Interesting. Curious to know what other FReepers think.
Bookmark for later reading.
Sounds good.
We economized and decided to dump the land line as it became a nuisance anyway.
We got robocalls on the land line, and everyone we know calls or texts us on our cell.
I think the idea of getting rid of a rarely used landline is good enough to save money. The disadvantages listed here do not seem to be all true. Mainly, if one is already “Carrying a cell phone everywhere while at home,” I don’t see how it would be possible to have to “race to get it when it rings” and/or miss a call.
Also, all of those disadvantages are possible with land line phone calls. The way I see it, I have no use at all for a land line, and see no downside to not having one.
I’ve been using an XLink box for 8 or 9 months. It works well for me. There is sometimes a slight delay when answering, so you may need to wait 1-2 seconds before saying “Hello”.
Also, when keying in numbers, you need to press them for just a little longer for them to register (e.g., when entering an account number or something of that nature).
In my small town, the landline prices kept rising. I was paying $25 a month plus a minimum $5 for anything long distance. Everything outside of town was long distance. I don’t make many calls, so it was hard to justify the $300/year+ bills.
I checked into prepaid cellular and finally found one that I like — Tracfone. I have accumulated hours, so I mostly only need the ‘service’ as the hours don’t expire.
When renewal time came, I discovered that I could sign up for a year of service for under $60 as an enhancement by purchasing the $20 3-month service + 60 minutes card on their website. That was about $77 for 15 months of service plus 60 additional minutes of airtime.
Way cheaper than the landline by about 2/3 and its portable.
I also bought a MagicJack which is okay for regular calls. It seems to have a problem when calling cellular phone numbers, however.
I disconnected the landline about 3 years ago.
==
MagicJack hooks into a USB port, so the computer has to be on. There was another service that hooks into the router. That service website, however, listed a dozen routers that it had problems with — and my router is one of them. They advertise for $70, first year, $30 additional years, IIRC.
==
Just a quick look at the Xlink website — Xlink seems to be a connection device, rather than an alternative phone device. One has to have cell phone(s) and/or landlines to attach to it.
Forward your cell phone to your local line.
If bill collectors have a land line to call, they won’t be inclined to seek out your cell number, thus making them easier to ignore. Sign of the times...
I finally got a cell phone and discontinued my land line because the land line was too costly.
I simply treat my cell phone like a land line and leave it on the kitchen countertop and answer it when I feel like it. If I don't, the call simply goes to voice mail........
The only problem I have is what to do about that naked phone jack where the phone used to hang on the wall.........
I am now getting telemarketing calls on my cell phone.
The digital service from the cable company is not always reliable.
Cell reception in our rural area is spotty at best.
We are rather elderly and must have a reliable phone. So here we are being ripped off by Embarq/Century Link.
GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Bookmark.
For those of you who may need to keep a land line for various reasons, give your provider a call and tell them you’re going to switch to a cheaper alternative if they can’t reduce your bill, and you thought you’d give them one shot at keeping your business. You can even tell them how much you’re willing to pay. Tell them you can no longer afford to pay whatever annual cost you are currently paying.
If the first line person can’t help, ask to be bumped up one level to a customer retention specialist or a supervisor. Be pleasant. Be chatty.
RBOCs are hemorrhaging land lines and they are desperate to keep your business, and yet they never call you and tell you that they have a cheaper package than you already have.
You have nothing to lose with this approach and you may be surprised at how willing they are to dicker.
I did this with Qwest and knocked my bill from $78 to $54 per month, and have unlimited long distance, excellent quality, excellent repair service, two directory listings, three numbers with custom ring, practically every other custom service known to man, working fax, every call blocking feature known to man, E911, Caller ID, and service not dependent upon house power
Yesterday I cancelled all the extras on my land line after 14 years. My monthly bill dropped from $67.60 to $24.00 a month. I need the extra funds more than caller ID and my new vehicle has blue tooth for ease of using the cell. That $43.00 monthly savings amounts to 2 full car payments a year and knocks a year off the car loan.
(Going bald has saved me $144 a year in haircuts... That’s gross)
I have been without a land line for a long time now. To really save money carefully research your cell phone needs. I used to pay big monthly bucks for the contract phone with the “free phone” every two years that came with a 2 year contract extension. No more. I now use prepay Net 10 phones exclusively. If you buy off their web site the phones come with minutes equal to the cost so the phone is still “free” or disposable. No more being over a barrel when the kid breaks his screen. Net 10 is a subsidiary of the aforementioned Tracfone. Some people will be better off with Tracfone especially those that use very few minutes. The big name big price cell phone carriers can all kiss my grits along with the cable and sat providers. I am close to a major metro area so with an outside antenna I get some 30 odd TV stations so I would pay for cable why? There are savings to be had from ISP’s as well.
MajicJack is $39.99 to buy and includes 1st year of service then $19.99 a YEAR.