Cut internet out?

[boognish]

I'm curious if anyone does without internet at home? My internet only package from Charter is $45/month and the cost is a bit annoying.

Perhaps I can jump to the Republic Wireless $25 plan for some data, then use public wifi for everything else. I'stick with the $10 plan at first, but would have the option if it's too tough.

I think I'd be forced to be more productive and could save money.

Anyone cut the internet cord?

[JLee]

lol, never going to happen here.

[Ricky]

If $45/mo is breaking you for what is now as essential as food, then you need to reevaluate your priorities.

But no, absolutely not.

[LadyStache in Baja]

I'm with you OP, I think about it all the time.  It's not just the money, though that is part of it, it's also the wasted time.  Unlike TV, the useful part of the Internet is all mixed up with the wasting time part.  I often think I should just be strong and cut it, but where would I be without MMM?

Sometimes when I want to limit the time wasting, I'll set a timer for 8 minutes and I can browse whatever I want.  Another thing that helps is when you think of something you just have to google, try writing it down, and then once a day you can sit down and browse all your Google questions.  I've stopped doing  both of those things but it's time to start up again.

[lauren_knows]

The internet provides me endless entertainment, essential news, education for my job, and is more or less a requirement for full participation in society today. 

Rather than opt-out, you can always scale back to something that fits your use.

Me? I stream Netflx/Amazon, play games, and do some programming.  I have a 15/5 FIOS internet-only connection and it's $52/mo. No regrets.

[Reyes01]

I'd do it in a heart beat. DW, not so much:-)

[boognish]

I'm with you OP, I think about it all the time.  It's not just the money, though that is part of it, it's also the wasted time.  Unlike TV, the useful part of the Internet is all mixed up with the wasting time part.  I often think I should just be strong and cut it, but where would I be without MMM?

Yeah, it's not necessarily about the money, as much as it is me paying to have a constant distraction from other, more fulfilling things (reading, working out, generally taking care of things that I otherwise put off). My email and all that can wait. I'd still have wifi all day at work and wherever publicly available.

Ultimately, this is probably just a thought experiment, I doubt I'd do it.

[bluecollarmusician]

I get where you are coming from.  Probably not ever going to happen- for us anyway.  But I really ought to cut back.  I like that I barely watch tv anymore, but I imagine most of the time that I wasted watching TV as a kid is now wasted on the internet now...

[aschmidt2930]

Easy access to the internet saves me way more than it costs.  I wouldn't even consider going without internet in my apartment.  Give it a shot if you like, and serious respect to you if you can pull it off, but I think you'll find the Republic Data goes quicker than you think and "public" wifi isn't the substitute it seems.

[Rural]

I make more monthly through side gigs than the cost, even factoring in self- employment taxes. Plus I couldn't do my day job without home internet, and neither could my husband.

[mginwa]

I certainly need and want internet, but I'm very uncomfortable with the monopoly stranglehold Comcast has on me. I'd love to cancel it even for just a few months to negotiate a better deal. Sure, I can afford it, but I'm also being overcharged.

[Retired To Win]

I need to have internet access to do a lot of personal/investing business.  And my wife MUST use it for her consulting business.  So, not having it is not an option.

Alas, because we live a little bit "in the sticks" the ONLY internet service available to us is measured-service via satellite.  So, it costs us $90 a month for the usage we generate... and we do absolutely NO streaming of any videos, movies or music.

It's one of our lives' little bummers.

[Ricky]

I certainly need and want internet, but I'm very uncomfortable with the monopoly stranglehold Comcast has on me. I'd love to cancel it even for just a few months to negotiate a better deal. Sure, I can afford it, but I'm also being overcharged.

The Comcast rep...

[Zikoris]

I quite like having home internet, and at $14 a month for my half of it, it costs such a tiny fraction of my income that it's not worth worrying thinking about.

[Timmmy]

I cut it out last year in June.  Caveat is that we have unlimited 4g cell phones with tethering.  Even with that we are contemplating going back to having home internet.  It's a hassle to use the tethering with a lot of the devices. 

[lise]

I once went without internet at home for 3 months.  It was not intentional, I was moving house so cut off the internet but ended up not moving for 3 months.  This was back in 2004 before smart phones.  It was amazingly freeing!  I did find that I would get to work first thing in the morning with a "to do" list of items on the internet - check personal email (since no smart phones were around);  book airline tickets; download music (iPods were around!).  I didn't really care I was using work time to do personal stuff.

I now work freelance so need internet at home during the day - wish I had the willpower to turn it off between the hours of 7pm - 7am ...

[RyanAtTanagra]

I've thought about it, and just tethering and paying for 4g data when I do need to use it.  Right now work pays for my internet since I'm on call 24/7 and have to jump online at home and do work, but when that stops and I'm no longer working in IT I may get rid of it.  It's a harder choice than TV because it can be very useful, but if people were honest w/ themselves about how much time they spent on the internet that could be better spent elsewhere, it's really not that much different than cable as far as time sucks go.  And for the vast majority I would say there are alternatives for doing the things you actually need the internet for (tether with your phone, library, coffee shop, work, etc).

If $45/mo is breaking you for what is now as essential as food, then you need to reevaluate your priorities.

and you definitely won't die without it.  It's like cell phones now.  Humans got along happily in society for thousands of years without them, but now all of a sudden quality of life would be horrible without cell phones and internet.  When you challenge the idea you get met with the same death grip some people have on their cable packages.

If you think you might want to cancel home internet, do it.  It doesn't make you cheap, it means you're taking back control of your time.

[Tapp]

I don't know if MMM read minimalism blogs (that is how I ended up here). But at theminimalist.com, they talk of how getting rid of home internet has helped them greatly because they plan their internet usage. Therefore becoming way more intentional about internet use. I do not think the price of internet justifies getting rid of it. I think you should get rid of it based on the fact that it can be destructive towards your time and focus.

[alsoknownasDean]

I'd consider dropping DSL and using mobile broadband or even using just my phone for Internet, but not dropping it altogether.

I avoid using my work PC for personal use, and public wifi isn't THAT common here.

[LadyStache in Baja]

Ok, This conversation has got  me serious about cutting out the time sink.  So I'm issuing a challenge (I suppose I'll repost it in that section too). 

I'm going to be more intentional about my internet use.  While I'd like to just drop it completely, there are too many good reasons not to.  Which means I have to be more disciplined about it. 

For the next month, I will not use the Internet while my kids are awake.

Exceptions:
1. Skyping with relatives.
2. Communication with business partners through email and messenger ok.

Anybody with me?  OP?  Make up your own limits of course!

[JoJo]

I’m in the silent minority of no internet.  I have had it in the past and been too addicted – wasted too much time and gained too much weight.  For my internet fix I rely on 3 sources:
1.    Smart phone where I can get e-mails, check news, and minor (very slow) searching ($39 a month Go Smart unlimited)
2.   Work computer – I often surf during lunch
3.   Library – free wifi but I have to walk 25 minutes each way to my local branch.  There’s another branch on the way home from work so I sometimes drive to that one.
Yes, it is a bit annoying but it’s livable. 

[caliq]

You guys know there are tons of productivity extensions for web browsers that can seriously cut down on your wasteful time on the internet?

I use Productivity Owl for Google Chrome -- it's pretty good though there are some features that I can see others would find annoying.

I have a set 'free time' schedule where I can do whatever I want on the internet, between the times I specify.  Then I have non-freetime hours, which block specific websites on a list I provide (I have Facebook and *gasp* MMM on the list, lol).  Also during the non-free time hours, the Owl only lets me stay on a web page for 60 seconds (though you can change the time allowed) before automatically closing the tab.  There's an exceptions list for that, so certain websites I can stay on free and clear no matter what the time slot is designated as (I have Google, Gmail, various academics related sites, etc. on this list).

It's really quite great.  It actually has upped my productivity a lot, despite the fact that I can technically go into the settings page and change my free time whenever I want.  Just knowing that I'd be violating a previously determined 'reasonable' limit of time wasting makes me think twice and go find something better to do :)

[lise]

You guys know there are tons of productivity extensions for web browsers that can seriously cut down on your wasteful time on the internet?

I use Productivity Owl for Google Chrome -- it's pretty good though there are some features that I can see others would find annoying.

I have a set 'free time' schedule where I can do whatever I want on the internet, between the times I specify.  Then I have non-freetime hours, which block specific websites on a list I provide (I have Facebook and *gasp* MMM on the list, lol).  Also during the non-free time hours, the Owl only lets me stay on a web page for 60 seconds (though you can change the time allowed) before automatically closing the tab.  There's an exceptions list for that, so certain websites I can stay on free and clear no matter what the time slot is designated as (I have Google, Gmail, various academics related sites, etc. on this list).

thanks for telling me about this!
It's really quite great.  It actually has upped my productivity a lot, despite the fact that I can technically go into the settings page and change my free time whenever I want.  Just knowing that I'd be violating a previously determined 'reasonable' limit of time wasting makes me think twice and go find something better to do :)

[Kaydedid]

We are also in the silent minority with no subscription internet - especially since husband and I are under 30.  When we got married a few years ago, I went from fast Internet and cable to no internet or tv.  It was a shock, but now I love it.  I read a lot more, and there are suddenly way more hours in the day.

I do have a (free to me) 4G smartphone with a huge data plan, which I still use too much for internet things.  The hardest thing is printing, but the library is only a few blocks away and we have relatives in town with nice Internet and printing setups.

We do discuss getting regular Internet every once in a while, but the convenience and extra time-wasting just isn't worth an extra $600+ a year (not to mention dealing with the big cable companies).

[I'm a red panda]

I wouldn't be interested in dropping internet. 

I am going to drop the data plan on my phone now that I am off contract.  That is just a luxury, and not at all needed.

[Dimitri]

If $45/mo is breaking you for what is now as essential as food, then you need to reevaluate your priorities.

But no, absolutely not.

If I was paying $45 a month I would drop it in a heartbeat.  This month COX just raised my rate from $27.99 to $29.99 which didn't make me happy at all.  All I use it for is to pay bills (which I could do just as easily with an envelope, check and a stamp for a lot less money per month), check account balances, and browsing websites (like now).  I probably could do all of these things on my 4G phone (which my company pays me $75/month to have which nets me a $40+/month profit - it is an electronic leash) but I hate the phone because the screen is in my opinion too small to read easily.  The internet is a nice luxury to have but certainly not a necessity.

[RFAAOATB]

My bill came in and I am not happy.

$89.99 for 150 gigs.  I got an email that I exceeded my limit.  The last time that happened the fee was $15.  Now the fee is $76.34.
I'm about to give them the modem back and cancel home internet service. 

My biggest loss will be hours of Netflix at home.  Considering this is Ash Wednesday, I'll make it my Lent sacrifice instead of ice cream.  Afterwards we'll see if I'm either itching for internet, want to avoid sending them money, or indifferent to the cost.

[caliq]

My bill came in and I am not happy.

$89.99 for 150 gigs.  I got an email that I exceeded my limit.  The last time that happened the fee was $15.  Now the fee is $76.34.
I'm about to give them the modem back and cancel home internet service. 

My biggest loss will be hours of Netflix at home.  Considering this is Ash Wednesday, I'll make it my Lent sacrifice instead of ice cream.  Afterwards we'll see if I'm either itching for internet, want to avoid sending them money, or indifferent to the cost.

Holy crap, what service do you have?  Mine doesn't meter our usage...we'd be so screwed if they did :(

[JLee]

My bill came in and I am not happy.

$89.99 for 150 gigs.  I got an email that I exceeded my limit.  The last time that happened the fee was $15.  Now the fee is $76.34.
I'm about to give them the modem back and cancel home internet service. 

My biggest loss will be hours of Netflix at home.  Considering this is Ash Wednesday, I'll make it my Lent sacrifice instead of ice cream.  Afterwards we'll see if I'm either itching for internet, want to avoid sending them money, or indifferent to the cost.

ouch!  We're just over 90GB since Feb 1st. Are you in the US? That seems to be an awfully low limit.

[RFAAOATB]

Up in the not so frozen Alaska, where GCI has us over the coals.  It looks like they just rolled out a no worries plan, which throttles speed to 1Mbps instead of having an overage charge.

http://www.gci.com/internet/plans

Consider my upcoming cancellation a data point for why these overages are bad business.

[firewalker]

Good one caliq. I just got it. Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy crap.  I'm a little slow.

[caliq]

Good one caliq. I just got it. Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy crap.  I'm a little slow.

....whaaa?

[RFAAOATB]

Surprisingly they did not try to talk me into staying.  I gave back the modem, payed the bill, and will have one more pro rated bill next month for ten dollars.  I survived one night without home internet.  I'll keep asking old people how they did it in the dark ages.