Save Money by Only Using a Cell Phone

Here's a money saving tip many people are using today:

Cancel your land line telephone and only use your cell phone for all calls.

How many people are doing this? A good number according to CNN Money:

About one in eight American adults, or 26 million, live in households with no land line - relying solely on a mobile phone, according to a 2006 study by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Three years before, only 2.9 percent of adults said they'd cut the cord.

In addition, many more are following:

Over the next five years, nearly one in three U.S. households say they'll cut the cord with their local phone company and become wireless-only households, according to another study by the Yankee Group.

I haven't made the switch myself yet (though we've discussed it) primarily because I'm not sure of my cell phone's reliability:

Mobile phones can be inconsistent and expensive, and they're not as proven in emergency situations.

Make sure you get consistent cell phone reception in your home and other places where you spend most of your time, he said. Many homes have inexplicable dead zones that can appear within a few steps of one another.

In addition, cost can be an issue for some -- in cases where your cell phone plan doesn't match your home calling patterns.

Our issues with the transition to cell-phone-only include:

1. Safety. Could we guarantee that the cell phone would work in an emergency?

2. Convenience. The cell phone we have is mine from work. It's a Blackberry and I not only use it for calls but also email, calendar, tasks, etc. It's not really a phone that everyone in the house can use.

3. There's no cost for my cell phone as it's picked up by my company, so we still only have one phone bill. Still, we could save over $500 a year if we made the trade.

4. The cell phone doesn't work everywhere in the house and isn't as clear sounding as the land line.

What about you? Anyone out there made this move yet? What have been the results?

Comments

[Ed]

I have used a cell phone exclusively for 8 years now. I didn't even have an issue with the FL Hurricans of 2004. Power was out for 2 weeks, but the old cell phone worked like a champ.

From what I can see, it seems like a lot of younger people are the ones doing without the land lines. I have not has a land line since I left home for college.

[plonkee]

I used to do this, but now I need the phone line to access broadband at home. How do you get around this problem?

[BradM]

I've been cell phone only for 5 years.
Cell phone coverage is good and I use the cable modem for the internet.
That's the break even point for me.....
I could get a land line and get dial up or get cable internet for essentially the same price.
I chose cable internet.
Plus my cell phone is cheap compared to most other people I know.

[Bill]

I've been cell-phone-only for 7 years and I've NEVER looked back.

Grandfathered from an old t-mobile plan, I pay $49/month for 1500 minutes (plus free nights/weekends and all that jazz). My cell is with me at all times, though I'm never afraid to screen calls or simply turn the thing off. Remember this:

Your phone is there for YOUR convenience, not your caller's.

Keep that in mind and finally dump your landline.

As a young 20-something, I don't know ANY of my peers who use a landline. I technically have one, since my roommates had one before I moved in, but I don't know the number, and the only people who call it are telemarketers.

I think it stems from going to college and having a new phone number every semester/year, and then never being in your room to hear it ring anyway...

I don't see a reason to use a landline.

[Katy Raymond]

All three of our grown kids and their spouses only have cells, no land lines. As others have said, the transition happened when they left for college. I, too, know no young people with land lines. I am completely deaf in one ear, and it's nearly impossible for me to hear on a cell. When land lines go away altogether, I'll be down to email! I guess I COULD learn to text.... :)

[Minimum Wage]

What if someone has (land line only plus dial-up) and wants to switch to (cell phone only plus internet access)? What would the person need, and wouldn't that cost more than land line plus dial-up? If it costs more, it's not feasible.

[Rhea]

I have been pondering this question for the past year or so. I think I am going to cut the cord in the next month. I am in my 40s and work at a college, where all the students use only cell phones. I guess that influenced me a lot. I will save $600 a year by ending the land line.

[Kevin]

My wife and I have been cell only for about 5 years now. We have a land line now, but it's only hooked up for the DSL. I haven't made a call from it in the 2 years we've lived in the house. (We do keep a phone plugged in with the ringer off for emergencies, just in case.) To me it's much easier to have one phone number to give out for friends & family, etc.

[Kevin]

MW - you would probably need a cable modem. In my experience that usually costs as much as having a phone + DSL, and probably more than a land line + dial-up. Or you could go cell only and use public internet at a library or somewhere else.

[Minimum Wage]

Re: having a new phone number every semester.

Good news, Google is rolling out a new service called GrandCentral. It's currently in beta (like Gmail was previously) and you have to receive an invitation from an existing member to join. When you join, you get so many invitations you can give out (I think I got something like 25 when I was invited to Gmail.) Enterprising capitalists (or maybe they have no friends) are selling invitations on ebay for 99 cents.

The deal is you get a free permanent phone number and you get to pick the area code, depending on availability. The idea is that even if you move frequently, you can give out one phone number that always stays with you. You can have that number forward your calls to your land line or your mobile or even voice mail and you can change the forwarding to follow you around.

[Dr. D]

I've been without a land line for four years and don't miss it. I'm 39, so I don't consider it a young person thing so much as a frugal person thing.

I get my high speed internet via cable. And my Sprint bill is less than $40 per month.

The important thing is that I'm not phone crazy -- calls are short and infrequent. Nothing international. Minimal texting. If you do a lot of communicating with others, consider using the computer and video conferencing. Apple's iChat is free and the camera is included in all their new computers.

[CoolHappyGuy]

I made the transition from a true land line to VOIP about 2 or 3 years ago. It's cheap (started at $22 now about $24-$25 month including caller id, long distance, and other features) but there have been quality/reliability issues. Also, when the power goes out: you're without a phone.

We FINALLY got cells this past February. We've been happy with the reliability (I don't think we've had any dropped calls). At this point we still want to keep our VOIP because we've had the phone number forever and we're not entirely comfortable with being called initially on cells. However, if the VOIP rises to $30, we're dropping it.

[Minimum Wage]

Kevin - thanks, that's kinda what I figured. And I'd need a laptop to take advantage of free wi-fi (which is being rolled out across town here, although it hasn't gotten to my neighborhood yet and a lot of people are finding they need a "booster" device to maintain a signal indoors).

[Anitra]

I have also depended solely on a cell phone for almost four years now. I've never used the phone much, but when I first moved to an apartment, I found I was rarely home when someone needed to call me - and my roommates weren't very good at taking messages. I joined a "family plan" with my fianc (who had already had a cell for two years), and I never looked back.

Last year, we did live in an area with spotty reception - but even then, we rarely missed calls; we'd just have to stay in a certain area of the house while on the phone. Our new house has excellent coverage, though.

We use a cable-modem for our internet access.

We might consider getting a land-line after we have kids; it will depend on what level of phone access we feel they need.

[justin]

@Rhea: 600 a year for a landline? WTF? That's insane! I oay about 22 a month for my basic landline. No frills, no hassles, and it works when the cell service is being flaky.

It costs less for us to have a landline than for us to go up a level in cell service to replace the benefit we get from it, so it works out well.

[beastlike]

I rarely use the land line phone but I keep it solely for the purpose of DSL. AT&T forces you to pay for a land line service if you want DSL (you can't just get DSL). Are there any companies other than Comcast to get high speed internet w/out any land line phone requirements?

BTW - My (inexpensive) sprint service has been very reliable for the past 5-7 years!

[Curtis]

We considered ditching the land line when we moved into the new house last year. I did the math though and a basic phone service (about $15 with taxes per month, but 0 frills meaning we pay even for local calls) and DSL was still cheaper than a cable modem.

We have cell phones that we rarely use and are considering going the pre-paid route just for emergencies. Our VoIP line handles the bulk of our calls, and at $15 a mont for unlimited calling it makes keeping in touch with family in Florida much easier.

[kitty]

I like to have a landline. I have evening telephone meetings - work for a large international company and we have groups in India and China working with us. So we have early morning and evening meetings about once or twice a week (god, I hate those). With a landline you dial 1-800 number. I think with a cell, 1-800 numbers aren't free.

More importantly, putting a phone on speaker and then using your computer as necessary or, if you are just listening, doing other things while listening is a whole lot more convenient than holding a cell for an hour.

Besides, as Justin said, I get the cheapest cell service. Upgrading would be more expensive.

[Pam]

For two years I was only using my landline for dial-up internet service --- no telephone connected to the dial tone at all. Then last year I finally made the switch to high-speed internet and disconnected my landline. My cell phone is reliable and since I'm the only one in the house I don't have to worry about others needing to use it in an emergency. I also signed up for Sprint and their plan that includes "free incoming minutes." So I'm saving a bundle by going wireless.

[Pam]

@Minimum Wage ---- I had dial-up and landline for years. I also have DirectTV, and didn't want to switch to cable just to get internet access. Then I discovered a wireless company in my area. They installed a small receiver dish on my roof and it grabs the wireless signal from a tower near my home. By switching to the high speed wireless service for internet and disconnecting dial-up ISP and landline, I saved $5/month and got a much faster connection. So yes, it's possible. Just shop around.

[justin]

One major issue with cell phones is that you can't just run to the local 24 hour dept store and buy a new cell handset should you lose or break it. You can for a landline.

[What's a Landline?]

Being in my young twenty's I haven't had one of these since moving out of my parents house. Living in the dc metro area I think service is just as reliable as a land line although I can see how it can get dicey if you live out in the country or mountains.

Again, being in the dc metro area I also think it's safer to have a cell phone in an emergency. Obviously if you're out of the house you can use your cell phone but what if you can't get to your land line in an emergency, your cell phone (mine anyway) is always right in my pocket.

It's a tough call, although with work paying for my cell phone that leaves me with $0 phone bill so I can't complain!

[Susan]

So that's what they call it when you lose the call, the dead zone...I have one and I feel better knowing others do too. I only have a cell phone and so far so good. My kiddos pushed for me to get one 4 years ago and I do like to remain accessible to them 24/7. I spend about $48 per month on my bill and have unlimited usage on the weekends when I call my mother in another state. It seems to be just fine for my needs.

[Ryan]

Voice over IP + prepaid cell phones for emergencies is our technique.

[Lisa]

We use VOIP and three pay-as-you-go cell phones for a grand total of $440 per year, or $37 per month. We are also not big users of minutes, but the VOIP includes unlimited long distance if we do end up in a long conversation.

[Patrick]

I've been exclusively with a cell phone for 7 years now. I have cable for internet and we save a lot by not having a land line. I just don't feel it is necessary.

[David]

For those on DSL you want to ditch the land line, you can usual get what is called a "dry line". That's what we have, the phone company just credits the land line fee to equal zero on our bill. And you can still call 911 for emergencies from the line.

[Minimum Wage]

I stand corrected re: an earlier reply in this thread. Turns out the rollout of the "free wi-fi" here is being suspended and might not be completed.

[xshanex]

"One major issue with cell phones is that you can't just run to the local 24 hour dept store and buy a new cell handset should you lose or break it. You can for a landline."

yes should be able to do that nearly everywhere. Every walmart sells cell phones and if I lost mine or it broke I could have a new verizon phone or pick up a cheap pay-as-you-go phone while waiting for a replacement phone. I have left my phone at home while travelling and had no problem picking up a new phone....some airports even have cell-phone vending machines.

I haven't had a landline phone for about 6 years and when I did it was only for dial-up

[thomas]

haven't had a landline in 6 years. Love it. If you don't have a local number and need one for business (think school teachers needing a number parents can call for free), pick up a pay as you go and just keep it beside your couch.

[Tony]

Well...
One advantage of a landline is that a corded landline phone almost always works. In the admittedly unlikely event of an emergency (earthquake, flood, terrorist attack, etc.) a corded landline phone will be powered through the telephone wires, and a call will be more likely to get through.

Cordless phones can't count on the electricity working, and cell phones will have their own problems with lots of people trying to use a cell at once. This happened during Hurricane Katrina and during 9/11.

I like my cell phone, but I'm unlikely to ever get rid of my corded landline phone.