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Cell Phone vs Home Phone ?
Q. My wife and I have been toying with replacing our existing "fixed" phone with our cell phone. Here's why: 1) We can call anywhere in the US - at no charge. 2) We can get our calls anytime we have the cell phone - we don't have to be home. 3) We get rid of the "crazy" required extras the "fixed" phone company bills you for. Our average phone bill is $100. 4) The cost is low - 2 cell phones with 200+ minutes is just $75. Can anyone offer any experience or other information we may not have thought of? We are on cable for internet access so dial-up is not an issue.
A. Until this year, I rented rooms to college students, and most of them used their cell phones as their main phones, with no other phone. (Of course, they were also the same people who talked while walking through the mall, and who answered their phones even while having dinner with someone else.) My average phone bill, with Onesuite long distance, is about $35.00, and I have never found a cell phone that sounds as good as a "fixed" phone, so I'm keeping it. If you want to be listed in the phone book (I don't), a cell phone wouldn't work, would it? I don't know how other people always have their cell phones on without them running down. I was trying to do without a land phone for awhile and forgot to turn mine on when my husband ended up in the emergency room and no one could reach me. But maybe you won't forget. Now I have both. Regular phone at home and cell phone to take with me if I have an emergency while out. But I still don't leave it on, my batteries don't last forever like other people's must who always are receiving calls. My phone is on 24/7. I keep a charger at home and at work, and a spare batt in the car. But then I was an eagle scout; 'be prepared' and all that. Part of it might be picking a phone that is known for good batt life. My current phone, a sanyo 4500, gets about 3.5 - 4 days of use on one charge. My old Nokia 5700 got about 2 days. My closest friend did this about 1.5 years ago. He's very happy with his decision. About two months ago, I made a partial move in that direction. Instead of getting rid of my residential phone service, I turned off long-distance calling service and every service except touch tone dialing, caller-id, and local dialing. This dropped the cost of my residential phone by about $15 a month. I also signed up for one of the middle level Verizon Wireless cell phone plans that includes free nationwide long distance calls. I also got my cell phone number with an area code that is in a different state from where I live. My cell phone's area code is the same as the area code of my parents' phone. That way, my parents can call me toll free. The two reasons I maintain my residential phone are that its connected to the intercom system in the apartment complex where I live. I also do not want my neighbors to have to make a toll call when they want to reach me. I am active in a neighborhood association and I have some nearby business acquaintances who would have to pay a toll if they dialed my cell phone number. I kept the caller-id simply to use it to screen out unwanted calls.
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