Internet, phone, tv, blackberry, cell phone for all family members, how do people pay for this?

[2Design]

I am thinking of dropping the tv side of my cable for just Internt to cut costs.
Phone I use magic jack now which is $20 a year and not recommended for families
It echos

I have a cell phone where I pay $5/mth and 25 cent a minute if I use it - not anywhere near the $40 a month others pay

I mean your communication bills could be $300 or more a month
Utilities are 100 - 400 month

Then there is rent

How can I get fast Internet without paying $50 a month - this use to be $20/mth
Dial up is no longer an option - it is too slow
They just keep raising the rates on everything

I don't know people whose salaries are increasing like that.

I do work online

[BlooInBloo]

1. Certainly it can be tough, but note that 3 on your list are the same thing...

I recommend cutting down on redundancy.

[2Design]

4. I listed all the possibilities that people might have NOT that I have

I have cable and Internet and Magic jack(phone) and cell phone at cheapest rates possible - no land line

Cell phone is for emergencies or when hunting for apartments or travel on the road

Right now I have special rate of cable and Internet that just went up $10/month

[ProdigalJunkMail]

2. we don't...

we have one TV and limited stuff on it...the cell phone for the wife but no one else...work pays for my phone and internet access (i have to have them to do my work)...

sP

[Codeine]

3. Everybody prioritizes differently.

I drive a beater and limit my entertainment spending so as to be able to afford internet, cellphone, and book/games. I also eat an inexpensive, healthy diet to keep costs down.

[Angry Dragon]

5. I use Net10 for phone

10 cents a minute ......... no monthly charge

[JuniperLea]

6. I got rid of cable a long time ago...

I found I was watching more PBS than anything... a donation to PBS is a better deal, I think.

No land line; I have two family members on my cell phone plan and only pay $10 a month a piece for the other two.

I have a crappy, slow InterTube connection which is a pain in the arse... but refuse to pay more than the $29 a month I pay now.

If you do work online, wouldn't your connection fees be deductible?

[2Design]

8. deductible means you have to have a lot of expenses - I make little money so I spend little

Standard deduction is higher than $40/12 = 480/year

My Internet w/o cable - running over the cable would be $50
Right now it just went up to $80 with the TV channels with the special rate

I have no land line - so not sure how you are doing the InterTube connection

My cell phone is $5/mth and I only pay above that if I use it

Magic jack plugs into computer and is $20 a year running over the Internet

I just don't see where else or how else to cut

Utilities keep going up and I use them very little
Gas for car keeps going up

My salary was cut $10,000 this past year

[JuniperLea]

15. Dang... salary cuts suck

I haven't had a raise since 2008, so I consider my salary to have been cut since I still have to keep up with inflation... and it's been massive since 2008.

Hang in there... I wish I had some good ideas for you.

Have you ever checked this guy out? Clark Howard... he's on the local radio station where I tune in to listen to Stephanie Miller, Mike Malloy, and Thom Hartman, or I would have never heard about him. He's sharp as a tack about saving money! Check out his website!

http://clarkhoward.com/

[truedelphi]

38. Have you thought of making up a second company

So you can file a Schedule C?

In fact, you may find out that the "phony" company you make up is actually every bit as commercially viable as your "REAL" job.

So put a bit of time and thought into it, and not only will you be able to deduct the High Speed dial up (As long as it is work related) you might find you have a viable out when the "REAL" job work conditions become too tedious, difficult, or whatever.

My spouse's silly little novelty company became a publishing company and now is the means to our paying the rent and eating.

Not an overnight endeavor, but given the rather awful job market for people in our age range, we are quite pleased about how this is turning out.

[Uzybone]

7. make a budget

[2Design]

9. so how do you budget Internet and where do you get high speed for less

budget is what I trying to do

I have cut to the bone
Except to cut the TV I would still be paying $50 for Internet - which is doable

I am looking for services for less

[Hawkeye-X]

11. If you tell me what state you live, I can probably help you locate a cheaper Internet rate..

DSL is usually cheap, about $30/40 a month, depending on speed you want.

Hawkeye-X

[2Design]

26. dsl requires a land line and then I would be spending more not less

thanks anyway - if I spend that much it is better to have faster and tv - probably going to drop the tv until the holidays when they have specials on - that would at least save $40/mth

[TransitJohn]

29. DSL does NOT require a land line

It's called 'dry loop' or 'naked' DSL, and all phone companies offer it. Check it out.

[2Design]

32. fla

[CTyankee]

17. The whole idea of a budget is to look at the income/expense sides.

You add up everything on your current expenses and then add up your income on the other side. If your expenses exceed your income then you are, by definition, living beyond your means. Numbers are numbers. I did this many years ago when we were planning to buy a house. Doing a budget forced me to look at the hard numbers and see what was going out and what was coming in and if it didn't come out even, I was screwed.

I found out, in this exercise, that I had several "discretionary" spending categories that I could easily cut: clothes, extra dinners out, vacation. It was liberating! I knew finally that I had choices. I now love my budget and update it twice a year. It is the most sensible thing I ever did...

[Control-Z]

21. I use dslextreme.com

Have for around 10 years now. They are wonderful - with great customer service and tech support. I know the first year they offer some extremely good rates. Something like $14.00/month for high speed dsl.

After the first year the prices do go up a little but I've never found them to be prohibitive. I believe they range from about $20.00/month to something like $39.00, depending on the speed. And, personally, I have found their slowest speed to be faster and more reliable than what I got paying premium for Yahoo. Not to mention that they list their phone numbers, and have real people to talk to 24 hours a day.

[DaveJ]

10. Digital TV can save lots of $$

Have you tried a digital antenna in your area? If you have decent reception, it's just as good as basic cable, and includes HD. $50 for the antenna then free hi-def TV for life.

[Jkid]

16. Yes, but actual, real high-definition programing is still limited to prime time.

And as for the sub-channels, your mileage may vary. You are going have to supplement that with DVDs and netflix.

[ejpoeta]

12. we have

directv. have had since my hubby worked there and we got a discount. have recently been considering dish. bob has been thinking of cancelling it and just using the antenna. i do not like this idea. i hardly watch network tv! most of what i watch is on the satellite!! i know i could live without it though.

we have verizon wireless with 2 phones. we do not have texting or anything else. just basic 1500 min plan. but we cancelled the landline several years ago. we also have magic jack.

we have roadrunner for internet which my hubby's employer pays for as he wrks out of our home.

how do we afford it?? well, we don't DO anything extra. we limit eating out and stick around here a lot. also our house is paid off so we have a car payment and a lawn mower payment and a couple credit cards. we are very conscious of what we spend and how we spend it.

[ipaint]

13. Many people can't.

Despite budgeting, eating cheaply and not eating out or going to movie theaters, etc.

My husband and I share a trac phone which we save for job hunting and emergencies. No TV, no cable, 9 year old computer and a very nice neighbor who lets me use his internet signal.

We are looking at a depressed labor market and stagnant/lower wages for years. You'll have plenty of company.

[Dank Nugs]

14. Consolidation

It's all about consolidation. I mean, how much television do you actually watch? Probably not much. I don't watch television very often, but I have basic over the air channels, in 720p definition. You purchase a tivo box and you can pretty much record whatever shows you want, watch it at your leisure. I haven't paid for cable/satellite for years. If I want to watch a movie, I'll just go rent one or something. Television is pointless, in my opinion. Bongs are worth more. I'd rather spend money on that.

Also, internet + cell phone? Well, simple. I have an iPhone that I jailbroke and I now tether all my devices through that connection. I just simply plug the iPhone into the router when I get home and all my devices in the house will have internet access. Why bother paying Qwest 65/month for something that I can use via the iPhone by paying 60 bucks a month for unlimited text/data? Granted, I don't have to purchase minutes since I'm deaf and AT&T allows you to bypass their requirement of buying a minute plan. It's free on the weekends anyway.

I basically pay about 60-70 bucks a month for all of that. My rent is 400/month. Much easier if you have a roommate that you went to university with and can trust. ;)

[msongs]

18. internet needs to be PUBLIC utility, NO price gouging criminal corporations allowed nt

[deaniac21]

19. They go into debt.

[Initech]

20. My phone bill is like $80 / month alone for phone + data

Shit like that gets expensive.

[beyurslf]

22. We have all of thoser things. I think it is just what is important to you and finding

ways to make that work. My cell phone bill for me and my 4 boys is the second largest bill in the house (even more than my car payment). But, we use them all the time and it is important to us. We have a very basic cable (the cheapest plan) so we can have faster internet because we all prefer online movies and stuff. We seldom eat out in a trade off so that we can afford these gadgets and what not. Lots of people think I am nuts for having a cell phone bill that rivals my car payment but it is what it is.

[Tuvok Obama]

23. I have a $20 prepaid phone, and I use about 100 minutes a month at 2.5 cents a minute

I've reduced my cable package to the smallest one they have, and I use a DSL Internet connection (slower, but cheaper).

People who are able to pay for everything on your list are just not feeling the economic slowdown like the rest of us are.

If someone is paying for 8 kinds of connectivity while using higher-end devices like Blackberries and iPads (assuming all these devices and accounts are not essential for their job), then they're either putting it on credit, or they have a lot of extra money to throw around.

[Wednesdays]

24. I just have cell phone and cable Internet

Haven't had a land line in years, same with cable/satellite TV. My cell phone can do everything for me that a landline phone used to--and then some. And what use do I have for paying Faux Noise and the Golf Channel? Getting rid of subscription-TV was one of the greatest moves of my life.

I can watch just about anything I need to watch directly from the Internet. C-SPAN, for example...and today I downloaded a neat little utility (for free)...there are already hundreds of web channels to choose from, and you can add more.
http://download.cnet.com/Free-Online-TV-Player/3000-13632_4-10976641.html?tag=mncol

I admit, some of the channels are rather dull...but you'll inevitably find something interesting, and it sure beats the cost of cable TV!

[kevinbgoode]

25. I have Dish TV "welcome pack" $20.99 a month

for all local channels, MSNBC, (no FAUX or CNN), the Weather Channel, quite a few other things I don't watch. I have thought about getting their broadband service, but it seems logistically prohibitive for now.

I can't help you with internet connection service - mine is low level broadband and $24.95 per month..and it isn't great. I've been searching for a better phone deal for landline. . .I currently pay about $64 a month (including taxes) for unlimited local/long distance. My cellphone is similar to yours - I just put money on it and use it for emergencies. . .

I don't know how people can afford most of these things for multiple members of families. . .heck, my power bill goes up every few months. . .no matter what I do.

[unc70]

40. AT&T here is only about $30 for landline with unlimited calling

I think unlimited long distance is like $9.95/month. Extra land lines were relatively cheap (we needed two for business reasons).

Since Dish is part of the AT&T group, there is likely some discount on phone, DSL, Dish that would make the whole package much cheaper. We had a requirement to support iPhone for cell and used the combined billing familiy plan to our advantage. Probably could have saved more but decided to keep TWC with low-end internet, etc. in order to have a modest amount of redundancy. Really don't like having all services on a single vendor.

[dem mba]

27. dial up used phone lines that were already in place

fiber optic and broadband cables had to be placed, at great expense, by the evil corporations everyone seems to hate on DU.

That's why its more expensive.

[2Design]

31. before deregulation - utitlities were reasonable price NOT so much based on profit

based on profit - they want 80% of the money for the top 10% of the people

[Politicalboi]

28. Google Cantenna

It depends where you live for speed, but you can pick them up from 50 to 100 dollars, and never pay for internet. Just a suggestion mind you.

[unc70]

30. Use prepaid cell phone, look for combining services

Until 18 months ago, I personally used a prepaid cell phone (less than 5 cents/minute with no other charges), a basic landline, and had middle level cable plus internet and spent less than $75/month for everything.

For business requirements and personal life changes, my household now supports two businesses with two landlines with unlimited long distance plus a separate ringtone for fax, two iPhones with full voice/data/text, expanded cable including a digital HD DVR, web hosting, and HS internet connection. All of that together, from two suppliers (partly for redundancy), now runs us just over $150 together.

The iPhones were required because I am developing software for the it and had to have one for testing. The iPhones work better than I had expected and allow my SO, who travels a lot, to operate most of their business without having to carry with them or find a PC -- the iPhone lets them function fully for a week or two at a time on a remote basis.

Without these extra requirements, I would suggest a prepaid cell phone (nationwide plan, no concept of "long distance") plus either rabbit ears for TV or a modest cable package with bundled internet access at the slowest HS option and then using VoIP for long distance. Roughly $50/month in most placesd.

[silverweb]

33. I work online, too.

Reliable broadband is an absolute necessity, so I pay what I have to (close to $50/mo) for the best connection I can get and use it for everything -- work, TV, movies, music, radio, DU!, newspapers/magazines, banking/bills, shopping, email, photo albums, and telephonic/video communications (via Skype).

My used/refurbished laptop ($320) travels with me and is quite adequate for that purpose, but my good desktop computer is the hub of activity at home.

The biggest expense is the cell phone bill because I pay for a family plan for myself and both kids (one grad student and one on her first post-graduation job). They need/have a Blackberry & iPhone, respectively. My cell phone gets little use when I'm at home except for texting and as an alarm clock, but it's always with me so I can be reached when needed.

Working online at home has also eliminated my need for a car, which continues to make me deliriously happy on a daily basis.

[2Design]

36. yes - no commute and no gas - so there is saving there

I probably just need to eliminate the tv and just do internet - keeping the cable for Internet instead all the other options people mentioned probably makes the most sense and get the tv part in late November through January for the holiday special and the library for movies

[silverweb]

39. You can find a lot of TV/movies on line, too.

Free.

Check these sites out:
http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/
http://www.movies-links.tv/

Most networks have on-line access to at least some of their shows, as well. You might have to watch things a few to 24 hours after they actually air, but that's a small "price" to pay for watching free.

[pitohui]

34. if you work online your boss/employer should pay your costs

otherwise there's the public library etc.

i've never had cable, not sure what you're getting at here

if your boss is making you pay to work why don't you get a real job where you get PAID to work? fuckwits who pay to work or who volunteer (work for free) fuck up the world for everybody who has to eat -- a big clue train is any job where YOU pay to work, instead of being paid, it's a job not fucking worth having, and despite all the lies about how working for nothing builds your resume...no...unless you want to have 20 years of working for nothing, as several of my friends have found to their sorrow -- unpaid work does NOT build a resume, it just makes you look like a fool who is not worth paying because hey the last guy didn't pay you either

if you insist on paying to work, marry rich i guess

sorry if i sound harsh but i'm tired of people who think they have a business or think they're a contractor who are selling themselves to LOSE money...they are not just hurting themselves, they're hurting everyone trying to work in their entire industry

costs you incur on the job should be paid by your fucking employer, grok????

[2Design]

35. part time work - I am paid - employers like part timers -

this is what is going on in our economy - no full time, no computers, no internet - don't like, do something else - got your message - that doesn't answer my question of how do people buy all that stuff AND how to get Internet for less

[Codeine]

37. It's not like there's a secret source for cut-rate prices, man.

Budget for those items or give them up -- that's what we all do. :shrug: