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I'm making the Jump

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Right into 2007. That's right, I'm getting a smart phone. I've been bitching to my wife about how much we pay for our phones. We've been on a plan with her parents forever. It's $224 a month, and thats 4 phones, 2 of which were regular ole "dumb phones" that the FIL and I use. Yesterday I told my know it all MIL that I was done. I was going off the plan and getting my own phone on my own plan. After basically telling her and my wife to Fugg Off several times when they said I couldnt just do that, I insisted they look on Verizon and figure something out. Lo and behold we were on an ancient plan that was more than any new plan. So, 30 minutes later we are on a better, cheaper plan, and I have a Galaxy 8, whatever that is, arriving in 2 days. Just $80 bucks up front, and now were saving $30 month too
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
You will wonder how you have shit this long without it. (Who else read this on the shitter? I did)
Me...

I'm part of a family plan with my in-laws. Started out as a favor cause they couldn't afford them on their own. It got to be a massive pain in the ass and I was certain I could so better with just 2 plans. Went to AT&T when my line was free from contract and told them I'd been a customer for 10 years and if they wanted to keep me, we'd better work some magic on the cost of our plan. We have 5 smart phones with unlimited data for $200. We pay more than that due to a few of us having new phones with monthly payments, but the base plan isn't bad. It was $300+ at one point.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Good shit man. I got tired of getting screwed a few year back and went off contract. I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 on a month to month prepaid from Verizon. I had to buy the phone up front and went with a a refurb that was $200 bucks. My plan is unlimited talk and text with 3gb of data for $45 a month. If I need more data it's 20 bucks for another 3gb which is good for 90 days. If I use all of my plans 3gb it starts to use the other 3gb bucket, if I don't use it all the next month it first uses my plans data then the extra bucket.
 

Qback5

Junior Member
318
44
I write this from a smartphone...believing fully that they are completely unnecessary. Telecommunications built a product as good as a drug, got us all addicted, and now we think hundreds a month is a good deal. My landline in grad school was under 10/month. Somehow I survived. Somehow I pay so much more now, and admittedly use it all the time and admittedly don't need to.
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
I write this from a smartphone...believing fully that they are completely unnecessary. Telecommunications built a product as good as a drug, got us all addicted, and now we think hundreds a month is a good deal. My landline in grad school was under 10/month. Somehow I survived. Somehow I pay so much more now, and admittedly use it all the time and admittedly don't need to.

Agree 100%. We don't need them but just want them. A lot of users have no life at all without their smartphones. I know a guy who is difficult to even talk to because his phone is always getting updates on world news. I ask why? His response is 'want to stay up to date'. I'll pass.
Several years ago when I was on the Board of Directors of a large Credit Union a expense request can up to spent 10's of thousands to install Wifi in all the lobbies. Reason was so the younger generation could stay connected to the outside world while standing in line for 5-10 minutes. The final vote was 8 to 1 in favor.
The wife and I are on my son's plan because we wouldn't spend the funds for our own plan. I use the smart phone because I have it not because I need it.
Can't wait until phones will stop working when moving. No one needs to be on a phone when driving. If you need a phone pull over and stop. It's coming.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Next up is cutting the cable cord or switching carriers. I've had Direct TV for about 5 years. It's the same old shit. My contract expires, they offer a new great deal, I sign. Only to find out they fugg me over in wording and my bill is still more than originally agreed upon. I currently pay about $75 a month for 3 rooms. Not the cheapest packaging, but not the most expensive. Only options we have here in the sticks are some dish company, or Time Warner. We have Netflix, I'm about to just go get a figital box and go back to farmer vision. Only thing that will kill me is watching football
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Next up is cutting the cable cord or switching carriers. I've had Direct TV for about 5 years. It's the same old shit. My contract expires, they offer a new great deal, I sign. Only to find out they fugg me over in wording and my bill is still more than originally agreed upon. I currently pay about $75 a month for 3 rooms. Not the cheapest packaging, but not the most expensive. Only options we have here in the sticks are some dish company, or Time Warner. We have Netflix, I'm about to just go get a figital box and go back to farmer vision. Only thing that will kill me is watching football
Direct TV now offers online streaming cable subscription. I think it's $35 a month.

I cut cable a long time ago and use amazon streaming and Netflix. When I cut cable I haggled AT&T down to giving me Internet at the new slcustomer rate of 47 a month. A year passed and my new bill came and it was 69 a month last month. Just for Internet. I called and told them to put it back at 47 or cut it off. Time Warner aka spectrum is offering 44 a month for a 50mb connection here. After a bit she said the best she could do was 57. I told her to schedule disconnect for the 12th as spectrum would be out in the 11th.