My husband and I knew a transition was coming. After 8 years, he was getting out of the Army. We knew there might be a period of unemployment. We began planning at least 2 years in advance. We weren’t debt free yet. But we were well on our way. When the day came and he still hadn’t found a new job we tightened an already tight belt on our finances. We squinted our critical eye even harder at our budget to find anywhere at all we could further cut our household expenses. We found it in two items: Our cell phones and the cable bill. Now granted, we were already using what most people consider VERY basic levels of cable and cell phones. But we jumped from basic cable to a set of retro-old school rabbit ears on top of our old CRT television. And we made the jump to pre-paid cell phones. At first it was hard and it felt a little like we’d jumped off the edge of the world of technology. But over time, we realized that we really don’t feel the need to go back to having over a hundred channels to surf, often not finding anything we really want to watch anyway. And we now watch our minutes and spend on our cell phones only what we can afford and only use what we need. These two cuts helped us find slightly over $100 a month in our budget which translates to $1200 a year. When you look at it that way-it’s awfully hard to consider going back. So how about you? Do you have a budget? Can you find something you can live without? Take a look you might be surprised! I’d love to hear what you find.
These are basic-but even the upgraded models can be cost effective!
Ms. Practicality
rice & beans life 
Tara,
We’ve considered cutting both of these bills. But we’re locked in for another yr on both cable and cell phone. Breaking the contracts would result in huge fines. But its something to consider next year. I definitely think I could do without the cable. TV rots your brain anyway. But I do really love my cell phone…. we’ll see.
We love being off the merry-go-round of contracts. Life feels lighter without worrying about those darn contracts! And honestly, I like that if I don’t like a service I can take my business elsewhere. Check out some of the unlimited plans out there while you wait for your contract to run out so you know if making the leap is right for you when the time comes. You might be really pleasantly surprised to find what you can get in the prepaid world. I’ve had good experiences with Net 10 and Cricket in the area we are in. And I’ve had friends who have had good experiences with Boost and Virgin.