What level of technology are you at and what does it cost?

[BMW]

I am wondering because I sit here contemplating my next move...

 

I have high speed internet, at about $50 a month. I have a cell phone with an unlimited calling plan and no texting at about $60 a month. We do not like having cable and do not watch tv much ever.

 

I am considering an upgrade to my phone, which is with Verizon because the other local carrier here does not let you call Alaska, which is not acceptable because one of my besties lives there. I am considering looking at at&t (even though I absolutely detest their telephone customer support) for competitive pricing. I am also considering looking at other cell phone offers...

 

I am also thinking about texting... but I don't want to pay more than I already pay for monthly technology! I love the idea of my phone going online and using it for banking and all... but I hate the price tag! The other day a customer came to buy several items at Target, her bank card didn't work, she had me suspend the transaction and take care of other customers and she stepped aside, transfered money with her phone, then came back and paid! Other customers check their bank accounts as they are in line, too...

 

So... what level are you at and how much do you pay? Do you use your cell phone to talk, text, email, and do banking? What does that cost you?

[Prairie~Phlox]

We have iphones and do not have a text plan included but use an app called text free It works well for us. For two phones, we pay about $105 a month, both are iphones both have internet, etc. We do not have a land line. We pay $125 a month for HD cable and internet.

 

We are pretty technologically advanced. I love having my iphone.

[MeaganS]

We lucked out and were invited to join my in-law's family plan with AT&T for just the added cost of our lines. They had way more minutes than they could use, so they didn't have to up the plan for us. So both my husband's phone and my phone, with unlimited texting (which they already had), cost just $25 total. We don't text much. As for checking your bank online, that's not included with texting, that's a data plan, which is extra. We don't have a data plan.

 

We have high speed internet which is about $45/month because we don't have a phone line. We just use our cell phones. And really, that's all the technology we do. We don't have television, although we can watch pretty much anything we want online. But my husband is a student and funds are tight.

[BMW]

Is an iphone an iphone no matter what the carrier? Verizon has blackberries... are those the same as iphones? Does each carrier call their's something different?

 

Who else has iphones? If you don't have someone else's plan to join, what do you pay?

[Parrothead]

I'm able to check the finances before I leave home so I know how much I have to spend and won't get embarrassed at the check out counter.

[Tess in the Burbs]

cell phones: 2 lines, data(mine is unlimited and dh's is larger plan) and 200 texts each with ATT is about $130

 

home internet $60

 

no tv/cable

[elegantlion]

We have cable/internet bundled for 100.00/month. It's hi-speed internet and basic cable.

 

Our cell phones cost about 150/month for 3 phones on one plan. we have Sprint and 1000 minutes and unlimited everything else (data, texting, internet). We rarely use our minutes because we have free spint-to-spint minutes. Dh's phone is his business number.

 

We don't have a home phone. It was previously bundled with the cable for an additional 50.00/month. We dropped it after realizing how much just the phone was costing and we never used it.

[Luckymama]

cell phones: 4 lines, unlimited texting, 1000 minutes (I think), no data, with a 20% savings through dh's employer, $110ish with all fees and taxes, Verizon

 

dsl: $19.99 as part of our local phone bill (so unsure of fees or taxes)

 

no cable/satellite or anything for tv

 

We do have two phone lines because dh has a home office. I would love love love to have an iPhone but discretionary spending goes to tuition at this stage of our lives :)

[PinkInTheBlue]

Is an iphone an iphone no matter what the carrier? Verizon has blackberries... are those the same as iphones? Does each carrier call their's something different?

 

Who else has iphones? If you don't have someone else's plan to join, what do you pay?

 

An iPhone is only a device made by Apple computers and currently only used through AT&T. I guess just about everyone has Blackberries now, though. They aren't the same thing. I don't know anything about Blackberries except watching my friend use his work phone. I wouldn't care for it but I am an iPhone family. :) I love my iPhone.

 

As someone else said, keep in mind adding texting doesn't add data plan, which allows you to do banking and anything else under the sun you want! lol However, in my experience, adding texting is inexpensive. Data plans tend to be a bit more pricey; maybe $20 - $30 a month, I think. We have a lot of minutes (home business), lots of texting (maybe unlimited, I can't remember) and the data plan for 2 iPhones and our bill is about $150 a month/$75 a person. If you can afford it, it is so worth it. We love ours and I was very resistant at the beginning.

[Daisy]

Cell phones - Free long distance, more minutes than we could ever use, free txts to Verizon customers, 50 emails/txts a month otherwise. $70 for two phones. We've been on the same contract for 3+ years though because everything else is more expensive. We don't need all the extras.

 

Cable internet - High speed but not the HIGHEST speed. $38 a month.

 

No Cable.

 

I think that is pretty much it as far as what people would consider technology. We do have a membership with Netflix that costs us $17 a month (3 movies out at a time b/c we cannot do the downloads. Computer too old).

[KidsHappen]

My technology costs are ridiculous. We have basic cable, high speed internet and phone for $200 a month. I watch two tv programs a week and sometimes miss those. I use the internet a lot. My phone runs through my cable. We have had repeated long outages this week and my life almost came to a stand still. I do practically everything on-line - banking, meds, scheduling, communicating with family, research, this board (my life line). I could give up the rest of the package but the internet is the majority of the costs anyhow.

 

We have six cell phones. No company has a plan with six phones so we have to have two plans. The family (hubby, two teens and youngest two) has an everything plan and they use all the functions. I have an additional line that has calling only. We use Sprint and it costs $300 a month. I don't text and practically never use the phone but I carry it in case of emergency or if the kids need to get ahold of me. My teens are away from home now so I really want them to have a cell, my hubby travels and needs his for work so his is not optional, and the younger two are frequently away from the house so I also want them to have a phone. No one ever answers their phone but we can leave messages that they will get sometime.

 

So I spend $500 a month :001_huh: on technology that I only use one part of. The rest of the family could not function without all the rest (well I guess they could if they had to). I am assuming that everyone in my area pays about the same. We only have one cable company and everyone I know has both cable and internet through them. We do pay more for the cell phone plans because of so many people but everyone I know also has a cell phone as do their children. I supposed if we had to we could give up everything but a home phone (if no one had phones) and my hubby's cell. That would cut out costs down to $100 per month.

 

We spend very little on clothing, leisure, sports & activities, household needs, personal care and education so that we can afford this. We are pretty comfortable with the trade off.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We have four cell phones, unlimited text, but data on only one phone. It's $160/mo counting outrageous fees and taxes and whathaveyous. It'd be $180 for us to have everything on every phone. That is because we pay a higher rate on something else (don't remember what) because we don't have the package for the data. We originally all had all the services and it was $180 and I was greatly disappointed when our bill lowered so little when we took data off 3 phones.

 

We have AT&T currently, but have found that hubby can't use it at his job sites. So I'm considering our options as Verizon has better rural coverage. But hubby renewed his phone a few months ago. So it looks like we'd pay dearly for 3 phones to change but not one. The kids and I have a renewal available Oct 7. I have a particular phone in mind, but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be wiser to go ahead and get the iphone. Either way, I'm going to add $10 to my phone bill.

 

I wish they'd be more reasonable with the costs. If I could do $120 for all of us to have all features, I'd be happy....I think.

 

We currently don't pay extra for tv or internet as we're in a hotel on a weekly rate so it's pretty affordable. In the last apt, it was $60 for both. At home, it was about that including the phone but only because we didn't have to pay the cost of the phone.

 

ETA: Kids have been told that in order to keep service past April (the final upgrade time), they will be responsible for their own costs. If they wanted full packages, that puts it at like $27/mo plus the cost of a phone. I think they will probably decide to do that, but you never know what becomes "necessary" or not when they have to pay for it themselves.

Edited September 10, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[ChrissySC]

Well, I am "IT", but my cell does not have unlimited. I do not check e-mail on it, nor do I have unlimited texting. I do have two cells though. One is work, and one is home.

 

Note: I run a 64-bit desktop with dual monitors and 8 gigs of memory. :) We have cable, with dvr and digi expansion package. Yes, we have high-speed internet, a step above yours probably as it is almost 1.5 g. We have a home network, with server and wireless. I use a link stick to hook the tv to the wireless. We can surf on it too, LOL, and stream in Netflix or on-demand movies. Hmmm, what am I missing. Oh, yes! A nook - a wonderful asset. Download any pdf and you are off. Guess where my lesson plans are? Oh my, using pdf creator, I printed to pdf and stashed them in there for each subject. I bookmark where we leave off, LOL. This is a great time saver! Not to mention, I do not have to sift through all the paper everyday. I only need to go to lesson plans for science and history. We deviate too often and get sidetracked.

 

Oh, and we can surf the internet on the nook and two laptops - one is for dd9 and one is for dd3 (who broke the mouse again).

 

You know, after writing that, I need some solar power! ROFLOL Total cost - internet, phones, cable, etcetera .... about $300 each month. This does not include the jump in the electric bill, which is usually an additional 30 to 50 dollars for running that nonsense. And, don't include the cost of each device! ACK! We waited for things to go on sale and used discount points and coupons, LOL.

Edited September 10, 2010 by ChrissySC

[AngelaNYC]

We pay for one cell phone ($55/mo) with unlimited everything (we all have phones, though - long story)

 

Internet = super fast 50mbps wireless modem. (free) [one desktop 2 laptops]

 

Cable = full pkg, close to 500 channels and all the premiums in all the rooms. ($40/mo)

 

Phone = regular landline $50/mo. I'm switching to digital (cable) phone really soon (for $20/mo). Have you considered just getting home phone with the cable company? I know it's usually unlimited calling in all 50 states, Canada, & PR for about $40.

 

I work for the cable company, so they give me almost everything for free or heavily discounted.

[SapphireStitch]

No cable.

 

Bundled landline/DSL package (highest speed DSL, unlimited local and long-distance calling, caller ID) $80

 

2 TracFones (one for DH, one for me...pay as you go, capable of texting) $15-20 average per month for both

 

Total tech costs: $95-$100/month