I just don't think this is viable. We're about half way through our billing cycle and we've used over 1GB of data and ~900 text messages (about 60 are mine). For work, I most definitely need a smart phone of some type, as I need to be able to remotely log in to servers in the case I'm not by a computer. Perhaps this is something I can pitch to my employer, but I'll probably wait until I'm there for at least a year. When the baby comes, I'm almost positive my wife's usage will stay the same or even spike, given that she's going to be sharing a LOT more pictures.
I was thinking about switching to just Xfinity internet or possibly switching to AT&T U-verse. Either way, I think I could get just the internet for ~$45/month without a contract for 12-20 Mbps. This would be about 1/3 cheaper than what we're currently paying.
Very nice, I'll queue that one up! Tonight we're going out to a fancy dinner for our 4 year anniversary, so maybe I'll bring it up then. The irony of the situation amuses me.
I'm typically one of the last people to deliberately "punch" someone for their thinking, but forgive me, I feel especially compelled to do it today for some inexplicable reason. Adroit, you're being irrational about your internet and cell phone usage and you should
read the guide I've put together on the topic as has been suggested twice now, both by myself and TLV. I do contract IT work for a living out of my home and
our total telecom bill for my wife and I averages between $60-65 a month!I don't want to hear about how you can't possibly cut down your cell phone usage costs or your need for super ultra mega broadband service, or a need to pay $99 a year to be able to enjoy Astros games even if you're in a market that's gone cable-only for broadcast when baseball is one of those rare sports that is so laid back, relaxed and awesome when paired with a good radio broadcaster that you can sit out in a hammock on a warm summer evening with a cold beer, close your eyes, listen and thoroughly enjoy the game on AM radio like your grandparents did. I'd even go so far as to say that baseball is one of those rare sports that can actually allow you to recreate entire games in your head just reading the post-game statistics!
Sorry, bit of a rant there and the last part wasn't entirely directed at you. It's out of my system now.
Anyway, okay... data access for work on the mobile pushing a gigabyte or two. Okay, fine, workable. So's the insane level of SMS text messages. The carrier is called
Ting, and it's a Sprint MVNO owned by Tucows that allows for Verizon voice roaming. The buy-in is expensive and the per-month fees aren't the cheapest in the MVNO prepaid market, but per month for 2GB of data, 1000 SMS messages and 500 minutes on two handsets would only run you $68 a month, and that's not even trying to cut back on usage or utilize alternate free texting methods like Google Voice or bringing back a home phone line via a VoIP provider for less than $10 a month to gut the minutes used. If you have GSM handsets, there's Airvoice, H2O Wireless, StraightTalk, T-Mobile, etc., etc. I won't link them all as they're already in the guide.
As for the photos? You don't need a cellphone plan and MMS functionality to send photos. There's e-mail, Picasa, Flickr and Facebook just off the top of my head. All use regular data services either from a desktop computer or via WiFi on a smartphone. There is absolutely no reason why your wife's
mobile communications usage should
EVER spike when she's home with wired data and voice access that you need anyway that's available for a fraction of the cost!
It may not be much towards your total saved spending goals per month, but everyone here suggesting you tackle these bills first is right. These are the easiest and most consistent things you can decimate in your budget RIGHT NOW.
As for your approach with all this, not having your wife on board, baby on the way, and considering bringing up "the talk" on your anniversary? Let me offer you a little bit of friendly if not a bit deservedly hostile marital advice from someone older than you and who has not only been happily married for ten years but also had a failed marriage under his belt from before this decade of bliss, especially since you have a child on the way.
ARE YOU INSANE!? This reads like one-way ticket to Splitsville behaviors, dude, and is
not going to end well. You know how the Bible draws parallels between relationships and teams of oxen, and states that for a successful marriage to work, the pair must be equally yolked? This isn't just some silly talk about spiritual beliefs like most modern believers try to paint it, defending some asinine bias towards marrying within the denomination. This is awesome, free, insanely wise sage advice that applies to every last single aspect of anyone's relationship. It is imperative that you work together as a team, unified, or it will only end in injury and destruction.
Yes, you should both get on board together and have the same goals as soon as possible so you can work together towards a unified goal. No, you
do not try and do that during a special event marking a significant milestone in your relationship, especially doing it cold! She's gotta be warmed up to the idea gradually, because this is about changing some deeply seeded and ingrained patterns and habits. You have the kid on the way which will help spark the catalyst for positive change for you both, utilize that, but don't do it in a jerky way (like I feel I am in this post, unfortunately). Communication is
one of the most important thing to have in your relationship, and it takes work. HARD WORK. It's not always going to be skittles and beer, and communication is going to be one of the most difficult things to even do at some of the roughest and most stressful times in your marriage,
but you have to do it anyway if you want it to work, even if you don't feel like talking.
Especially if you don't feel like talking. I say this only because of how you described some of the dynamic and your approach. If you know this anyway, disregard it as just an old fart showing genuine concern in what appears to be a weakness in a younger couple's relationship.
You both can do this, and I know you're early in the transition yourself, but there's a great deal of potential there to greatly improve your lives and your savings rates if you simply stop saying you can't cut back in certain areas.
Good luck, and I hope this helps give you some clarity and perspective to the process.
