Nosey About Your Monthly Bills: A Questionnaire

[rabid_child]

I'm trying to figure out how many unnecessary services I can eliminate next year (going to grad school, for anyone who missed that boat), and I figured I wouldn't get a land line, because I have my cell phone, and I won't get cable TV, because the only time I watch TV is to go to sleep at night, and I think I can manage with broadcast TV and DVDs. I actually think it might be cheaper to do NetFlix or something and just always fall asleep to a different old movie. I don't want to skimp on internet though considering how vital it is to education now, and I work poorly in libraries.

My bad habits aside...

How much do you pay monthly for internet? cable? phone line? (and what sort do you have?)
Do you feel its worth it?
And... where do you live? (just for point of reference)

[msbunnicula]

I'm in Canada, so these are all in CDN funds:

Internet: $39.99
Phone (land line): ~$30; (cell): $20 (plus tax and some other sort of fee...I think that it works out to around $26)
Cable: ~40

My bf pays all of the cable bill and half of everything else (I'm a poor grad student too).

I couldn't live without the internet and while I could live without cable, I like having it because I like to veg out in front of the tv. I could definitely do away with one of the phones though because I rarely use either of them. I'll continue to pay for both of them though because I need a land line for my apartment's buzzer and I have become accustomed to having a cell (and I have a year left on my contract).

[MollyCat]

I live in Canada too

Internet :$12.95/mth(it's called high speed extra light..there ain't no high speed about it!)
Land line: $24.00 plus long distance of about$4.00/mth
Cell: was $22.50/mth but I got rid of my cell phone to save money
Cable: included with my rent but basic cable is around $40.00

I used to have call answer on my phone but ditched that and got an answering machine for a savings of $7.00/mth

[FreshTart]

rent - $300, optional
cell - free (I work for cell company, other then that, i wouldn't have one; I barely use it)
landline - free (I use my bf's)
internet - free (although, when I lived on my own, it cable and internet combined for $70/mon)
student loan - $570/mon
bus tickets - $30-$60

[bethanie]

electric: 20-50
phone...right now 80, yikes, but I'm going to cut all my services before summer. I got scammed into something I don't need again.
Interenet: 20
Insurance: 80 (just got in a wreck, it used to be about half that)

That's it on the bills for me. Except rent

B

[cyk]

Texas:

Rent: Free (condo)
Cable: Free
DSL: 26.95
Phone Line: About 21
Mobile Phone 14.95
electricity: 75 - 105

I would like to get rid of my land line... I'd rather have a cell phone than a home phone... because I think it is more useful if I ever get stranded on somewhere or need to call someone when I am out.

[VegKitten84]

Cable: 29.99
Cable Internet: 45.76
Phone: 30.00 (land line)
Bus Pass: 56.00

[SallyK]

Oh, if only we could live so inexpensively...
Our land phone line is a complete waste of money if you ask me....but we pay the phone company $70-80 for the land line and DSL. I could do without our satellite TV (although I would miss Sirius quite a bit). My husband claims he could not live without the Dish DVR though. We pay about $84 a month to Dish. Our cell phone bill (for 3 phones) is anywhere between $100 and $150 a month. I'll spare you the boring details of all of our other monthly bills....

Oh yeah, forgot to say that I live on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin, near St. Paul/Minneapolis.

[kpickell]

DSL Internet: $19.95/month
Telephone (landline): $17.95/month
No cell phone. No cable tv.

I live in Indiana.

Before I got DSL, I was using Dial Up for $9.95/month through Wal-Mart and calling to cancel regularly in order to get every couple of months free. I decided I could afford an extra $10/month for the higher speeds and signed up for DSL while SBC/Ameritech was having a promotion.

[mysteriouspoet]

Texas:

Rent: Free (condo)
Cable: Free
DSL: 26.95
Phone Line: About 21
Mobile Phone 14.95
electricity: 75 - 105

I would like to get rid of my land line... I'd rather have a cell phone than a home phone... because I think it is more useful if I ever get stranded on somewhere or need to call someone when I am out.

Do you mean to say you live in a place for absolutely nothing?

[remilard]

Do you mean to say you live in a place for absolutely nothing?

He owns his home, so he doesn't have to pay rent.

[remilard]

Rent: 550
Cable: Included in rent
Phone: Included in rent $10 long distance on average
Internet: Included in rent
Bus tickets: (transportation is free 90% of the places I go so I just buy tickets) $10 per month on average.
Renter's insurance: $12 per month

[catswym]

rent: 587.50 (one bedroom in a four bedroom apt)
cable/internet: ~100
cell phone: 45
T pass: 120
utilities: avg 75

i live in cambridge, ma. it's damn expensive.

[kraftykraft]

internet - $42 - it is DSL and I wouldn't trade it for the world. When I was in grad school, I had dial up to save a few bucks and it was the slowest thing imaginable.

Cable - $31 - Digital cable. I love my TV!!! when I was in undergrad, I lived five years with no cable and vowed that when I graduated, I would treat myself to cable. Love it!!

Cell - $44 - free long distance, weekends and after 9:00 on weekdays. My whole family has verizon so we can go cell phone to cell phone without using minutes.

Landline - $37 with caller id, call waiting and call waiting caller id.

[rabid_child]

rent: 587.50 (one bedroom in a four bedroom apt)
cable/internet: ~100
cell phone: 45
T pass: 120
utilities: avg 75

i live in cambridge, ma. it's damn expensive.

CRIPES!! Almost $600 for 1/4 of an apartment?!? You might as well live in NYC :D

The apartment I'm looking at right now is 1 BR $700/mo incl heat/hot water.

[catswym]

CRIPES!! Almost $600 for 1/4 of an apartment?!? You might as well live in NYC :D

The apartment I'm looking at right now is 1 BR $700/mo incl heat/hot water.


but then i'd live in NYC. :-/

yeah, i'm always amazed when people tell me prices of their places. and as you can see, mine doesn't include ht/ hot wtr.

and no, my grad student stipend is not siginificantly larger than any other place.

[bethann]

I'm in graduate school, although my husband does work, abeit for a non-profit:
Mortgage: $800 (includes taxes, home owner's insurance, extra towards principle)
Landline: $30
Internet: free dialup from university (crappy service, but might be a possibility)
2 Cell Phones with shared minutes: $40
Cable (basic): $10

We're considering switching to Cavelier, picking up a DSL connection, and adding long distance service back in, which would take Land line/DSL to $70 or so a month.

Edited to add: I'm in the Wilmington, Delaware region.

[stellar26]

I live in the metro area of Minnesota.

Rent: $362.50 (Per person. There are 4 of us living in a 2 bedroom apartment.)
Cell: $20.00
Cable: Basic cable included in rent
Gas: $20
Water: $30
Internet: $50 (high speed)
Electric: ? I know that we pay it, but I don't collect the checks for that one. I don't remember what we usually pay for electricity.

We don't have a home phone line because we all have cellphones. Also, I pay $60/month for a parking spot in a heated garage located below my building.

[FalafelsRule]

How much do you pay monthly for internet? cable? phone line? (and what sort do you have?)
Do you feel its worth it?
And... where do you live? (just for point of reference)

I get all three services combined on one bill at the rate of $100.00 per month.

Yes, I feel it is worth it at $33.33 each.

Carmel, IN.

[zoebird]

i live in the philly environs of pennsylvania.

we do not have cable or a long distance service provider. our land line is our line for the internet--and that's it's primary use. i have a cell phone for business. the land line costs $16/mo. my cell phone costs $35/mo.

our internet costs are interesting. Right now, we pay a local ISP $55/quarter, which is $220/yr which is $18.33 per month. we're considering netzero at either $10/mo or "high speed" at $15/mo. we haven't decided yet, but $8 is a pretty decent savings. it seems that $3.33 isn't that significant, because thta's only $39.96 in savings a year. But perhaps every little bit helps. who knows?

[vggiegirl]

I'm trying to figure out how many unnecessary services I can eliminate next year (going to grad school, for anyone who missed that boat), and I figured I wouldn't get a land line, because I have my cell phone, and I won't get cable TV, because the only time I watch TV is to go to sleep at night, and I think I can manage with broadcast TV and DVDs. I actually think it might be cheaper to do NetFlix or something and just always fall asleep to a different old movie. I don't want to skimp on internet though considering how vital it is to education now, and I work poorly in libraries.

My bad habits aside...

How much do you pay monthly for internet? cable? phone line? (and what sort do you have?)
Do you feel its worth it?
And... where do you live? (just for point of reference)


ComEd: $24
Nicor (Gas): $27.90
ComCast cable: $65.90
Netflix: Cancelled
Landline: none
Cell: Work paid, but it's a $50 plan
DSL: None right now :cry: looking into it! I will just get Comcast Cable internet, $50/mo.

This is in Chicago.

[marleah]

I live in rural Kansas ...

* Rent is free (my grandma's old house, owned by my mom)
* Cable tv and cable internet runs around $65 (for both)
* My husband and I share a cell phone plan for around $85 (but it's national freedom with Alltel, so when we go to grad school out of state, we can keep the plan and not pay roaming)
* Electricity and gas is $100 (I'm on budget billing, so it's the same every month, but the actual cost varies)
* Land line is about $25
* Water, garbage, etc. is $45
* Car payment is $170 (my wonderful new - well, 2000 - car!)

I have probably forgotten something ... what I REALLY like is when I fill up my car (Ford Focus), I have yet to pay over $20 for a tank of gas, even with prices as outrageous as they are.

Edit: Yes, I think it is worth it. I did not have cable until my husband was living with me after we got engaged - that was one of his conditions. Now I don't think we can go back. Same with cable internet ...

[winking_turtle]

I live in the heart of Seattle, Washington (head east of the Space Needle one mile and you'd be near my front door). I'm in grad school as well and get most of my related costs covered, but my day job doesn't pay a tremendous amount so I do have to keep a reasonable budget for most of my dollars.

Rent for a non fancy but kinda funky in a good way 1 bedroom: 695
Off street parking (vital for sanity's sake): 20
Cable internet & digital cable: 100
Electricity: 10
Landline: 40
Bus pass: 13 (subsidized through work)

I pay substantially less for my rent than average neighborhood rates - partly due to the fact that I've lived in the same joint for almost ten years and partly because I have a kewl landlord who doesn't charge extra if you can see pretty mountains or water from your place. I also have the luxury of living a mile's walk from work & school. Not commuting is the best.

I could pay less for cable & internet access, but I like the services I have now & don't want to go through the hassle of changing email addresses. I do sorta wish I didn't like tv as much, but dang if I don't want to see sports & BBC America. I don't and won't have a cell phone.

I've had people offer me $100/month for my parking spot but ain't no way I'll be giving that up as long as I'm in this neighborhood - parking is a big ole pain. It's technically illegal to keep your car parked on public property in the same place for over 24 hours - I know of folks who have lost their licenses due to unpaid parking tickets because they left their cars in the same spot for too long (or have flat out forgotten where the car was parked). I don't drive daily and wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of needing to move the wheels.

[mysteriouspoet]

He owns his home, so he doesn't have to pay rent.

ok, that was confusing. I thought there was some obscure reason, and "condo" didn't make sense. I own my condo would have.

Be clear, people. For goodness' sake! :p

[mysteriouspoet]

Some of you are so lucky, owning your own places!

And some of you aren't as lucky, ickily sharing apartments with far too many people (in my opinion sharing an apartment with more than one person sucks).

Even though I'm 21 and work in a dining hall, I know I am worth more than having to share a place with 500 other people. :)

<<hoping to join the ranks of cyk et al...