Cellphone vs. Land line: Do We Need Both?

My roommate pays $35 for SBC internet, I tell him to get a wireless card and share the cable I'm paying for already in the house, but he keeps it cos he gets Direct TV and Phone bundled. Now add to the fact that we have a land line I never use... so now we've got technically 2 services adding up to $75 a month we could be saving, but he doesn't want to give them up because he thinks a land line is imperative for emergencies, as if my cell phone might just not be working some day, which is irrational nonsense.

The fact is he's used to doing things a certain way, and even with the numbers in front of him refuses to have an open-minded discussion about it.

In a situation like this, you can really just shake your head and let him do what he's going to do.

You should keep it as you have kids.

We have kept our land line but our two teenage girls have cells and so does my husband (primarily for work). Because I will probably never drive for health reasons I am housebound yet I want a cell. My husband says if we get it we get rid of the land line. There is a safety/security in both depending on one's circumstances. To me they both have their advantages. We must remember to control the machines and not let them control us. I think cell service could be better but will gradually improve.

I've also considered dropping the land line, simply because I'm over the annoying telemarketing calls, which, thanks to caller ID, I am able to avoid. My fear, though, was expressed in an earlier post. Having been through a couple of hurricanes in the coastal city in which I live, my fear is that I'll need a reliable land line to call for help should cells go down.

So, for now, I still have two phone numbers. :(

We went without a landline for three years, relying on cell phones.

These days we actually have a land line and keep a very basic cell phone plan for emergencies. We found we save more money that way. But then we don't use a cell phone that much to begin with, and we're both walking distance to work. We've found a prepay plan where we paid $20 for the phone and a $100 card that is good for a year. In ten months, we haven't even used half of that card's value. I say $120 for a year of cell phone is a great savings, even combined with the cost of a landline.

Vonage may be a good choice, but 911 works differently with them (we use Vonage at work). 911 calls are actually sent first to a Vonage service center who then forwards the call to a 911 service area based on the location listed in your profile. So if you have moved but haven't updated your Vonage profile, that creates a 911 dilemma. Not to mention, that extra 15-30 seconds of call transfer could be a major obstacle in an emergency.

We haven't had a landline in over seven years. We didn't have one before we had The Boy and we haven't had one since we had him. It seems to be working fine. He knows his phone number - it's The Man's cell number right now because that one was easier to memorize.

It has never caused a problem for us.