Cell Phones

I had originally started to discuss this in my last post, but the more I wrote the more I realized this should have it's very own spot.

When I had my original sit down to go over my budget, I really thought about my cell phone. For years, I had paid a monthly contract cell phone bill. My bill had been around $60.00 each month. I did have two extras on my cell package, Caller ID and the smallest text messaging package. I'd never used internet, bought games, or anything else extra on my cell.

I know to some people, their cell phone is like an extended body part that they can't live without. I am not one of those people. I sit beside a telephone all day at work, and then have a lovely well working home phone. The main reason I have a cell phone is because I do live in Canada, and it does snow here. I have a 20 minute commute to work, and if I happen to find myself in a snowbank I'd like to be able to call someone to get me out. Other than that, I may only use my cell phone once a week, and it's usually a 15 second conversation that is similar to "Do we need anything at the grocery store before I come home?".

I just could not justify spending $60.00 a month on this. Again, something I'd paid for for years, and I just started to question this when writing out my budget. From my experience, I have yet to find a cell phone provider who treats it's customers well, so why was I forking over all of this extra cash?

I went to my cell phone provider, and switched my monthly contract to a pre-paid package. I admit it took quite awhile for this to actually happen, and many not so polite phone calls. But after a few months, it was switched. I didn't get any extras at all on my new package. I can now make a $25.00 pre-paid card last two months, if not more. This is over $90.00 every two months, or $540.00 per year, stuffed into my piggy bank!

PS: I LOVE this Zack Morris cell phone picture! Too funny!