Quote:
Originally Posted by rmay635703
Hmm, does it really. My landline including all the BS and taxes was $19 a month up until 2006 when the phone companies discovered everyone wanted a cell phone and then the price jacked up. My internet service has been $4.95/month for 14 years. I don't pay for cable (nor would I probably use it)
So my original phone and internet deal was somewhere around $23.95 a month, until I moved and my phone service got royally jacked up to the point that yes it is cheaper to have a $10 a month track phone.
Ah well.
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I'm 27. We have ONE service provider for phone and internet in this area, cable isn't available at all.
My phone provides me with internet service, SMS, email, beyond basic internet service that I can tether to a computer and expand over a LAN, as well as doubling as a high-quality camera, video recorder, audio recorder, and almost whatever other feature I deem necessary to use it for in most cases.
Previous to getting my cell phone at nearly $120/month, I'd have been paying for both local and long distance calls (everyone who's not me is long distance, basically.), I'd have been paying $30/month for basic phone service including long distance with a per-minute charge tacked on, and an additional $40/month for 256K DSL service that's hit or miss because we're so far from the loop. Television is an additional $40/month for anything worth watching that isn't just the news channels and import channels that show nothing, not that I really watch TV anyway.
The phone was free on top of all that. I have unlimited text messaging, unlimited data plan that's actually faster than DSL in most cases, not to mention I don't get charged per minute for calling my neighbor. With the additional $10/month I pay for Netflix, I can watch just about anything I want whenever I feel like it, granted it's usually a season behind.
Now on to the other functions... A decent voice recorder easily costs $30. A camera with similar resolution, up to $100, video camera (kind of a non-issue since most snap cameras also take digital video now) another $100 or so, and we're talking bottom of the line stuff here. MP3 player, another $20 for a crap USB stick, up to $300 for anything worth having. Once I get another cable, I can continue using my cell phone as a datalogging device for my car and to check OBD readout. The cable costs me about $30, the software I think was $25, and a proper reader with all the functions of my phone would have been +$300 (I have one... I should know). My phone is a rather bright flashlight. There's another $20, not counting battery changes for as often as I use it. And that's not even the half of the things I use my phone for on a daily basis.
I use my phone primarily as my internet access and computer. This saves me energy because I'm not running a 100+ watt computer setup all day (yes, I need internet access all day for various things), and I don't have a home phone/answering machine plugged into the wall. I don't have to replace batteries in all those devices, saving that waste. I have one charger for every device, saving 200 wall warts and assorting cabling, as well as the additional expense associated with owning all of those.
Yes. It's saved me money, and continues to do so.
After I get confirmation of the service ranges and quality, I'll be switching to a newer GSM phone and using Straight Talk at $45/month to further reduce my financial outlay even more.