Comments on: Downgrade Your Expenses

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:44:06 +0000

I am curious which indoor HD antenna are you using? I’m in a process of learning to cut the cord with Dish also.

By: reducereuserecycle

reducereuserecycle — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:25:21 +0000

That is not correct. 911 used to have to use triangulation to find people calling from a cellphone, which didn’t pinpoint their exact location. The FCC made it a requirement for all cellphones to be E911 compliant(which means that 911 can exactly locate the caller. All cellphones sold in the last four or five years are E911 compliant.

By: echidnina

echidnina — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:04:25 +0000

We’ve got pretty low expenses in our household. No cable, no landline, no magazine subscriptions. We do spring for the high-speed internet, however. After all, time is money, and I do a lot of valuable things on the internet. Paying bills, checking my bank account, researching for homework – it’s valuable for me to pay an extra $10 a month in order to not waste time waiting for things to load. So I don’t always go for the cheapest option, it’s just a matter of evaluating what I do need and what I don’t.

By: CT Gal

CT Gal — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:02:40 +0000

I was wondering about cutting a landline. But the only problem is that 911 does not work on cell phone. Someone told me that 911 cannot find your location like they can on a landline.
Is it worth paying $25/month just in case of emergency. I’m very worried and wondering if this is a fear tactic by phone companies to keep an antiquated technology and keep paying?

By: PA Mom

PA Mom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Has anyone looked at Skype as an option for a home phone/land line? Practical/feasible/worth it?

By: saladdin

saladdin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:19:26 +0000

I have a house phone at 19.99 month and make/receive 3-5 calls a week. I have never owned a cell phone and am thinking of getting a prepaid to act as a house line. I will not be carrying it with me at all. I live in a ATT area. Anyone know of any good deals for ATT or TracFone? I will not use it for anything except phone calls. Even caller ID is not required.

saladdin

By: PA Mom

PA Mom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:24:10 +0000

This is a follow-up to my earlier post.

We’ve decided to do away with our cable completely. After looking at all the options and doing a cost-analysis, we’ve decided it will be cheaper long-term to get rid of the TV/entertainment center, replace that with a desk/table from Freecycle (cost=$0), and put in a computer with a large flat panel monitor. We’ll use sites like Hulu and indivdiual TV stations to watch our favorite shows, plus continue to subscribe to Netflix and stream shows/movies through this computer.

We can’t do away with high speed internet…need it for cyber school and a home-based business…but we don’t “need” cable any more. At this point, it’s just a habit/convenience, one we’re willing to break.

Disadvantage: We’ll actually have to pay attention to when our shows are airing rather than rely on TiVo to catch them for us. Ok, so it’ll be a little more “work” to watch TV…definitely worth it to save $$$ each year.

Savings:
No more paying for cable
We won’t have to pay extra to get HD boxes when they convert (before the end of this year)
No more paying for service to 2 TiVo boxes
Can downgrade our Netflix subscription

Cost:
Computer (we won’t need a high-tech computer, so can get a used one for this purpose)
Monitor (probably the most expensive part of this switchover as we’ll want something on the large end, but still affordable used)

The savings of not paying for cable & TiVo will more than offset the cost of setting up the computer/desk in less than a year’s time.

Bonus:
We’ll have an extra computer in the house to use for things other than TV and extra desk space for the business.

Additional comment:
We were looking at the Roku box for Netflix, but decided it wasn’t worth it since it’s not multi-purpose. It allows you to stream approx 17,000 (and growing) shows/movies from Netflix directly to your TV, but since you can do that with a computer already, we didn’t think there was any benefit (for us) to getting a Roku.

On the home front, that new law Obama just signed giving second/third/fourth/etc time buyers a tax credit should help stir more interest in housing, so we’re hoping to have the house sold soon. There are several houses available in our vicinity that would net us a MUCH cheaper mortgage (probably 80% smaller than our current loan) with more property, so there’s the potential for saving thousands on housing each year after we move.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:14:01 +0000

Why do so many people pay for yard service when they have all the tools and time to do it themselves…this is some of the little excercise I get.

By: John

John — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:24:32 +0000

Wow $85 a month for gym membership is pricey for me. My wife and I pay $20 a month for gym membership….. thats for BOTH of us. Which includes access to weights, cardio machines, tanning beds, and massage chairs.

By: poscogrubb

poscogrubb — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:47:47 +0000

I’ve looked into pre-paid with Verizon Wireless and it’s not worth it for our calling pattern. We’re not willing to switch carriers since many of our oft-called family members are on Verizon Wireless.

However, I am trying out Skype with an unlimited plan ($2.95 per month or less when paid in bulk) for calling people not on Verizon Wireless as a way to avoid upping our minutes after dropping the landline.

By: Shock

Shock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:23:07 +0000

I haven’t subscribed to a magazine in years. Most newspapers and magazines have blogs that contain the printed stories plus online only content, all for free.

By: Shock

Shock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:21:06 +0000

I cancelled my cable TV and bought a home theatre computer (HTPC) and an indoor HD antenna. I get all the local channels in HD and most cable shows can be found on the internet, iTunes store or on DVD. Windows Vista Media Center has a built in DVR and the TV websites have queues that store new episodes of shows and email you when available, usually the day after the show aired. I save over $90 a month not having cable. I had the upfront cost of the HTPC, but that pays for itself overtime from the cable savings.

I haven’t had a landline phone since 2001. I just don’t see the need to have a phone tethered to your house. Mobile is the way to go.

By: Shock

Shock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:18:16 +0000

Your cable bill is negotiable. I called and got a lower price, just for asking, and my service wasn’t downgraded.

I pay my life insurance premium annually.

By: Shock

Shock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:15:14 +0000

By: Shock

Shock — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:10:37 +0000

When my wife transitioned from a working a job to SAHM, we cancelled the data plan on her phone. That saved us $30 a month.

Raise your insurance deductible and your premium goes down. Get all the discounts.