Guess what? I'm not leaving... yet!
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
United States
June 22, 2010 12:38pm CST
So, last week hubby and I decided we'd cut back on our bills, down to the basic essentials, which is rent, power, and home phone, in order to help us catch up.
Then hubby made a good point. Since we're losing our cell phones and internet.. we'd have trouble keeping in contact with certain people, and more importantly, our online banking. I'll be the first to admit I'm terrible about keeping a ledger. I used to do it, but since I use my debit card everywhere I go, I forget. It's easy to write in how much you're writing a check for, but when you swipe your debit card 10 times a day, sometimes on $2 purchases, you can easily forget. That's why we check our bank balance online at least once a day.. more often when we're spending a lot. Not to mention we do pay some of our bills online because it's easier. I pay my power bill online every month! Otherwise I have to go to the post office to buy stamps to mail the check.. or go to one of those payment sites that only accept cash, and I never carry cash.. plus it's not easy to withdraw large amounts like is needed to pay my power bill.
Anyways, in the end I realized it actually is really important to keep the internet. Even though I mainly use it for games and other wasted time type stuff.. still you don't know how much you need it until it's gone. I mean gosh.. could you imagine having to actually use the phone book to look up a phone number? Ugh!! Perish the thought!! LOL
So I'm making no changes to my internet for the time being, not even dropping down to dial up. We did get our cell phones shut off, and I called today to cancel the cable.. but the internet is staying on!
So tell me... what sort of "important" things do you use your internet for?
4 people like this
16 responses
@meaqan (69)
• United States
22 Jun 10
the internet is important! I mostly use it to make extra money, do school work, and keep in touch with people. Now a days it seems like if you don't have internet you need a car to get to the library or your going to fail school. Half of the text books are online or CDs so they don't give you textbooks much anymore. I'm still in high school and start a college class Monday so if i didn't have internet i think my education would be decrease A LOT! You're right though, you don't know how much you need something until you really think about it or it's gone!
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
22 Jun 10
I don't think that's fair of the schools.. what if you can't afford to own a computer or have the internet? Back in my day it was strictly text books.. they should have kept it that way. Before you know it kids will be able to take all their high school classes online without ever stepping foot into a school!
@meaqan (69)
• United States
23 Jun 10
Actually, most teenagers now a days are taking classes online. I think i had 3 textbooks this year and one CD but really only used the CD more than 3 times this year. I mean the CD is convenient if you do have a computer but if you don't it sucks. I know half the kids in some of my classes had issues with homework because they didnt have a computer to print and no money for gas to go somewhere with one. On top of that the school library is closed half the time for testing or something so getting in there is like getting concert tickets last minute.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
23 Jun 10
My younger sister is in the same situation. My mother does not drive so she can't go to libraries. Though she does have a computer and the internet, she doesn't have a working printer and my mother can't afford one on a fixed income.
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
28 Jun 10
Hooray, consider yourself un-missed....
Important things? Mostly shopping for things that it's hard to find by running around and keeping in touch with people. My son needs shorts, we had bought him some at Old Navy last week. This week I got an online coupon for 30% off everything (still good today if you're needing anything, code ONBIG30), so I got him two more pairs of shorts. No need to go in and try them on, because he just tried stuff on last week.
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
28 Jun 10
I didn't buy enough to get free shipping, but the discount was enough to cover it and then some....
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
28 Jun 10
I don't do a whole lot of online shopping myself. Though one time I was in K-mart, probably starting a layaway or something, and saw a pair of Scooby Doo pajamas for my husband.. sort of a long running thing with us, every holiday he gets Scooby boxers or jammies and he loves them! Anyways, I couldn't put the jammies on layaway, so I tried to buy them but the lady at the register was being an idiot, so I got angry and walked out without them. Came and looked online and the same pair was like $2 less online with free shipping. Worked out well for me.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
23 Jun 10
Hey kats! Wow! That's a good way to justify keeping the Internet!lol
I have my 3 services connected and it is costing $135 a month and
that is quite a bit of money. Right now my Mom is helping me with
that bill since I am on SSD and have to pay $447 for Medicaid!
They give me money and take it back to pay for the worst medical
insurance anyone could possibly have and leave me barely enough
to pay rent only with no money left for anything and they don't
care how I live! So, I definitely know how you feel, just by what
I'm going through and believe me I'd rather deal with the State
then my Mother! If I had to give up my Cable it would still cost
me alot to keep the phone and Interent because they give me a slight
"break" for having the 3 combined services! I don't know what I would
do if I had to do without my Internet because I also do my bill
paying online. It is really a shame to have to live like this, but
everything is so damn expensive. Even though I hardly ever watch tv
I would still be lost without my Cable too!
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
23 Jun 10
We had that bundle pack before, and it got really hard to handle. That's why this time we kept the phone through Verizon. With a $30 phone bill a month, if we couldn't pay on time, we could go 3 months behind before a shut off notice, and even then it's only a $100 bill so not overwhelming to catch up on.. and we know how important it is to keep a home phone.
But with the bundle, if we got even 1 month behind it would be too hard to catch up, and then we'd face losing phone, internet and cable.
@JOIEMARVIC (2335)
• Philippines
3 Aug 10
I would suggest you to share your internet connection with a neighbor. Invest is a router and share an internet connection. It will cut your internet bills in half. I read that one in yahoo. You could even choose a better and cheaper internet plan that would suit your budget. The internet is really a necessity nowadays.
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I know we are cutting back as well, but we could not get rid of the Internet because my husband and I use it for school. I also use it to make a little extra money on here and am hoping to sell some of my crafts online. I switched my home phone service to Magic Jack so I can keep my long distance because my parents and my family lives out of state. I pay some of my bills online as well. I have noticed that a lot of companies are going the paperless billing and send the bill to your email instead.
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
5 Aug 10
I have no cell phone as well. I have to have the Internet because my husband and I need it for school. We both attend online universities and we need it. I also make extra money on here. The end of this month I am hoping that I will be able to start my online store. We are getting Direct TV since it is at a really great rate right now. We changed our phone service to Magic Jack which is saving us money.
@AmbiePam (85270)
• United States
23 Jun 10
That's great! The internet is how I can buy people presents. I mean being on disability, there is no extra. Never is there anyting left at the end of the month. So using the internet I can earn money, earn gift cards, and as a result, I am able to get people birthday or anniversary presents. It also allows me to do cokerewards, which would go to waste if I couldn't use the internet. And it certainly IS handy not to have to use a phone book to look up a number. 
The bill that makes me want to tear my hair out is the cable bill. I have basic cable, but am close to calling it quits because of the bill. I think they are going to cut a deal with me. I e-mailed them and asked if they could lower the cost. I told them about my situation. They gave me a number to call and told me to ask for a certain person. They said they thought they could negotiate something that would allow me to keep the cable and not go broke in the process. 
If they can lower my price by 15 dollars, I'll keep it. If not, then I'm getting rid of it.
The bill that makes me want to tear my hair out is the cable bill. I have basic cable, but am close to calling it quits because of the bill. I think they are going to cut a deal with me. I e-mailed them and asked if they could lower the cost. I told them about my situation. They gave me a number to call and told me to ask for a certain person. They said they thought they could negotiate something that would allow me to keep the cable and not go broke in the process. If they can lower my price by 15 dollars, I'll keep it. If not, then I'm getting rid of it.
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
25 Jun 10
That's wonderful news kats!
The only thing I can think of, other than online banking and to make my pennies, is to use it for my husband's work. He relies on mapquest when he has to go to locations he's not familiar with. Other than that, our Internet connection's not really needed. But it's reason enough for us to keep it.
Happy mylotting!
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
23 Jun 10
I check my bank account online quite often. I pay my car insurance and my cable bill online. The only really important thing I use the internet for is for my toffee sales. Usually(except for sweltering months like this one) that is more than enough to pay the cost of the internet and cable.
@ellie333 (21016)
•
23 Jun 10
Hi Katsmeow, It good to know that you will still be in touch with us all here now, I do think thesedays the internet is classed as an essential. I also rely on it for online banking etc. I also use to pay bills, MyLot and Ebay buying and selling, so I don't feel my time on it is wasted time really. An example of where3 being online helped this week was that last Tuesday I lost my bank card on the way back from the doctors, I was ill and had no money indoors and had to wait 3-5 days for a new one to arrive, I also didn't even have a slice of bread left so needed to shop. So although I couln;t shop online or get money via my card I was able to tranfer funds into my neighbours account online and she drew the cash out of her accountfor me and took me shopping, so that is a definite plus on why you should keep especially as you do seem to rely on using your carda lot of te time. Huggles. Ellie :D
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
23 Jun 10
Glad you can still be here! There used to be a time when I did not have the Internet and I don’t know how I managed! I do my work which is writing and I need the Net for my research. I use online banking which is fantastic because I can schedule my bills to be paid online and then I don’t have to worry about them. It is a really valuable tool and my daughter uses it for her school work too so we would not live without the Internet at our house!
@mariposaman (2959)
• Canada
23 Jun 10
I try to make the internet pay for itself. I am a member of a board where I get tips on shopping deals and coupons. I also try to earn a little extra cash on the internet, thus, other than the time spent, the cash outlay is not as draining.
I find television is mostly a wasteland, but there are some programs I like. If you are in the USA you can get most of the programs online now anyway. I live in Canada but I can get some programs that are carried by Canadian Carriers. You have to have a large bandwith cap though as streaming programs eat up a lot of bandwidth if you watch TV a lot on the internet.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
23 Jun 10
It is amazing how important the internet has become to our lives in recent years. It has made it quicker for all of us in some aspects to keep track of certain things and to help many of us find a way to earn a little extra money.
You are right being able to check an account is so much easier to do then waiting for a statement in the mail, etc.
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
23 Jun 10
I know how it is to cut back on expenses, my husband and I have to do the same. We have to keep the Internet because we just got that magic jack phone and we attend school on line. My husband goes to the University of Phoenix and I will be attending Regis University. We do not have cell phones yet, but I am hoping to soon.
I want to wish you the best of luck.
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
22 Jun 10
Lol, I can't say I blame you for keeping it, it's one of those things that's incredibly hard to live without. And really, since you're getting rid of cable and cutting back elsewhere it's not such a huge expense. You're right, the thought of walking into a bank to pay bills is pretty foreign anymore, I don't think I could go back to it either.
