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Entertainment/Communications plans

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  • #1

    Entertainment/Communications plans

    Okay, I was wondering what hte consensus is here, for the most part, for maintaining a reasonable budget on the following:

    1. Phone
    2. Internet
    3. Cellphone
    4. TV

    Now, I have 3 boys so I think I do need at least some entertainment. Not saying they need the full digital cable package and I am not enticed by teaser rates.

    It seems (and I admit I don't follow all of the threads here) the consensus at the forum may be:

    1. Landline + DSL
    2. Net flix so I can stream programs
    3. Minimal cellphone plan (I saw one from Virgin Mobile - unlimited texts and 300 minutes for $25/month)

    This probably keeps me @ $100-125/month.

    However, if I am missing anything here, let me know. I have thought about getting a digital analog converter box and going with the 10 basic channels.

    I'll entertain any and all alternatives and appreciate all the legwork people have done before me.

    Again, I do think some entertainment is necessary, even if just movies for the kids. I like movies too.
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  • #2
    I guess it depends on your "needs". I don't watch TV, so just $61 for cable internet (i need to get lower), 50 for personal cell (hardly use since work cell), and 16 for netflix. Everything I watch is online, via my workstation/PS3.
    "I'd buy that for a dollar!"

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    • #3
      Honestly for us it's:

      1. Cell phones on a family plan
      2. Cable (I like to watch tv. (Basic plan)
      3. Internet-not a necessity if you need to cut something.
      4. Haven't had a land line in 5 years.

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      • #4
        What we do:

        - cable/satellite: We don't. We've decided there are better ways to spend our time. We do watch TV, but over the air and we have netflix.
        - no land line
        - DSL for internet is $33 per month (which my employer pays for)
        - Vonage for home phone is about $15 per month
        - wife and I both have Tracfones; ends up being about $7/month for each of us
        seek knowledge, not answers
        personal finance

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        • #5
          We have a landline, cable TV and internet and cell phones.

          I think cable internet is better than DSL. It is faster and about the same price. With DSL, which we used to have, streaming video wasn't really possible. It was way too choppy. Now, we frequently stream video both on the computer and on the tv through the Wii with Netflix.
          Steve

          * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
          * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
          * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

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          • #6
            For TV I do over the air, DVDs, and an occassional Hulu viewing.
            For phone I also use tracfone and I do have a land line, but plan on dropping the land line once spring arrives. The land line will be replaced with MagicJack phone service.
            Internet is through the cable company.
            Once I drop the land line, my yearly cost will be $25 (MagicJack) + $80 (Tracfone) + ($22 * 12 for the internet). Thats about $30 / mo.
            Don't torture yourself, thats what I'm here for.

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            • #7
              We currently have a landline but are in the process of switching to cell phones only.
              We just have an antenna for the TV and a homemade DVR system that allows us to watch Hulu on the TV.
              We have DSL internet but will be switching back to cable when we can (DSL is too slow).
              Cutting our cable TV and our TiVo subscription was one of the best decisions we have made. I did not think I could do without either of those but now I don't even know they are gone. I can still watch everything I want to. There's always a cheaper way! Good luck to you.

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              • #8
                I think you might want to cut off on the landline, since it is likely that all of you will have your own phones. On the other hand, Net flix is good, but there are still cheaper alternatives, such as downloading on your own.

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