Got rid of home Internet!

[TheStrenuousLife]

*All prices in Canadian dollars. 

So, after speculating about it for a few months, I finally went ahead and cut my home Internet about three weeks ago (cable, 25 Mbps download / 2 Mbps upload, 400 GB usage limit) and am now banking an extra $60.00 per month.

After analyzing my average usage, which is around 15 GBs per month, I realized that it was ludicrous to be paying full price for 400 GB of usage.  I also calculated that the overwhelming majority of that 15 GB per month usage was in fact mindlessly streaming YouTube videos and the occasional show on Netflix.  I have been wanting to be more productive at home and focus on reading my massive collection of books (almost all acquired pre-MMM conversion), so cutting out my ability to stream YouTube is not exactly a hardship and is actually improving my life by forcing me to reach for a book instead of my laptop when my brain requires a little stimulation.

I have not gone entirely off the grid though.  I currently have a 5 GB per month LTE phone plan ($56.50 per month) that allows me to handle email, read the news, banking, and set-up a Wi-Fi hotspot to deal with business matters (generally uploading Word and .pdf files or legal research), etc.  I can double this capacity to 10 GB per month for an extra $5.00 per month, but thus far it has proven unnecessary as I am more deliberate with my Internet usage now and I am only at 2.5 GB on my phone this month.  I also have Internet at the office and the small business that I own, so if I am ever required to deal with with large files, I can stop by there.  And free Wi-Fi is becoming more and more common. 

All of this to say, thus far, this has been a great lifestyle optimization.  I find that when I go home now, my apartment is an oasis of calm and I truly unplug when I leave the office for the day or on the weekend.  Instead of scrolling through YouTube looking for my next dopamine hit, I spent Sunday afternoon listening to the CBC on traditional FM radio and kicking back with a good book.
 
This article from the Minimalists was what got me thinking about getting rid of home Internet:  https://www.theminimalists.com/internet/

PS: I wrote and posted this at my office while taking a coffee break.

[ketchup]

Kudos.  I'd much rather throw my smartphone in a lake than snip my sweet home fiber internet. :)

[DreamFIRE]

I thought about getting rid of my home internet when I had a very low cost cell phone service that provides 3 GB of data.  But they went out of business, so I switched a "pay as you go" cell plan, which costs me almost nothing, and kept my $40/mo home internet connection.  Free TV via an antenna and no paid streaming services, either.

[Missy B]

I bow to your badassery, Strenuous. I occasionally fantasize about doing that... and I have to have internet for work. Doing it on the phone doesn't cut it.
I do remember the calm of having an internet-free, tv-free home. Kudos.

[alsoknownasDean]

I've actually considered doing something similar.

I've got a long-expiry prepaid phone plan with far more data than necessary, and I only use 40GB on my DSL.

If I could cut my data usage to comfortably fit within the 16GB/30 days window, I could get rid of my DSL, and tether where needed.

I'm sick of how much time I spend compulsively on the internet. Time for a change, having to keep my data use within a certain window might be just the ticket. If I really need to do a bulk upload/download, I can find a free Wi-Fi hotspot, or go to my parents' place and use their unlimited internet, etc.

[Forever Wednesday]

That's great. I've also disconnected my home internet and haven't looked back.

Resisting the temptation to surf involves a degree of mental effort which, to me, outweighs the convenience that home internet brings. And if that resistance fails, I've lost a couple of hours of my life to surfing Youtube or news sites and have nothing to show for it. Call it a lack of willpower on my part if you wish, but it's actually kind of exhausting for me to live with home internet and fight this urge constantly. :)

Plus, you save some money! There are free WiFi hotspots everywhere if you need to use them.

[Freedomin5]

Good for you! I’m going to try a “lite” version this summer while living at the cottage for a month. Cottage has no internet, but the nearby (10 minute walk) clubhouse has free WiFi. We will see how it goes.

[callison15]

Sounds like a good plan, and something you've got me thinking about doing.  Here's my question/concern: when using the free wifi at the neighborhood library, coffee shop, etc, how do you protect the information you're sending on an open connection?  I have an online bank and thus do all of my banking online, should I be concerned about logging in and doing any banking business on a connection that's open to all? 

I read the minimalist article and have been thinking all morning that I could actually do this.  We go to the library about 2-3 times per week where they have free wifi, so taking my laptop to do a few things here and there is no big deal.  Would a good VPN take care of this concern?

[TheStrenuousLife]

A quality VPN should definitely protect you when using public Wi-Fi, if you are concerned about that.  To be honest, it doesn't keep me up at night with my personal banking, but if I am doing legal work I always use a company provided VPN when on public Wi-Fi.

Also, using your mobile phone as a hotspot, with or without a VPN, should be sufficient protection for personal banking.

And thanks for the support fellow Mustachians.  My next move may be to cut Netflix out as it does not really seem necessary any longer, but I will hold off making a decision on that one for a bit longer.

[GuitarStv]

Hmm.  We've kinda gone the opposite way.  Cut cell phone service and just have home internet e/VOIP for about 50$ a month.  My entire life is an oasis of calm because I don't have a device demanding attention from me every second of the day.  :P

Home internet is pretty important to us, as the fast connection allows my wife and me to simultaneously remote in and work from home on occasion.

[fluffmuffin]

I did no Internet and no TV for a year, and honestly, I loved it! My house was so calm and peaceful, and I got so much reading and writing done. The library was my best friend, especially the DVDs of TV series, and I would occasionally pay $1.50 for a Redbox.

Full disclosure, I did/do have a phone with virtually limitless data and hotspot capabilities as part of a relative's family plan. I didn't use the hotspot more than once or twice a month, though. I also sit at a computer for most of my workday, so it's not like I was 100% disconnected.

I'm now living with my SO, who asserts that human beings cannot live without the Internet in 2018. So I have it now? But I almost never use it for anything other than Netflix or HBO, which I would be just as happy to replace with library DVDs.

[alleykat]

That's great. I've also disconnected my home internet and haven't looked back.

Resisting the temptation to surf involves a degree of mental effort which, to me, outweighs the convenience that home internet brings. And if that resistance fails, I've lost a couple of hours of my life to surfing Youtube or news sites and have nothing to show for it. Call it a lack of willpower on my part if you wish, but it's actually kind of exhausting for me to live with home internet and fight this urge constantly. :)

Plus, you save some money! There are free WiFi hotspots everywhere if you need to use them.

This me exactly.  It really takes mental effort to avoid it.  If it wasn't for my work from days, I would gladly get rid of it even for a year to break my habit.  I have even considered just going in to work on those days but that is not going to happen. I enjoy my work from home days. 

[daverobev]

You can get a Fido tablet plan - $15 plus tax for 3Gb. A lot cheaper than your 5Gb plan.

I just did a live chat and they gave me 50% off for 12 months. So $8.50 for 3Gb.

[TheStrenuousLife]

You can get a Fido tablet plan - $15 plus tax for 3Gb. A lot cheaper than your 5Gb plan.

I just did a live chat and they gave me 50% off for 12 months. So $8.50 for 3Gb.

I'll take a look into that.  I'd like to still have the ability to send SMS messages for now but definitely optimizing the phone plan (which is still quite good by average Canadian standards) is on my to do list. 

[daverobev]

You can get a Fido tablet plan - $15 plus tax for 3Gb. A lot cheaper than your 5Gb plan.

I just did a live chat and they gave me 50% off for 12 months. So $8.50 for 3Gb.

I'll take a look into that.  I'd like to still have the ability to send SMS messages for now but definitely optimizing the phone plan (which is still quite good by average Canadian standards) is on my to do list.

How many texts? There is a Public Mobile plan which is $10 for 50 minutes and 50 texts a month... but you save $2 for autopay, and it goes down $1 for loyalty per year for a couple of years at least, and also for referrals.

I'm thinking of doing this myself.

[Optimiser]

I admire your badassity. I tried no home internet 10 years ago (before I had a smart phone), and it was rough. Part of me wants to do it again, but I fear I am too weak.

I make enough money running Swagbucks videos on my computer to pay for my internet access, so it wouldn't save me any money, but I am fairly certain it would make me a better more interesting person.

[Eucalyptus]

This thread is inspring me to cut down on my home internet useage. I still need it, but I'm going to see if I can get a cheaper plan based on how much I use....which I need to work out.


EDIT: GRRR. My Internet Service Provider doesn't show my useage! Just says "unlimited". Grrrr. Because I have an unlimited account :-(

[TheStrenuousLife]

You can get a Fido tablet plan - $15 plus tax for 3Gb. A lot cheaper than your 5Gb plan.

I just did a live chat and they gave me 50% off for 12 months. So $8.50 for 3Gb.

I'll take a look into that.  I'd like to still have the ability to send SMS messages for now but definitely optimizing the phone plan (which is still quite good by average Canadian standards) is on my to do list.

How many texts? There is a Public Mobile plan which is $10 for 50 minutes and 50 texts a month... but you save $2 for autopay, and it goes down $1 for loyalty per year for a couple of years at least, and also for referrals.

I'm thinking of doing this myself.

So, from March 25, 2018 to April 24, 2018, I sent/received (it is not clear on the breakdown but I would be surprised if I sent 599 texts) 599 texts, used 3.3 GB of LTE data, and 184 minutes of voice calls. 

I will play around with different plans but I think I am doing fairly well. 

[Cali]

My gut clenched when I read this. If I work from home 5 days a month the amount saved from not having to commute in to the office covers the cost of my internet and saves me about 10 hours of my life. Plus there are no temptations to go out for a quick coffee with coworkers, etc.

I adore home internet.