Many of us have considered the possibility of getting rid of our landline home phone service. Some people probably maintain that service just because they're afraid of letting go of something that has been part of their life since they were born. But, is there a good reason to keep the landline? Should you get rid of it?
For the generation who was born into cell phones, it's hard to justify keeping that old fashioned POTS service. The single person who lives alone or young couples don't have much of a need for a phone sitting at home. They started out with a cell phone while living with their parents so all of their friends were used to calling them on the cell phone. As they move out on their own, the cell phone number remains their primary number so many don't bother getting landline service.
What about the family? If you have young kids at home, with our without cell phones, wouldn't you want reliable phone service at the house just for safety? What would happen if there was an emergency and you needed to call 911? What if your child needed to call 911? The landline phone is a reliable and dependable method of emergency communication. You might also like to have the ability to "call home" and talk to whoever is there. You might not want to talk to any specific person in your family but rather just talk to someone at your house. In that case it's more convenient to call the home phone instead of calling all of the individuals on their cell phones.
What about situations like power outages from major storms? If you are unfortunate enough to be affected by a hurricane, your power could be out for days. There's a good chance that your landline phone would still work because it doesn't need power (non-cordless models). If there is an extended power outage, how would you re-charge your cell phone? Do you talk on the phone a lot? If you're a chatty person and tend to spend a lot of time on the phone, you'd be better off doing that on a landline phone that isn't limited to certain number of minutes per month.
Another reason to keep the traditional phone service would be to facilitate the use of a fax machine. Although there are ways to fax over the internet using your scanner, there are many who work out of their home office and still have a need for the "old fashioned" fax machine.
Maybe you've considered all of the situations listed above and would like to keep that home phone service but really need to cut costs somewhere. Perhaps you could keep your landline service but reduce the cost. Have you tried eliminating unnecessary services from your home phone? Are you paying extra for call waiting and caller ID? What about long distance service? Most home phone plans charge a lot of money for long distance calling. Since it's usually free to make long distance calls from your cell phone, you should consider removing the long distance service from your home phone. In an emergency, you can still make long distance calls using a calling card. Another way to cut costs is to bundle your home phone service with internet service and cable or satellite TV. Most carriers offer some sort of "triple play" that can reduce your monthly bill substantially. And finally, if you're on some form of government assistance like Medicaid, Food Stamps, or Section 8 housing, you're qualified for government assisted home phone service. This can reduce your rate by about $13 per month and is available from all of the major phone service providers.
For the generation who was born into cell phones, it's hard to justify keeping that old fashioned POTS service. The single person who lives alone or young couples don't have much of a need for a phone sitting at home. They started out with a cell phone while living with their parents so all of their friends were used to calling them on the cell phone. As they move out on their own, the cell phone number remains their primary number so many don't bother getting landline service.
What about the family? If you have young kids at home, with our without cell phones, wouldn't you want reliable phone service at the house just for safety? What would happen if there was an emergency and you needed to call 911? What if your child needed to call 911? The landline phone is a reliable and dependable method of emergency communication. You might also like to have the ability to "call home" and talk to whoever is there. You might not want to talk to any specific person in your family but rather just talk to someone at your house. In that case it's more convenient to call the home phone instead of calling all of the individuals on their cell phones.
What about situations like power outages from major storms? If you are unfortunate enough to be affected by a hurricane, your power could be out for days. There's a good chance that your landline phone would still work because it doesn't need power (non-cordless models). If there is an extended power outage, how would you re-charge your cell phone? Do you talk on the phone a lot? If you're a chatty person and tend to spend a lot of time on the phone, you'd be better off doing that on a landline phone that isn't limited to certain number of minutes per month.
Another reason to keep the traditional phone service would be to facilitate the use of a fax machine. Although there are ways to fax over the internet using your scanner, there are many who work out of their home office and still have a need for the "old fashioned" fax machine.
Maybe you've considered all of the situations listed above and would like to keep that home phone service but really need to cut costs somewhere. Perhaps you could keep your landline service but reduce the cost. Have you tried eliminating unnecessary services from your home phone? Are you paying extra for call waiting and caller ID? What about long distance service? Most home phone plans charge a lot of money for long distance calling. Since it's usually free to make long distance calls from your cell phone, you should consider removing the long distance service from your home phone. In an emergency, you can still make long distance calls using a calling card. Another way to cut costs is to bundle your home phone service with internet service and cable or satellite TV. Most carriers offer some sort of "triple play" that can reduce your monthly bill substantially. And finally, if you're on some form of government assistance like Medicaid, Food Stamps, or Section 8 housing, you're qualified for government assisted home phone service. This can reduce your rate by about $13 per month and is available from all of the major phone service providers.
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