Can’t.. give up.. life “necessities”
Posted by Cap in Personal Finance on January 29, 2006 |Let me tell you something Internet.
If I want to, I can easily save $1,000 a year right now.
Bam.
Just like that.
It’ll take two phone calls and I’ll be $1,000 richer in a year, $2,000 in two, and in ten years, $10,000!
But the only problem is, I don’t want to.
Gee golly I’ve been thinking about it long and hard, but I just can’t do it.
I can’t give up my cable internet, nor can I give up my cell phone service.
I don’t really use the full 5 Mbit/s of my cable, but I need the speed! No body ever calls me, but I need the cell phone.
For some reason, the cable internet and the cell phone has become a part of my life. I’ve had RoadRunner broadband for over 5 years now, and had the cell phone for an even longer 7 years. Wow, talk about living it up. I don’t even want to calculate the possible savings.
My monthly Time Warner cable charge is currently at a discounted price of $43 per month due to a certain phone call. It includes cable internet and basic cable for $11.56. In a few months, the regular charge of $55 per month will resume.
My monthly Verizon Wireless charge is currently at $35 per month ($29.95 per month plus tax and fees). I have the cheapest local plan. It’s 300 minutes, unlimited night & weekends - and that’s it. Verizon doesn’t even offer this plan anymore.
Ah, what’s a wannabe saver to do?
6 Responses to “Can’t.. give up.. life “necessities””
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January 29th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
I think we all have choices on what we want. They are somewhat luxuries. I wouldn’t give up my cable modem, I love it nor my cell phone and I got the cheapest plan as well. You could consider prepaid on the cell phone if you don’t use it that much.
Theresa :)
January 29th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
I’m with you and frugal momma…these are “somewhat necessities”.
Heck, we really don’t need electricity…ok, that’s a longshot, but I hope you see what I mean.
I’m on dial up as I type, and have been trying to justify getting the cable modem.
The last straw was when my wife logged on with our son to play on the “Jacks big music show” (my son loves it) website, and it took 45 min to download the flash animation.
So I guess there are times when its OK to pat yourself on the back for a job well done and treat yourself to something special… :)
January 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Keep an eye on your junk mail and you may be able to keep that Internet bill low for awhile longer.
Have you ever considered going to a prepaid cell phone? - might make sense depending on your use.
January 30th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I agree…it really is about your own personal priorities. Right now, broadband access is a high priority for me (aside from the fact that I need it for work) — it’s become an integral part of my life (including bargain hunting!).
But I also lowered my thermostat temps this winter and sometimes I sleep with a hat on because it’s so cold! Someone else might find that completely ridiculous but it’s a non-issue for me.
I think that’s why it’s so important for “spending plans” to be unique. You know what’s really important to you and what gives you joy. A joyless budget ain’t worth having ;)
January 30th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
heh 45 minutes.. I know for sure I can’t go back to dial up, but its unfortunate that DSL isnt available in my area..
yeah I shouldn’t beat myself up about it, but if I suddenly need the money, the first few expenses that will be cut is the cable and cell phone. no contract = nice.
I’ll look into pre-paid cell phones, there might be one out there that fits my usage pattern better. thanks for the suggestion!
see there’s this Road Runner Lite which is $10 less at $29.95 (versus $39.95) but its 756 Kbit/s versus the current 5,000 Kbit/s. Big difference. Bleh. If they ever up it to 1 Mbit/s then I’ll downgrade to the slower & cheaper rate.
March 19th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
I called up road runner and told them that yahoo was offering DSL for 15/mo. so they dropped the price to $25/mo for 6 months. :-)