Getting rid of LandLine

[LaDonna]

yeah I know I'm probably behind the times lol we always do everything so much later then everyone else, we just got regular cellphone service a few months back, now we are trying to decide wether to ditch the land line, anyone do this and have any regrets?

 

[dd50]

I still have mine because not every one in my house has a cell. My 13 yr old doesn't and if I would leave her for 1/2 hour to go to the store and something happened that she needed the phone we would be in trouble.

 

[Jessica527]

We just moved into a new house and didn't get a landline. We told our family and friends that we didn't get it and they called our cell phones instead. We have not even gotten close to going over our minutes!

Just do it.. save more money for Mickey!

 

[Piglet843]

It's just DH and I and we both have cell phones. The only reason we keep our landline as well is because we live in a 2 story home. At night we leave our cell phones downstairs on the desk with our keys and everything else. If something were to happen during the night (ie robbery, fire, health emergency) we like knowing we have a phone within reach of our bed in our bedroom. That is worth the landline to us.

 

[LaDonna]

I still have mine because not every one in my house has a cell. My 13 yr old doesn't and if I would leave her for 1/2 hour to go to the store and something happened that she needed the phone we would be in trouble.

oh gosh see I didn't even think of that duh! Hmmm maybe adding a cell phone to our existing account maybe still come out cheaper.....have to check into that

 

[Jessica527]

To add to this....... We have 2 Old Cell phones near their chargers 1 on the upstairs and 1 in the downstairs. The reason that we do this is because any cell phone activated or not you can call 911 from.

Just make sure that they are charged!

It will save you a lot of money if you have old/extra cell phones!

 

[Mickey527]

I just cancelled mine yesterday.
I kept track of the calls for 6 months just to see how necessary it was and my home phone rang 3 times in 6 months. All 3 of those calls were my son checking on my grandson who I was watching. I didn't get to my cell for one reason or another so he called me on the house phone.
Everyone calls me on my cell phone so I figured it was time to get rid of it. I will be saving $35.95 a month for the phone and $4.95 for the unlisted number charges plus approx $3 in taxes and fees. Definately worth it.
the only problem I can forsee is that if I go out of town and my son uses a babysitter for my grandson and there is an emergency. I don't think they can do a trace on cell phones so I will make sure to post our address in every room and tell whoever is sitting where the address is.

 

[rock_doctor]

If you have good internet service (DSL, Cable or FIOS) you may consider a Voice over IP service. We use Ooma which works over the internet connection and is equal to or better then Verizon voice service we use to have. Ooma is unique because you pay upfront then then only pay the federal taxes each month, which are usually less then $4... So effectively once you buy the hardware the service is free for unlimited (for personal use only i.e. no business) in US calls. We really like it. You can figure out which hardware you like (just visit their website) then shop around on line or your local brick and mortar stores to get the hardware.

 

[Kathi OD]

we cancelled our landline in October and haven't looked back. Of course, it is just DH, our grown son, and myself at our house and we all have cell phones. The next thing to go is the internet connection since DS and I both have smart phones.

 

[RumpleMom]

If you have a home security system, you might need to keep the landline.

We have an old fashioned corded phone on the landline because our cordless phones lose power after awhile when the electricity goes out during a storm. It has happened several times for up to a week.

We are then using our cell phones, until they run out of power.

I will never give up my landline and the phone that works even when there is no electricity.

 

[JB2K]

oh gosh see I didn't even think of that duh! Hmmm maybe adding a cell phone to our existing account maybe still come out cheaper.....have to check into that

Or, check with your landline provider to see what a stripped-down, no-frills phone line will cost you (many are under $20 a month).

 

[Kathi OD]

If you have a home security system, you might need to keep the landline.

We have an old fashioned corded phone on the landline because our cordless phones lose power after awhile when the electricity goes out during a storm. It has happened several times for up to a week.

We are then using our cell phones, until they run out of power.

I will never give up my landline and the phone that works even when there is no electricity.

that's not an issue if you get a car charger for you cell. I don't think I've ever charged my cell phone in the house. I always charge it in the car.

 

[firsttimer03]

We haven't had a landline phone for 6 years now.
It's way cheaper and you always have your phone on you.
Our son did have to get a cell phone because he would be at home after school by himself and he needed a way to get ahold of us in case of emergency and to touch base; he was 9 years old and did not take his phone to school. (he does now)
Just keep an eye on your minutes so you don't go over.....we did at first and it cost us $500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we have so many rollover minutes you could want to puke, we text alot!
Good luck.

 

[Sandi]

We're waiting until DD16 goes to college. She's had a cell for years -- longer than DH has had one. With kids, I'm more comfortable with the 911 from a land line than from cells. It might not be reasonable, but that's okay.

 

[RitaE]

We went down to the Vonage Lite plan - unlimited incoming calls and 200 minutes outgoing. It also automatically forwards all calls to simultaneously ring my cell. I'm really trying to get everybody important (schools etc) to only have my cell number but our home phone number seems like it will never die. I'm hoping that after awhile I can just drop that altogether.

With all the taxes and fees it is about $15 a month.

 

[daydream32]

We actually have cut back on our cell phones and use VOIP for a landline. We are a bit different than most I think as my husband and I are typically together or near some sort of landline.

We were paying 90 dollars per month for 2 Verizon cell phones and only using about 10 minutes per month. I never really could find a cell phone provider who got signal in my basement. We typically did not have them charged and really never used them much. We switched our cell phones to a track phone and now pay about 100 dollars a year.

We use Vonage for our phone and have a battery back up for our internet provided by FIOS. We do lose our phone if the internet goes out, but we have our cell phones as back ups. For me, it is much more comfortable when I have a long conversation to use a normal phone. I also find I am calmer when I do not have think about how many minutes I am using when calling a customer service line for something.

Really, I think it goes back to which you use more and how many people are sharing. Look at your statement for your cell phone and land line and see which you use more and why. If you are having very long phone conversations on you land line, you might need to make sure your cell phone plan will cover the extra talk time.

Also, I have not played with them much, but doesn't Google and a couple other applications let you voice chat for free online?

 

[lori123]

I would love to do this but the cons for me are:
*Our home alarm system uses our phone line - You can get the service without but there is an additional fee which almost negates the $20 we would save by dropping the landline
*911 from a cell doesn't pop up with an address like the landline
*my kids don't have cell phones and they use the home to talk to friends

 

[Dashzap]

The latest issue of Time Magazine has an interesting article about 911. The whole article isn't online yet; I can only find it hard copy.

911 currently can have problems locating cell and VoIP calls.

If you move and use VoIP, be sure to register your number with your local emergency services.

Just a thought before giving up your landline. Maybe ask your local emergency services?

 

[kathie859]

It seems like the next thing to do. A few years ago I switched from our local Baby Bell to phone service thru our cable provider and saved $100 per month.

Now I am flirting with dropping that service since DH and I both have cell phones. Seems like doing this wouldn't have much of an impact on us. We rarely get calls on the landline.

 

[newdeal]

I wanted to but my wife wouldnt let me so i got the magic jack and it works great and costs $20 a year for unlimited long distance