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Phone Frills
By Daphne | July 2, 2008
What to cut and what not to cut?
As a cell phone user, I have never exceeded my minutes and don’t have any fancy extras. The only fancy item I may have is the phone itself. I don’t get the least expensive, but I don’t get the most expensive either. When I get a new cell phone I get what I really like since I know that I will keep it for more than three years. The phone’s longevity is important to me. Also, I don’t buy insurance. I know people who buy insurance and they actually use it. Not me. Unfortunately I have dropped my phone and the battery popped out at a White Sox game. Another time I dropped my previous phone on the sidewalk, while going to meet a friend and it was fine after I re-inserted the battery and powered it on. Insurance would be a waste for me on my cell phone.
On my home phone line that is another matter. I live in a building that was built about 50 years ago. When I initially got my phone plan I also wanted the line backer plan which means that I do not have to pay for service if the phone company has to send out a service person. For two lines that is $10 a month. While it may seem like an extra unnecessary expense, for me it is not. Over the time I have lived here I have used the service three times. My phone lines have decided that they wanted to take a vacation or die or something. Instead of having to pay for a repairman come to my home and spend about an hour figuring out and fixing the problem, I have had to pay nothing.
Other add ons that I have chosen not to have on my home phone are caller ID, call waiting or voice mail. I have just two regular lines. One for the phone and another dedicated to the fax line. I have an answering machine instead of voice mail, caller ID isn’t important to me and call waiting is called a busy signal. If its really important people will either call me on my cell phone or call me back if they don’t have that number.
Living without caller ID on my main phone line is not something I have missed. Having to pay for a service call in large chunks would have been something I missed. If I lived in a newer building, I might not even consider the line backer service. Also, since my home phone is my primary line and I use my fax machine having working phone lines is important. If my cell phone were my primary phone line, I would probably want to purchase cell phone insurance especially if I were very accident prone with it.
Check your phone bill and see what you are paying for that you could cut out. Or call your phone company and see if they offer a plan that you could switch to which includes all of the features you want for a land line. For a cell phone, see if you can switch to a family plan which would be less expensive than having separate plans. Companies do not check birth records to see if you are really family so if you are on good terms with your best friend or fiancé financially, then switch to a plan that is reasonable for the both of you. A monthly plan for one hundred dollars may seem like a lot but if you are both on separate plans that are fifty or sixty each with fewer amenities and you never exceed your minutes, then switching to a family plan could save you some money each month.
Topics: July 2008 |