Phone necessities

Times, they are a changin' ~

When I was home most of the time I could live with just a land line. Once I became more mobile, I realized I needed the cell phone more (and it's the world we live in now), but there was that cord.... kind of an umbilical cord. I mean we've always had "Ma Bell" right? But, I finally and happily gave Qwest the boot! I have been functioning without her for seven months now and doing just fine, thank you. I have been angry with Qwest in the past for gouging me, so - good riddance!

Times have changed and fast internet (not lightning-fast; just fast) is also a must for me. In the past (pre-internet days) I had no choice but I believe this is a God-send these days and by getting rid of Qwest, I could batter afford high-speed internet - no need to "bundle" with Qwest either, which requires you to keep their phone to get a decent price for internet. They make it sound like it's such an incredible deal they offer but the small print is you have to keep their phone line to get that price so in my book, that's not a deal. They know they are losing phone customers by the hundreds; yet, do they lower their prices? Of course not. They raise them every chance they get.

Of course I went through the "what if something happens and I need a land line?" stuff but really, how often has this been the case? I realize airspace gets gobbled up in emergencies, but who's to say the land line won't fail as well? These days the handsets require electricity to work so it's not like in the old wired days when the phone worked even if the power didn't. Is it worth more than $40 a month to have that kind of "security"? Not in my book.

I do have a back up phone with my computer and though it's not perfect (it relies on the computer so if that goes down I have to restart) but it does the job if I misplace my cell phone and it would work fine as my primary phone if I were actually at home. I love not paying for the phone I wasn't using! My back up is Magic Jack and it cost me $20 for the jack and $20/year for the service. Definitely better than the nearly $500 I was spending for Qwest - "just in case". I get basic cell phone coverage (1000 minutes I never actually use and I have no contract) for $40/month (same as I was paying for the land-line). So, I was able to trade my Qwest costs for my T-mobile straight across. The internet is another $37 (the first year was cheaper but this is not bad) and I get speeds plenty fast enough for me.

I love a bargain!