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.