Is There Reason to Hang on to Your Landline?

By drodriguez Mar 02, 2012

As cell phones have now become a way of life, many of us are canceling our landline service in an effort to save money. A recent Bankrate report discusses how popular it has become for us to opt out of landline service and rely solely on cell phones.

A National Center for Health Statistics study recently reported that more than 26 percent of Americans go without a landline telephone in their homes and instead use cell service only.

As we all tighten our belts and whittle our monthly budgets down to what’s necessary, the question of whether we should continue paying for a landline service often comes up.

A lot of us are paying for landline service as part of a TV, internet, phone package and think we are saving money this way. But you may not actually be saving as much as you think. Tech analyst Jeff Kagan estimates that we could save anywhere from $180 to $480 a year just by getting rid of the extra cost of a landline.

But even with the savings, some feel that hanging on to a landline service is a safer way to go in case of an emergency or disaster and cell phone towers are not working.

What do you think? Do you still have a landline in your home?

Would you ever consider canceling your landline service and relying solely on cell service as a way to save money?