Don't Depend on Just 1 Phone

Several friends and contacts have told us they have disconnected their land line. Many of them did it as part of cutting costs. Each of them mentioned how surprisingly high the taxes are on wired phone lines. The next complaint is how expensive even the most basic phone service is from the local telco.

In The Unwired Home, we recommend keeping your land line at the most basic service level, but for some, even that expense is not worth it. The average basic line costs about $20. If people are avoiding that monthly amount, it make me wonder how many of the broadband alternatives that are priced from $9 to $25 are even in consideration. We all have a wireless phone already, so there's no need for anything else, is there?

We believe you should have some kind of backup in a cellular-only home. It could be a $10 per year T-Mobile Prepaid phone, Magic Jack, or even Skype. You are now depending on just one phone. Do you always know where yours is? We also noticed many 'cord-cutters' have relatively old phones. What happens when it breaks, and it will. Murphy's Law says that's when you'll have some kind of personal problem. Don't rely on just one phone. Ask the baby-sitter to bring her battery charger. Murphy lives here, ya know.