month there.
Got rid of as many extras on the cable as possible, but was limited there as I live on the 'net, and the high speed package is a bundle.
Cell bill has two lines on it (mine and GF) and we share minutes and data so cheaper than two cell bills for sure if you don't tend to use a lot of peak minutes/data.
We need the landline / voip for business. Haven't had an actual landline for many years. VOIP through t-mobile. $10/mth, free long distance US/Canada. We are changing providers so that service is going away. Opted for the Ooma to replace it. Picking up one today and going to test before porting the bus#. Thanks guys for the input.
Ditched my land line about 2 years ago and it's money in the bank. I cringe when I think about how much money was spent so telemarketers would have a number to call.
Ditched my land line about 2 years ago and it's money in the bank. I cringe when I think about how much money was spent so telemarketers would have a number to call.
Ain't that the truth? Telemarketing calls are about the only calls we get on the landline.
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