Land Line Vs. Cell Phones

I only have mine without any frills, no asnwering service, no 3 way calling, nothing. I have it because what if my kids were home and my daughter couldn't find her cell or it hadn't been plugged in and was dead? It's $32.95 for piece of mind for a land line.

We usually just have cell phones. But since my children are getting older and it is okay for me to leave them for short periods of time, I have opted to get a land line.

There is no other reason for me to have a land line. That is really just money you can save.

We decided to keep the landline. We're with At&t and we only pay $10/month for basic landline with caller id. Very cheap. If anyone ever needs to call 911, like small children, they can trace you quicker with a landline. They'd have to know the address with a cell phone.

We still have a landline but it is for calling 911 only. Its a reduced rate its like 4.99 of 5.99 a month. Getting through to 911 on just your cell phone can sometimes take up to 5 mins. If it a true emergancy you will not have that extra time. We had the hill on the side of our house catch fire a few years ago. It took me 4 mins on my cell to reach 911 all the while the fire was moving down the hillside. We have had a landline since then.

we pay about $20 per month for ours and we pay to have it "unlisted" so we don't get solicitors. It's also listed on the "do not call" list. we have a super easy number that ends in 7777 so all of our kids, including our spec needs daughter knows it by heart. I feel like we should keep it in case something happens to one of us and the kids need to call 911, they don't need to know their address. Not sure how that works with cell phones. I guess technically we 'could' get rid of it but for some reason I feel better having a "home" phone. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

We kept 1 landline. We had 4 because we run our business from home. We now use the cell phones for the most part.

Our landline is in a package with our internet and cable and is not much $$. We don't have long distance or any bells and whistles on it. It is primarily for 911.

We dropped our landline for financial reasons about a year ago. Don't miss it at all. Chances are, your babysitter will have his or her own cell phone.

we only had our land line for DSL but recently they switched where you don't have to have a land line phone to have DSL so we disconnected the phone portion and just paying for the internet. We didn't use our home phone either and it was over 40.00 a month for the phone and had no long distance. If you aren't going over your cell minutes then use the cell phones as your main phone. We were only getting sales calls too on the land line and never answered it unless someone we knew left a message. As far as the babysitter, they probably have their own cell phone anyway.

We also cut off the satellite tv over 2 years ago and really don't miss it. We pay less than 10.00 a month for unlimited netflix downloads and watch movies or full seasons of tv episodes when they come out on dvd which is usually the year after they were on tv. It is nice to watch the full season without commercials. The commercials were the main reason we cut off the satellite and the fact that all the shows we liked were re-runs all the time. We have digital tv and watch local channels for free and there are over 20 channels on Digital TV. Still have to use an antenna to get them but works. I mostly keep up with the news and watch a few shows I like from the internet.

we are saving over 100.00 a month by cutting out the phone and basic tv.

oh and for the comments saying they have it for 911 emergency calls. that service is free without having phone service. If you leave your phone plugged into the wall you can still call 911.

We keep our land line as we are not very good at using/charging our cell phone. Another reason is that there has been an incident where we live, and it scared me: A girl called 911 on her cell phone but they could not trace it back to her and unfortunately, she was found dead. If she could call from a land line, they would be able to associate it with her address.

We just have the simplest local plan (no long distance).

I work from home. I don't want business calls on my cell phone. There is no need for me to be that connected to my job 24 hrs a day, they don't pay for me to have a company cell phone (it's my own private cell phone) so my 'work' number is my land line home number. The only phone numbers I have to dial into are 1-800 conference call centers, and my boss and co-workers (who DO have company cell phone or work from office complexes) know to call my land line - so I have no scrutiny of my phone bill and they have nothing to reimburse me for. My cell number is for my friends, neighbors and relatives, and my emergency number for my son's school.
Additional: Solicitation calls are a pet peeve of mine. Yes, we get a few charity/solicitor/political poll calls on both land line and cell phones. Besides entering all my numbers in the Do Not Call list, there are ways to get off phone number data bases. Charities are easy. Whatever the cause - just ask how much of the donation actually goes to the charity. By law, they have to tell you. Most of them will transfer you to a manager at this point. I've heard answers anywhere from 8 to 20 cents on the dollar. Tell them you find this to be unacceptable and you want to be removed from their dialing list. Most will say they will remove you immediately. In the event they say it take 30/60/90 days to be removed, tell them the Attorney General of the state of <insert your state> says this is bull sh-t and they must remove you immediately, and if they call you again they might as well just send you a check for $150 for each time they call you back after you have notified them of your wish to be removed. Amazingly - I never hear from them again. Robo calls - just hang up. Poll calls - give them outrageous answers just to skew their data.

We have been thinking of doing the same thing until I read these answers! I totally didn't think about calling 911, and that is totally true that it 1. takes FOREVER to get through and 2. doesn't trace with your address the way a landline does. I am going to look into the cheap "911 only" phone that someone else mentioned.

We've been on mobile phones exclusively for 11 years.

-I've never had an issue dialing/getting through to 911.
-Our county has reverse 911 set up, so no matter where I am I'll get a call about an emergency in my neighborhood.
-Most phones have GPS locaters in them, making tracing very easy to do.
-My phone number can NOT be googled, meaning weirdos can't find my home via my phone number like they would if I had a landline.
-I don't have solicitors, political robocalls, donations requests, et al coming to my phone.
-If you need me, you can get ahold of me.
-My kids don't know how to use a regular phone because they've never seen one (not kidding!!), they DO know how to use a mobile phone. It's all in the training.
-My babysitters have ALL had fancier phones than me. :)

GL in your decision!!

We dropped our landline about two years ago. We use our cell phones and we have majicjack as a backup, it works with your high speed internet. You pay $40 bucks for the unit and then $20.00 a year for all your local and long distance calls (no monthly fee). They have cheap international rates too. You should check it out!

We kept our landline (went down to the most basic service) basically so we have it for an emergency. If we call 911 and are unable to speak, they can trace the call to our address without us having to tell them. I'm also concerned that an emergency might come up at a time that our cell phones are not working or are not charged. It basically gives me peace of mind. Also, if you keep a landline, get a corded phone for one room-- if electricity goes out, a cordless phone won't work.

with 27 responses already posted, I'm not going to read them.

We live in an area with lots of heavy storms & have had 3 tornados in the past 12 years.....the corded land lines were the only phones to work during the storm periods. Cell phones were overloaded - no service. & cordless land lines also did not work. In our neighborhood, we were the only house with service....out of 20 families. Everybody else relied on cordless or cell phones, & were without service.

As for the $50/month, cut back to basic & it's < $25....closer to $20, I believe.

I've thought about dropping my land line for awhile now. My problem is that i never have my cell phone charged or it is in my purse somewhere in the house and I never hear it ring. I hardly ever answer my land line anymore. When I look at my caller ID and I don't know who it is I wont answer it. Sometimes when I do know whose calling I won't answer.lol The land line calls are usually telemarketers or someone selling something.
I'm starting to give my cell phone number out more than the land line. I guess i just keep the Land line because I'm used to it. Not modern enough yet to just have the cell phone.

My husband and I dropped our land line 4 years ago. When we went out, if the babysitter didn't have a cell phone, we had a pre-paid phone so that in the event of an emergency she could call us. Now all of our sitters have cells and two of the kids have cells, so we don't even keep a pre-paid cell in the house.

And don't worry, the solicitors will be able to still get a hold of you on your cell, lol! ;)

Hi M., about 6 months ago we FINALLY cancelled the home phone. 5 cell phones in the house, no one EVER used the thing! And yet it was a scary thing to do! No idea why, haven't missed it one bit and it took $40 a month off our cable bill.

We dropped our landline and have had cell's for almost a year now... saves us money, and your right, the only ones calling the home line were people we didn't want to talk to anyway.
Most babysitters have cell phones too... my daughter babysits and I always make sure she has her phone when she leaves.

I cant think of any other reason to keep the land line.... fairwell old friend!!!

My husband & i only have cell phones that we keep on us at all times. We are either going to get another cell phone that will stay in one place & never move or get a land line. I think it would be easier to teach a child to dial 911 on a land line than a cell phone.We have been thinking (expecially me): what happens if I fall down our steep stairs & hit my head on the concreate? My kids would have to search under me to get my phone (& that is if it doesn't get damaged in the fall). Maybe I'm just paranoid, but better safe than sorry. A land line can be really cheap if you don't have all the extras.

God bless!

I am a low-end cell user (I am 53, so not brought up in this age) and barely use 150 minutes a month, and I still have my landline. It only costs $20/month though. I do have a 3 year old, so the 9-1-1 access is important to me. I think it all revolves around making sure that you have 9-1-1. Otherwise, don't worry about your sitters...they all have mobile phones! If you want to keep it, can you bundle it in a package with your cable/internet so it doesn't cost so much? I have struggled with this decision too, but also like having phones in different rooms of the house so I don't have to go running around looking for the phone when it rings. Again, most of my callers call on the landline when they know I'm home. T-Mobile has a home plan system...I really don't know much about it, but you could check it out.

Hi, I have struggled with this. Hub wanted to dump home phone and I can't let go. Our daughter is 9 and I am NOT ready to get her a cell phone so I want a number she can use AND our cell phones are an out-of-state number from where we live...we have had the numbers for 10 years and didn't want to change them...so I want a "local" number. We got Magic Jack. You must have internet on your computer and leave it on all the time, but we paid $29.99 for the computer thing then we upgraded for five years of services for $69.99 so we know have 6 years of service for about $100. We have a local number, free long distance and all the same calling features. Plus I get an email with the voicemails so I can get them with my blackberry or at work. I love it!

Two reasons to keep it;
1. 911 - it is much easier for them to find you if you are unable to give clear information.
2. I have found that during tornado warnings, my cell phone is unusable. The calls just simply can't get through. I have to use my house phone in order to check on my Dad and kids.

That having been said. I just dropped mine due to the fact I can no longer afford it. I am not comfortable with this change, but it is necessary.
In short, you do what you have to do, and learn to make the best of it.

I think I am ready to drop ours.. It is practically free with our cable company, but we now have not used it for a full year..

The reason I hung onto it was remember 9/11? All of the cell hone lines were so full it was hard to get a line to anyone,but our land lines still worked.. Also in case of emergency, I can fall back on the land line.. It is hard to let it go, but that $60. could go towards our daughters College needs.

Hard choice..

we dumped our home phone because we never used it. I have unlimited cell mins and everyone calls me on that. As for the sitter, most will already have their oun cell phone, so you dont need to worry.

I was going to say almost exactly what Joanna C. said! I also took us down to just the basic...no call waiting, long distance or voice mail! I believe land lines are still important and believe that those who say they don't miss them, haven't (thank goodness) had an emergency. Not all cell phones are able to be tracked by all 911 centers. Most, yes, but not all. Plus like she said, if you are without power for an extended period of time, you won't be able to keep a cell phone charged but if you have at least 1 phone with cord, you will be able to have a phone!

We dropped our land line ... the house is so much quieter as a result. Even so, I do worry about an emergency situation - hopefully, we won't regret our choice.

We moved here almost 3 years ago and decided not to get a land line. My husband and I both have a cell phone. (Where we live you can't get regular cable or DSL so that helped the decision). Anyway, we really haven't had a problem with it. If someone is watching our kids and they don't have a phone we leave one of ours. It seems to work for us.

We did drop our landline, but when we had our son 2 years ago, we got it back. And yes, it is for solicitors and to tell the caller that no, this is not Sue and Ron's house. BUT I feel a lot better if there is ever an emergency. There have been a couple of times that my cell's battery died and I didn't realize it, and one weird time that the cells are seemed to not work, I couldn't get or receive calls for about 45 minutes. You can always look into having the simplest plan that they have, or just leave it plugged in for emergencies (you may want to look into it, but if I remember correctly, I think you can still dial 911 without service. I could be wrong though.)

My sister and her family dropped their land line like a gazillion years ago....they haven't had any problems going with out!

I agree with all the posts below. We never have had a landline. However, we will consider adding a landline (stripped down version) soon for calling 911 only. It is so much easier for your children to pick up a landline and dial 911 and your address automatically pops up on the screen than for them to try and remember their address in times of stress. I suggest finding a company that offers a landline for extremely cheap.

My husband and I dropped our land line phone two years ago. It was the best decision we ever made. We got a US Cellular phone, so all our incoming calls, and texts are free, we only have to pay for outgoing. If we ever do have a babysitter in our home, and they do not have their own cell phone, we simply put some minutes on our tracfone, and leave it with the babysitter. We have not had a single problem with this system, and I think it works great.

We dropped ours, it was an unneccessary expense since we both have cell phones and really didn't spend much time at home anyways. Now that I'm home with our son, not much has changed, but I never considered the babysitter issue. We haven't needed an in-home babysitter yet, but I would imagine that most people have cell phones these days, and if they don't then you could consider leaving one of yours, or like someone else posted, just get a cheaper prepaid one to keep around for emergencies. Times are tough, you've gotta cut where you can! And trust me, you won't miss it, especially the annoying solicitors :)

We have no house phone - we did and used it only to contact our parents for about a month after we moved into this house, but realized it wasn't worth the cost. Most babysitters have their own cell phones now and, if not, you can purchase a pay-per-minute phone for $10 and $10 or $20 worth of minutes, if the sitter doesn't have a phone.

We dumped our land line almost a year ago and just have our 2 cell phones. So far...no solicitors calling...free long distance and when our daughter was living overseas we used Skype for video calls for free on our computer!!!
I would guess that most babysitters have a cell phone of their own and you could easily get their number so you could contact her while you are gone.
The only reason I could see having a landline would be if you talk enough on the phone that you are routinely going over your allowed minutes on your cell phone plans. We have 3 of our daughters on our family plan, all of our phone calls between our phones are not counted against us and we currently have over 2500 roll over minutes, just waiting for someone to use them!!!
I say dump that land line!!!

I haven't had a landline since 2000. My huband and I have cell phones, so why pay the extra expense.
And phones have GPS in them, so 911 can track your cell. That is no longer an issue.
And most babysitters have their own cell phones.
I don't miss it at all!