Giving up Land Line

If you have a high speed connection you may want to consider using vonage that goes through the internet connection. It doesn't interfere with the computer nor does internet interfere with the phone, and it comes with everything plus unlimited long distance. That is so helpful, cause long distance can cause huge spikes in regular phone and cell bills
when you use it a lot, and ok rates when you don't use much, but with it unlimited and vonages low cost it is so much better.

We went without a land line for a few years. I think it really depends on how much you are home. Now I have a land line and no cell phone. My husband has a work cell. I have a friend who just uses the cell phone. I think if you need a cell phone and can keep calls with in the limit cutting the home line is a good way to save money.

do it girl!
I have been landline free for 4 years now and don't regret it at all...You should be good to go since you work full time and wouldn't have to depend on it 24-7

It is true that you can dial 911 even without the landline connected as a reagular phone so emergencies are no biggie ... however I would think about the hurricane issue.

It not that bad to let go of your land line, its not like before a small storm everything goes out, now it takes a lot more then that. What we did is get a video phone that you can see anyone that also has it and its connected to our modem so we dont have the land line charge anymore. If you want to see my website, its www.moniquer.acnrep.com
you will see products and click on that to see the video phone with local and long distance at a low cost and other services like satellite tv, cell phone, home security at better rates that will save you money. If you have any questions you can call me at ###-###-#### and I can answer any questions that you might have.
good luck
M.

You may want to compromise and keep your landline, remove the extras on it, get a cell package that is affordable and then see how things go. We keep both our cells and our land line, but the land line is the cheapest we could find, no caller id/call waiting etc. We use this as a standby in case of emergency, our cell phone is dead, electricity goes out and you can't recharge it etc. etc. If you live in FL, hurricane season is here and if you lose electricity for a week there will be no way to charge your cell phone, plus the cell lines get jammed quickly in times like those. Just a few things to keep in mind.
Best of luck on your decision,
J. M.
Mom of 3 boys ages 5, 3, and 1

We gave our line up, we purchased a magic jack for my teenage sons...and will use a generator to run the computers. This is will solve our dependency on the landline phone. Hope this helps.

We've thought about it ourselves, but for the sake of telemarketers and to divert people from bugging you on the cell phone, and making you feel curious or "obligated" to return a "missed call" you can give the land line and let them call that - cell phones are for portable business & emergency...I personally don't like giving my cell phone to every one -but that's just me

We have a family plan with four phones and do not regret giving up the land line. In case of an emergency we have the cell phones, which we can charge in the car if we lose power. The only reason I would ever go back to having a land line is if I needed it for internet.

We also pay for unlimited texting and/or texting on three of the phones.

My mother still has her land line even though she is on our family plan. She feels safer with it in case of an emergency even though it would be useless if there was no power, like after Wilma.

I say go with the cell phones and if need be you can always reinstate the land line.

We gave up the land line years ago as have almost all of my friends. Come to think of it, I can't think of a person that still has one. The cell phones can always be used if they are plugged in, just in case you need it and the battery is dead. Plus, all landlines can ALWAYS dial 911 even without service as can old cell phones. That is why they ask that you donate old cell phones to battered womens shelters because those women need to have emergency phones with them to call the police. We keep an old phone charged and ready in each car in case we have an emergency and our main phones aren't with us or are dead. If you are worried, try not using the landline for 30 days, if you never need it, then get rid of it. The only benefit is to have a line for unwanted phone calls. If you have to put a phone number on an order form or for a person that you do not want calling you when you are busy, then the landline in it's cheapest basic form can be useful.

We did that for a little while with no land line and just the cell phones, but then we wanted to get internet and our phone company would not give us internet without basic phone service, (we live in a very rural area and the other internet options are not available to us, only through the phone company),
so then we got a phone package that included all the extras on the phone with the DSL internet, and canceled our cell phones.
It has been hard not having cell phone, especially when we travel, but that's what you have to do sometimes.
If most of what you use are the cell phones anyway, and aren't tied down to having the internet through the phone company, then it might be better financially to disconnect the landline or at least drop to basic service. Have you heard of Magic Jack? It's a device you plug into your computer you make one payment a year, I believe of $40 and then it's $20 a year after that. and you get your landline phone service and no phone bills. We don't have it, but I know some people who do and they love it.
Hope that helps!
take care,
V.

Land lines still call 911 even if you don't have service, so it may do some good to hold onto a corded phone for emergencies. However, we didn't have a land line when Hurricane Charley ripped through Florida in 2004 and our cell phones got a hold of 911 very easily. My youngest brother (2 months premature) was living at home with us on life support when the storm ripped through Daytona Beach leaving us without power or water. We had FEMA helping us within 24 hours. They made it so that cell phones in the area weren't able to contact any other number than 911. Any time we tried to call friends or family to let them know we were okay, we received a message that said, "only 911 capabilities are currently active." So even without a land line I think you are okay for emergencies. As for charging the phone, it is always good to have a way to charge your phone via car or solar powered cell. I also note that Rachel O indicated that the police won't instantly know where you are when you call. Within the first 8 seconds they will know your triangulated position based on the 3 cell towers hosting your call, within 20 seconds your phone GPS has transmitted an exact location. They will ask you where you are to confirm honesty and keep you on the phone long enough to verify. The only way GPS wouldn't work is if you have physically changed this in your phone options or if your cell is so old that it doesn't support GPS. Most cells support and transmit GPS without your knowledge.

I love having a house phone and a cell phone. We've given up our home phone before but I'd much rather give up my cell phone! I'm not sure who your cell phone provider is. We have T-Mobile for both our cell phones and our home phone. The home phone is $10 a month (unlimited local and long distance) and we have the cheapest cell phone plan. I think you can get the T-Mobile home phone (it's an internet phone) even if you don't have cell phone service with them. Good luck in your decision!

For 4 years I only had a cell phone. Was pregnant for the first time, and lived acrossed the country from everyone i knew. Since it was the only phone i had, i always had it with me and had it charged.
I never needed a house phone not even to call 911. I had internet access at all times so i could have used that magic jack.

I have a house phone now but still use my cell for everything as my land line only works in half of my house. Due to my husband's line of work we had to get the land line,but we could do with out it.

SO go ahead and lose the land line, just make sure you have a car charger and to take your phone everywhere.

I only have a single landline dedicated to our alarm only. I also have a corded phone because it works using the minimal power in the phone line and after/during hurricanes it's a must. As others have said, the lines still can dial 911 even if you don't have service.

We have only used our cell phones for about a year w/out any regrets!! Bellsouth (now AT&T) offers high-speed internet without needing a phone and allows cell phones to be used for bundling now also.

If you're concerned about young kids who may overuse the minutes, use a company like MetroPCS that have unlimited talk & text. They have 4 lines for $80 I believe!

Plus, don't worry about emergencies. New phones have GPS embedded and they can help the police locate you in the event of a true emergency. as someone else indicated, they can also triangulate your position pretty well just using the towers your signal registers with ...

Good luck!

I guess it depends on your carrier and how reliable they are and it would have to depend on the area for service you recieve. Do you have many "down" days where you can't get service? My sister doesn't have a landline either, relying on her cell phone only. Sometimes she doesn't get calls, voice mail doesn't always get delivered right away. And, my sister has had to increase her plan because of the amount of minutes she uses and the bigger plan is more money. I guess it's a personal decision but I like having the land line as a "back up."

We did it and here is what we learned: no matter how little you think you talk on the phone, things come up and sooner or later you may blow out the minutes of your cell phone resulting in a huge bill. We now have Metro PCS, unlimited minutes etc... and it does save quite a bit of money.

Clearly you have internet access. If you have high speed internet at home we tried the Magic Jack and it works well for a "home" phone, $19 a year.

In an emergency your land line is likely to go down anyway, and if you are here in FL, a hurricane is going to wipe out cell phone coverage until it's over also, so it really doesn't matter.

We have no regrets, just lower bills.

We have a babysitter without a cell phone. We decided to keep the landline so that she can call us or 911 in emergencies.

We switched to cell phones only about 6 years ago when we were always working and never even home to use our phone. We haven't looked back once. Now that I'm home with our little one I just carry it with me around the house and sleep with it on the nightstand for an emergency. It is nice that most of our immediate family uses the same carrier (att) so we can all talk unlimited without having to get a super expensive plan. Most of the newer subdivisions have the lines underground so I don't think we have the problems like maybe our parents are accustomed to.

Hi R.,

I considered doing the same thing, but had your same worries. Rather than giving up the land line, I changed to the most basic service, no call waiting, caller id, etc. My bill went from $50 to $20.

Good luck,
M.

I am a mom of one and have not had a land line in two years. I have to caution you however, when you give up a land line your minutes on your cell with jump...so I am with Metro PCS and although they are not the best company I've dealt with, there are unlimited minutes. I think a few other companies have unlimited plans for a little more money..anyway, I don't regret it and I just make sure our phones are charged and with us in case of emergencies. Good luck with your decision. I also wanted to add that T-Mobile has a great deal on home phone service..if you have their cell service.

Keep your land line if you must but drop all the extras, call waiting (anyone calling can do so later), caller Id. and voice mail (you can purchase a message recorder).

R.,

I have been using a cell phone exclusivelly for 2 years now. Have had no problem. However, many people locally want to call a local tn#...so I went with Magic Jack, runs off computer, incoming & outgoing, VM, CID & 911 all included with their service & you can't beat their price. I went to MagicJack.com, took about 3 days to have delivered (And you can choose a local tn#). Also, have seen it advertised at Walgreens and some other local stores.

Hi R.

I myself recently gave up my land line to save some extra, however since my mother and my 16month old baby is at home i need a house phone, so i just purchase the magic jack so far so good, i got the same service that i use to have with my regular old phone for just 40 bucks for the entire year...that's awesome!!!!

I think the person who said it was only telemarketers calling made a good point. Take a look at who calls you and who you call using your land line to decide if it's best for your family. Since your daughter is young, it doesn't effect her in any way yet. For our family, I have a 10 year old and an 11 year old-- I refuse to get them cell phones yet and they talk to their friends all the time on the land line, plus we don't have cable at all so we need the land line for internet. Also, we keep a corded land line phone in the closet so if the power goes out we'll be able to use the land line (cell phone towers sometimes have issues in hurricanes, too). If you want to keep your land line but want to save some money, get rid of the package if you don't really use (or would be fine without) the calling waiting, caller ID, etc
Another reason I know getting rid of the land line isn't a good idea for OUR family is I don't always remember to charge my cell (not to mention that the area I live in has a lot of dead zones for my cell so sometimes calls just go straight to voice mail)

Hi R. - I did without a "house" phone for about 3 years due to lack of finances. It was not fun. I have my house phone now, internet etc all together. Cell phones are great WHEN THEY WORK. I live way out in the countryside and my cell reception SUCKS, I am on my second battery and it never seems to be charged when I need it. Plus if I am late with my cell phone bill 1 day - bam it is off. My house ph bill can go for weeks before I hear from them. Before I could not call my kids at home if I was gone - unless the sitter had a cell phone!

I say keep the land line, drop to the basic, cheapest plan (around 15.00 PM) and deal with the cell phones for a while and see how well they work for you. My old cell phone company, who I was with for years gradually kept adding junk to my bill a little at a time until I said NO MORE.

I am pro-land lines, (just in case you couldn't tell LOL)

M. F

Hi R.,

My husband and I decided to give up the land line and opted for two cells with everything. Our logic was that we can make calls from everywhere from our cells and the land line would be useless in an emergency out on the road. Overall we haven't regretted it, but there have been times here at home that I lost my signal - or the cell company made "upgrades" that eliminated service for more than 24 hours. You have to know that those things can happen. But can't you dial 911 on a land line, even without service? That's what I've been told.

We have had no land line for about three years now and have no problems. About a year after we moved to our new home, with a new phone number, they only people calling us were telemarketers. Everyone else called our cell phones. We have cable internet, so didn't need it for that either. We wondered why we were paying $50 a month just so telemarketers could reach us, so we canceled it and have no problems. On documents that request a home phone number, I simply put my cell number.

We havent had a real land line in years. We did a computer line and just forwarded it to my cell phone for any important calls that might come to the house. But really didnt need it. Although if you have an alarm system in your house you do need a land line for the system to connect to central station. Just like others have said, just carry your cell phone with you all day and plug it in on your nightstand to charge at night so it close by.
Good luck! L.

I haven't had a land line in five years. You can still dial 911 with a cell phone, you'll just have to tell them where you are, as opposed to the land line which automatically tells them where the call is coming from. I think it's perfectly fine and I know tons of people who are doing just this thing to save money.

We have considered the same thing ourselves. I found out recently (much to my surprise) that even if you use the land line phone company for your internet, if you have high speed, then you can STILL disconnect the landline and have internet (for a small like $5 fee per month), but you HAVE TO ASK THEM about it. I am not yet comfortable with cancelling ours simply because our wireless service is sketchy at our home. Our current carrier is great and we never have problems, but they were recently bought out, and we're not sure we want to stay with the new owners... everyone else's service here depends on which way the wind is blowing -- literally. We also keep an "old" corded phone in the spare room, for use during power outages. Some people aren't aware that they work even without power, (cordless ones won't). Like Tammi, our kids are starting to use the phone to talk with friends, and they don't have their own cell phones yet, and probably won't for awhile, so I think I'll be hanging on to the land line for a while yet. My brother did away with his, and doesn't have any problems (they have 5 cell phones in the family at his house), and still uses the original telephone landline company for internet at home for $5/month upcharge (but that's minus the $70 they HAD been paying for the landline itself).

I agree with your mom. For minimum money you can keep the land line with 911 access only.

Hi R.,

I havnt had a land line in 3 yrs. I'v never had a problem, everyone that my fiance and I correspond with all have our cell phone #. I also find it easier when trying to contact freinds for small get togethers we just text the time and place and send to all( so much easier than using a house phone and calling each individual).Also if you ever need to call 911 u can do so fron a cell even if your service is off.Hope this helps :) ~A.~

I too think of cancelling landline phone to save some money but then I remember hurricane season. The last active season, I remember my land-line phone (with chord) was the only form of communication that I had while power and cell phones were out. For that reason, I continue with the land line phone. Something to think about.

i know tons of people who do this. its only cheaper depending on how you use the cells. bc it cld end up being more. also to calm you mother. if there is an emergency just get a corded phone and hookup because even if you have no landline service you can still dial 911, it should work that way. you can only dial 911. try it and see.