better to bundle or ditch the landline?

[mangioli]

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd sign up on here to get advice for the best -- that is, cheapest -- way to handle the phone thing at home. I have to admit I'm kind of lost with all the options. There are all kinds of bundle packages you can do, with a company providing cable, internet, landline, etc., all in one. Or is it cheaper, generally, to just do one of these at a time under different providers, provided that you can cut out the landline and just use your cell?

I know the answers will likely vary from region to region (I'm in Brooklyn, if that helps). I'd be happy to ditch my landline and use my cell if that makes the whole thing cheaper. Or I could bundle everything together if that makes things cheaper. Just want to get a general sense of what people do when they're really trying to save. Any other tips ya got would be helpful, too.

Tanya

[Broken Arrow]

I, like several others, are in the "ditch the landline" camp.

However, they do have their pros and cons, and it's worth weighing them before making an informed decision. Some bundles are indeed cheaper, but that's because you'll be using Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology. In layman's term, it's using the internet to mimick a landline phone, and while it's cheaper, it's also a bit more problematic along with a few more technological gotchas.

I'll let the others fill in the gaps as I'm getting kind of sleepy right now.

[Drumm]

Bundle, then throw away your cell phone. Cell phones are intrusive, annoying, stress-causing things and life is better and cheaper without them. You'd be saving at least 30 bucks a month for no longer having a plan, and you'd be saving at least a hundred additional bucks in the next couple years by not buying a new phone. I've done this, and I just use a prepaid onesuite account in case I need to make a call from a payphone when I'm out in public -- works great.

[Coleroo]

It all depends on the cost in your area - and you could probably find the cost of everything from a quick search on google... then compare options. It all depends on how much value you place on each service, where you are willing to cut corners, and what you truly need.

For instance, Company X may offer a bundling of Broadband, HD Digital Cable TV, and Digital phone for $99 a month. "Wow, what a savings!" you may think - especially since these 3 typical service unbundled may cost $140.

BUT.. if you truly break it down..

Broadband - do you really need it? Do you use computers for downloading or just a few emails and message board'ing? do you do lots of uploading or digital picture emailing? Or do you spend more time reading than DL'ing the latest itune? Basic unlimited internet dial up can be had for as low as $9.99.

Phone service - do you need digital phone? is the bundled phone cheaper than the cheapest no frills service? must you have caller ID or voicemail?? do you really need a land line period?

Cable TV - how many channels do you really watch or need? Can you make do with basic cable? what about a no frills family line up from dish network for less than $20? is your BASIC needs worth the price it would cost in the bundle? Better yet, do you really need cable at all? What about invest time in reading instead?

For my situation, as newlyweds, we can't afford a 80...90... 100$ and upward charge just for "services" we dont get to use much anyway (due to us both working full time day jobs).

We dont have cable TV..dont need it. We have hundreds of DVD's from when we were single, and if theres a special show on (Yay American Idol!) we just watch it over at my mom and dad's. We dont care for a landline, but have one with basic service only because the number has been in my family for over 50 years (yeh yeh..most families pass down antiques - mine passes down numbers ) and im emotionally attatched. We use our cell phones the most and share a family plan with my parents (reduces cost dramatically!!!). As for internet, the broadband is a necessity since we do lots of photo uploading and I run 3 websites that generate good income.. but we have the "lite" version of roadrunner cable, and I have never noticed a difference in that and the full version I used before getting married (and it saves us over 20 bucks a month just by being "lite"!).

So in our case, bundling was NOT a good way to go because our needs and wants just didnt match the overall cost the bundle would put on our budget.

[pretty cheap jewelry]

Great responses! I have only one pet peeve -- cell phones, for all their cute little fun-to-work and common sense safety advantages, are still so unreliable in normal two way audio operation.

Sorry, in plain English, I mean they DON'T WORK GOOD ENOUGH. Why do so many words get garbled? Why do I have to wait so long to say something back (it's almost like a walkie talkie). I HATE the 'echo' when I speak.

I'm perturbed that anyone would pay for more cell phone silliness, ie internet over your phone. Imagine! It probably blips out in the middle of writing your e mail.

Oh, did I mention I feel naked leaving the house without it? Cell phones, can't live with them, can't live without em.

[trillium]

I'll put my two cents in and explain why despite having two cell phones in the house plus VoIP, I still have a landline (base, no frills plain old phone)...

I've never been a big fan of cell phones. Dropped calls, quality, etc. etc... the list could go on and on and even with all the bells and whistles that now come on phones, to me it's just a way to pick up say "hello" (but only if the single holds up in the corner of the upstairs bathroom and you don't move towards the cat)...

On Voip - yes I have Voice Over IP. And I love it - for the most part... It's cheap, unlimited long distance. A few cons I've found with it...
Quality does sometime suffer. Some days its good, other days its bad.
I still haven't been keen on figuring out the voicemail part of it... thats just me, I'm a computer geek by trade, yet dont want to deal with responding to the voice mail on my VoIP.
The biggest con - loose your broadband access (be it cable or DSL) and you loose your VoIP.
I am also not a big fan of the 911 restrictions that surround VoIP... and it is because of that, that plugged into my wall, I still have a good ol' land line brought to you by Ma Bell.

[tinapbeana]

*former phone company employee here*

before you make a decision, you might want to check out the regulations in your area. some areas require a soft dial tone for any house with a NID outside, meaning you could plug in a phone and dial 911 but not make or receive any regular phone calls. if this is the case in your area, then the safety concerns about cell/voip only are no longer a real issue.

with that said, chances are good you'll save money if you go with cell/voip vs landline if you make any type of LD/LT calls or use any type of feature such as VM, call fwding, etc. if all you need is a dial tone to be able to call locally, get a bare bones landline and you'll probably come out ahead.

personally, i was cell only from 98 - 05. i did a lot of driving, and felt safer having a cell phone in the car (used it more than once for that very reason). that, and i couldn't afford both. we got a landline when i had to travel abroad b/c it offered a int'l plan and i got an employee discount. and it helped when we got our mortgage. when the company closed my call center june of 06, i switched the land line to voip simply because i really like the number (whatta dork, right?) and b/c of "bundle pricing". sadly, the bundle my cable company offers is more like a loosely lumped pile and isn't saving me any money and i still have a cell phone bill to boot. now i'm about to switch that old land line number from voip to a new cell phone carrier w/ better rates and ditch my old cell number/plan/carrier. back to cell only....