I decided to try to shave down my $125.00 monthly cable/phone/internet bill. I learned that if I return the HDTV converter box (allows us to watch everything on TV in High def) I will save $15.00 a month. BB is gone for 3 more months and he took the main TV with him, so the box is not even being used right now.
The cable company wanted $20.00 to send a tech to pick up the box, or I can return it myself for free. I opted to take it in myself.
As I stood in line waiting to return the box I congratulated myself on my decision to take the box in myself and save myself the $20.00. At work I earn $10/ hr and would have to be at work 2 hrs just to pay the tech to come and pick up the box- vs the 1/2 hr of time spent standing in line for free.
After thinking all these self- congratulatory thoughts I thought about how to lower my bundled services bill still farther. I pay $20 a month for a land phone line that I don't even use. We only have the land line so that the home security alarm will work in the house. So we pay $60 a month in home security services plus $20 a month on a land line to be able to activate the home security.
It sure would be nice to make that $80 bill go away. Unfortunately, BB and I purchased our house in a "transitional" or "up and coming" area and we very much need the security alarm. As I was standing in line today mulling it over- trying to anticipate the day that we could cancel both the home alarm and useless land line- I realized that we were actually paying a "hidden cost" associated with our house.
BB and I chose this house because 1) we love it and 2)because it was very inexpensive due to its location. However- buying a house in a bad area is costing us $1000 a year that we wouldn't ordinarily have had to pay.
If I really was concerned I could do some type of cost analysis to see if the lowered price of the house was worth the $1000 a year we pay (but off hand I think we still come out ahead), but really its a useless math problem. We bought the house- nothing we can do about it now.
I still love the house. Paying $80 a month on a service that we wouldn't need if we were living somewhere else is ok with me if that means we can live here. Its just an epiphany I had today while standing in a Comcast line.
And on another topic- my mortgage bill was paid today. I'm a nerd. I LOVE paying my mortgage bill!
The hidden costs of making a decision
June 13th, 2009 at 07:12 pm
June 13th, 2009 at 07:33 pm 1244921621
That's a real heads up tip about the phone when you have a security system. So many people are getting rid of their land line. I live in a hurricane area and some cell phones could be down as well. You can get the bill down by getting rid of some of the services.
I agree with you about taking items in yourself. I sometimes pick up my own pizza since it is so close by. Why pay the extra costs of tipping when you don't have to. Some of the coupons that are really good are PICK UP ONLY.
June 13th, 2009 at 08:09 pm 1244923791
Probably not feasible/cost-effective - just a thought..
or maybe even ones that use cell-phones... because if the house is broken into, it's broken into... it may not matter whether you learn about it that night or the next day.... actually it may not be a good idea to learn about it instantaneously as you don't want to succumb to the temptation of confronting dangerous intruders yourself (with BB)...
p.s. In Ireland, a lot of homes don't have security systems.. and the ones that do, only turn them on when the house is empty.... I've just realised you may turn yours on when BB is away... which is important for a lady on her own..
June 13th, 2009 at 08:13 pm 1244924021
We are lucky that our house came with the security technology already- we only had to pay around $200 to activate it. The original owner paid about $900 for the installation. Thats why we cant switch companies- we are kind of stuck with the system we have unless we want to pay a different companies installation and start up fees.
June 13th, 2009 at 08:29 pm 1244924956
June 13th, 2009 at 09:03 pm 1244927008
Do you have the landline service that is called 'measured service' or something like that? It usually is only $5 or $6/month (+fees and taxes). That might save you a few dollars a month on the landline.
June 13th, 2009 at 11:07 pm 1244934448
Honestly, I think those monthly monitoring services are a rip off. You can install a security system yourself for pennies in comparison. My dad always was DIY when it came to alarm, and we have great neighbors - we all look out for each other, and they know how to reach us if our alarm did go off.
It's funny you posted that though, because dh and I were JUST discussing how when we moved in everyone went out and got the monthly security monitoring (new neighborhood). They all had their little signs out, etc. These days, you don't see them any more. I assume most people can no longer afford them, etc.
Pest control, expensive lawn service (we have neighbors who pay more for a fraction of the work we get done), etc., come to mind as expenses that most people don't really think through. There are usually more affordable/better options. $80 seems pretty steep!!
June 13th, 2009 at 11:15 pm 1244934921
And our security company only charges us $30 a month...but we pay for the upstairs rental unit too. The renters had an existing lease before we bought the duplex that security was covered in their rent payment. So we pay both upstairs and downstairs- plus our own phone line to have ours hooked up (the renters pay their own phone bill).
...measued service though. hmmm I will look into that.
June 14th, 2009 at 04:03 am 1244952217
June 14th, 2009 at 04:08 pm 1244995680
June 15th, 2009 at 12:29 pm 1245068944
I recommend that, especially since you already have a dog right? One that looks like they can bite somebody's leg's off. Those are the best kind of home security.