Do you leave your house much? Do you drive? What if you break down somewhere, how do you call for assistance? There was a time when a cell phone was a luxury, but not anymore. Now it is assumed that you will have one, and because of that some things like pay phones, which made it possible to not have a cell phone before, have disappeared from the landscape. Cell phones are similar to insurance. If you never have to use it, it seems like a waste of money, but if you ever need it, you'll be glad you have it. This is not to say that you need to have a contract and a monthly service plan. A prepaid plan is fine for some, but I do think at least a basic cell phone is a necessity.
Now, we do have smartphones, but I am not your average user. I see the smartphone as my "everything" appliance. I can listen to music on it, I can surf the web on it, I can use it as a wifi host for my laptop, I can use it as a GPS in my car, etc. For everyting that I use it for, it is well worth the $140 a month I pay for it. I did unfortunately just have to add $10 a month to add an additional phone line that we do not need. But it was the only way to upgrade DW's phone and keep our unlimited access.
