Posted on 02/25/2011 9:38:54 AM PST by teenyelliott
We are thinking of getting rid of our landline. We no longer use our fax machine and our internet is a five spot. We have scaled down our one remaining phone line to just the dial tone. We called to cancel the line completely and at&t threw in free caller ID/call waiting for a year, so we still have the line.
We are trying to cut costs everywhere we can, and we rarely use the phone. Not to mention that at&t is aligned with satan and always overcharges us (we keep changing companies to get away from them and then they buy the company we chose), and I simply cannot stomach all the taxes and fees.
I keep thinking we need it for security reasons, i.e. landlines almost always work even when the power is out, what if the cell batteries are dead (I have a solar cell charger, so don't know if that excuse holds), etc. etc.
Have any of you taken the plunge, and for those of you who have not, why not?
So I may well be joining you in cutting out my landline and save $50 a month. Just have to convince the wife.
I realized the same thing yesterday. Only calls on my landline are telemarketers and my mother. She has my cell number, so the landline goes!
I also have MagicJack and you can’t beat the price.
We had a nasty blizzard back around the first of May. Knocked out power over 6000 square miles, cell towers were down, only the landline worked. Even the local radio stations were off the air. I’m going to keep mine, the lines here are mostly underground and its fairly reliable—better than a cell phone.
We ended up keeping one line. We just feel more secure with it, even though we never use it.
I ditched my landline years ago....and now I have even ditched my cable internet...tethering my desktop and all my computers to my iPhone through ATT. Totally wireless now...but it was kinda traumatic at first yanking that big plastic ugly thing off the wall. You spend so many years with one it’s hard to let go of. And now that little phone modem drives all my computing both home and mobile...
We had five lines. Three land lines and two cells.
We had the land lines ported to ATT cell lines with I Phones and all the benefits. My little business is now on cell and I can receive and make calls anywhere. fax is obsolete so the loss of the fax number is no big deal. but porting the numbers we retained both my business number of 20 years and our home number of 45 years.
I picked up a free computer internet fax service called jfax. they allow incoming fax’s free. You must pay for out going fax’s but there none of either. J Fax gives you a free number that is all your own. Some clients insist on a fax but this satisfies them although it is never used. Scanned e mail docs are near universal now. Women will never return phone calls.....e mail or no contact.
The I phone allows everything on the fly. I do not do text. I do use email and it is valuable when away traveling. I travel locally within 150 miles and the I phone allows me to respond quickly to voice or e mail.
The power outage is not a big deal. We had a 24 hour outage and my wife charged her phone on the car. Mine was ok.
We are retired but both have some work to do. we spend at least one month on the road traveling. The I phone makes lots of things easier than a laptop and finding wi fi. I have the ability to do my banking and bill paying on the I phone. It is very convenient and easy.
There was not a large savings in $$ but there was a major change in capability.
By maintaining the old numbers, no one knows we are not at home or in the office. it was seamless and has turned out well
The teclo terminology for changing your numbers to a new carrier is “porting” They have dedicated people who do it all day everyday and nothing else. It is a snap
I phone
I think my old Virgin had voice mail too
Depending on how much you use your cell (for me not much) a pre-paid will save enough to keep the land-line for probably less cost then a standard cell total.
Just a thought.
I like having a landline just in case, since it provides its own operating power.
Plus, people and business have put their entire existence online. If it crashes, we are crippled. Dumb move. I don't even use my computer's calendar. I like real calendars that don't crash, and I have access to even without power. Although I don't know why I would need my calendar if the power were out, but you get my point. ;)
That said, I do check the news everyday and do homesteading research via laptop with either a verizon hotspot or pdanet on my phone. BUT, if those things were to fail right at this moment I would be A-Ok.
We now have solar capability for the house. I also bought hubby a solar cell phone charger, which will charge anything that uses a cell cord or a USB cord.
We are slowly sliding off the grid.
If it were just me I'd have one for 911 and that's it.
Did it six years ago and haven’t looked back. Family plan with three numbers, one out of state on the plan. I still have cable tv which I use for internet connection also.
I remember when the first computers were installed in cars and friends who said they would never buy one because "what if they fail and you are left on the road?". Now try to find one without a computer ...there are none...and cars are more reliable and last longer that ever. They are not really broke in until 100 k miles...where a couple of decades ago they were worn out at that point. And the horse people said the same thing about automobiles...:oP
I'm just happier without machines, is all. Things are more quiet, SO much less racket, and there is a slower pace because things take longer to get done. If I could move to a Mennonite community I'd do it in skinny minute.
Cars are fine, but I would be okay with horses and wagons, or buggies too. I don't like to travel anyway. :)
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