Are Smartphones really worth $1200 per year to use???

Quote from Maleficent : We did 6 years ago. So worth it! I don't even miss it.

For a couple of years I didn't have any type of cable/dish for tv. Just basic channels. I got by just fine until a year ago when I got DirectTv. I don't think I can ever go back. There's so much good stuff on DirectTv that I can't give it up. There have been many nights where I would stay home and watch tv instead of going out and spending money that I think it pays for itself.

What most people don't realize is how much they spend on eating out. Thats a cord they need to cut. I'm not just saying dinners, I'm talking about eating out for lunch everyday and Starbucks in the morning. If people did the math, it comes out way more than having a smartphone or paying for cable/DirectTv.

Quote from BayArea : For a couple of years I didn't have any type of cable/dish for tv. Just basic channels. I got by just fine until a year ago when I got DirectTv. I don't think I can ever go back. There's so much good stuff on DirectTv that I can't give it up. There have been many nights where I would stay home and watch tv instead of going out and spending money that I think it pays for itself. What most people don't realize is how much they spend on eating out. Thats a cord they need to cut. I'm not just saying dinners, I'm talking about eating out for lunch everyday and Starbucks in the morning. If people did the math, it comes out way more than having a smartphone or paying for cable/DirectTv.

i agree. when i lived at home i barely spent money on eating out..maybe once a week. the last 4 years of undergrad (in a college town with delicious food) and this past year in medical school (where i barely have the time/energy to cook good food) have cost my bank account and health so much. its definitely a cord i need to cut but just haven't been able to stick to it.

Quote from BayArea : For a couple of years I didn't have any type of cable/dish for tv. Just basic channels. I got by just fine until a year ago when I got DirectTv. I don't think I can ever go back. There's so much good stuff on DirectTv that I can't give it up. There have been many nights where I would stay home and watch tv instead of going out and spending money that I think it pays for itself. What most people don't realize is how much they spend on eating out. Thats a cord they need to cut. I'm not just saying dinners, I'm talking about eating out for lunch everyday and Starbucks in the morning. If people did the math, it comes out way more than having a smartphone or paying for cable/DirectTv.

Currently I go out to eat maybe once a month unless I am traveling away from home. It was a far different story until I started working at my current job. Before I would often stop for breakfast, go out for lunch and grab something quick, and then sometimes stop on the way home as well. It wasn't a daily thing but it did happen quite often.

Now I don't have the option of leaving work for lunch and there really isn't much but trees between my home and where I work. I would have to go about 5 miles out of my normal route to get to a fast food place.

Quote from BayArea : For a couple of years I didn't have any type of cable/dish for tv. Just basic channels. I got by just fine until a year ago when I got DirectTv. I don't think I can ever go back. There's so much good stuff on DirectTv that I can't give it up. There have been many nights where I would stay home and watch tv instead of going out and spending money that I think it pays for itself.

Oh we still watch plenty of TV, we just stream/download it all. Free > whatever you have to pay a month for directv.

Quote : What most people don't realize is how much they spend on eating out. Thats a cord they need to cut. I'm not just saying dinners, I'm talking about eating out for lunch everyday and Starbucks in the morning. If people did the math, it comes out way more than having a smartphone or paying for cable/DirectTv.

Oh definitely. Eating out is ridiculous. We save that for special occasions. I'm not a big fan of paying for entertainment. If there's a movie we want to see in the theater, we'll mostly wait until we can see it in the dollar theater or it comes out on DVD, unless I can sometimes get cheap tickets on SD.

And I agree about starbucks. $4-$5 a day for a drink is so far from worth it to me.

Quote from indngal : i agree. when i lived at home i barely spent money on eating out..maybe once a week. the last 4 years of undergrad (in a college town with delicious food) and this past year in medical school (where i barely have the time/energy to cook good food) have cost my bank account and health so much. its definitely a cord i need to cut but just haven't been able to stick to it.

Yup. I used to eat out daily. I figured, what the heck is $7 for lunch right? At the end of the month, my CC bill would come being hundreds of dollars and I was always an aw because I would say "I didn't buy anything!" Turns out that $7 lunch everyday adds up quick!

I stopped eating out and started bringing my lunch with me everyday and eating at home..it's crazy how much money I have been saving.

Quote from Iaaaiws : Currently I go out to eat maybe once a month unless I am traveling away from home. It was a far different story until I started working at my current job. Before I would often stop for breakfast, go out for lunch and grab something quick, and then sometimes stop on the way home as well. It wasn't a daily thing but it did happen quite often. Now I don't have the option of leaving work for lunch and there really isn't much but trees between my home and where I work. I would have to go about 5 miles out of my normal route to get to a fast food place.

Bolded part is exactly what I would do. I didn't feel it because it was only like $10 each time..but it really adds up when you're spending $20 a day on food, 30 days a month compared to what you can do with groceries and cooking at home.

Quote from Maleficent : Oh we still watch plenty of TV, we just stream/download it all. Free > whatever you have to pay a month for directv. Oh definitely. Eating out is ridiculous. We save that for special occasions. I'm not a big fan of paying for entertainment. If there's a movie we want to see in the theater, we'll mostly wait until we can see it in the dollar theater or it comes out on DVD, unless I can sometimes get cheap tickets on SD. And I agree about starbucks. $4-$5 a day for a drink is so far from worth it to me.

I have netflix. I'm tech savvy enough to know where/how to stream movies/shows. The problem for me is the convenience. Being able to turn on my tv and watch my shows from laying in bed after a long day of work is the best. I don't want to sit at my computer to watch something nor do I want to be constrained by the limitations of netflix/hulu.

I don't go to the movies either. What people don't realize is that even the $2 drinks at Starbucks easily add up to $60 a month. That's basically a whole other bill! That doesn't even include the premium drinks or any pastry/food items they might grab while their there

Quote from BayArea : I have netflix. I'm tech savvy enough to know where/how to stream movies/shows. The problem for me is the convenience. Being able to turn on my tv and watch my shows from laying in bed after a long day of work is the best. I don't want to sit at my computer to watch something nor do I want to be constrained by the limitations of netflix/hulu. I don't go to the movies either. What people don't realize is that even the $2 drinks at Starbucks easily add up to $60 a month. That's basically a whole other bill! That doesn't even include the premium drinks or any pastry/food items they might grab while their there

Again, it just all boils down to what/how you value your money, time and the product you're receiving.

I wouldn't wanna watch anything at a computer, either. DH downloads and/or streams everything so we can watch it all on the TV. He'll do whole seasons of shows at a time. We always have something to watch. It's plenty simple, and we don't have to pay $50+ a month for any service, where they make us pay for gobs and gobs of channels we'll never even watch. If they would charge like a buck or two a channel and let you pick just the ones you wanted, we'd totally do that. I just don't want to be forced to have all that other crap added to my TV. I couldn't give a flying fark about all the dumb spanish channels or the shopping channels, etc. I'd MUCH rather download stuff and watch it on TV than flip through all the garbage.

And maybe some people don't mind paying 60 bucks a month for coffee. Maybe they use that instead of cable.

I don't think there's a single product/service mentioned in this thread that's necessary for survival. So really, it all just comes down to personal preference.

I wish there was an app that would let deaf people talk with hearing people they see in person.

Quote from Maleficent : Again, it just all boils down to what/how you value your money, time and the product you're receiving. I wouldn't wanna watch anything at a computer, either. DH downloads and/or streams everything so we can watch it all on the TV. He'll do whole seasons of shows at a time. We always have something to watch. It's plenty simple, and we don't have to pay $50+ a month for any service, where they make us pay for gobs and gobs of channels we'll never even watch. If they would charge like a buck or two a channel and let you pick just the ones you wanted, we'd totally do that. I just don't want to be forced to have all that other crap added to my TV. I couldn't give a flying fark about all the dumb spanish channels or the shopping channels, etc. I'd MUCH rather download stuff and watch it on TV than flip through all the garbage. And maybe some people don't mind paying 60 bucks a month for coffee. Maybe they use that instead of cable. I don't think there's a single product/service mentioned in this thread that's necessary for survival. So really, it all just comes down to personal preference.

Only problem I see with streaming an stick with cable....

1. Not many good shows or series out there.
2. Live sports
3. NFL Network
4. Quality

Its almost like you have to decide what you might want to watch ahead of time... that's too hard. I like just channel flipping not an time investment in becoming a personal broadcast station. Plus you feel obligated to watch what you download or else it was a waste of time and/ or drive space.

So has anybody actually answered the original question? I see a ton of responses that indicate that nobody actually has to pay $1200/year to use their smart phone, but the question was whether smart phones are worth $1200/year to use.

So, if the actual price for a data plan for your phone was $1200/year would it be worth it to you?

Quote from boltman2007 : Only problem I see with streaming an stick with cable.... 1. Not many good shows or series out there. 2. Live sports 3. NFL Network 4. Quality Its almost like you have to decide what you might want to watch ahead of time... that's too hard. I like just channel flipping not an time investment in becoming a personal broadcast station. Plus you feel obligated to watch what you download or else it was a waste of time and/ or drive space.

I don't give a rat's ass about sports. And I only download the shows I like, so I want to watch them already. There's no "feelings of obligation." Plus we still get all the regular channels you don't have to pay for. They have tons of good shows. More than you can ever have time to watch.

Paying for TV is a huge freakin' waste of money.

Quote from ALVSGIRLY : I pay a little over $1200 a year for mine. We don't have a landline. DH has a line on the plan, but he doesn't even have a phone for it. He just uses his work cell, but wants to keep it because it has his baseball number in it ().

Do you actually pay 1200/yr just for the smartphone part (aka data fees)

for example, if I had a flip phone my rate would be the same ... but because I have an android I pay an extra $30/mo data fee. So my "smartphone cost" is 30x12=360/yr (NOT my monthly phone bill x12)

... it is worth the extra to get all of my emails on the go ... esp work. I was going to drop it and go back to a reg. phone and my wife (electronically challenged person) actually said "it's kind of nice to have at least one person be able to look something up when we need it".

Quote from Maleficent : Paying for TV is a huge freakin' waste of money.

Oh pa-shaw! You prolly say the same thing about sex!



how u doin?

Quote from stimpy : Oh pa-shaw! You prolly say the same thing about sex! how u doin?

Good stimpy, very good.