Three Weeks without a Cell Phone

In our home, we don’t own many new or extremely nice items because we (a-hem, my husband) are really hard on everything that we own.  Not only are we hard on what we own, things get lost  misplaced all.the.time.  It is extremely frustrating to me, but it is what it is.

At any rate, several weeks back, Todd and I went to WalMart to pick up oil filters and oil for our vehicles.  Todd set down his phone (a new to us Windows phone from my mom that Todd loved and planned on keeping for many years) to look up an oil filter number, and when he found it, we walked away to get the next item on our list.  15 minutes later when we realized he forgot his phone on the shelf, it was gone.  I had faith that the cell phone would still be there when we went back to get it.  Todd on the other hand had no faith that his phone would still be there.  Sure enough – it was gone (I blame his negative attitude on this).  We checked with the automotive desk and customer service for three days after the phone went missing, called our carrier and reported it stolen, had it blocked and went on our merry way.

Todd was addicted to his phone.  He is the only one who has internet on his phone: I just have calls and texting.  He loved going online while he was at work and on the days we both worked, we texted back and forth all day long.  We texted about stupid piddly stuff, and we called each other when we were on our way to work and on our way home from work: nothing really important.

Todd was so upset that his phone was stolen that he said he didn’t even want a cell phone.  Of course, this statement was made out of anger, and a few days later, he came around to the idea of getting his phone replaced.  We were planning on changing our cell phone carriers after our contracts were up, so Todd was without a phone for a couple of weeks.

I noticed a few things while Todd was without a phone.

• We had a lot more to talk about at dinnertime and throughout our evenings together
• I was able to concentrate more on my work instead of checking my phone every 15-20 minutes for a new text
• It really isn’t that bad not being “connected” to one another throughout the day
• Todd really can survive without being online while at work

I have considered going without a cell phone altogether; however, Todd worries about me on my 1 hour drive to and from work each day (witha vehicle that has over 175,000 miles on it). We have decided to downgrade our cell phone plans from a contract to prepaid services*.  By doing so, we are saving over $600/year on our cell phones.  By downgrading our services, Todd and I have agreed that we will be talking less to one another to and from work each day.  It has truly been relaxing driving to and from work listening to podcasts and books on CD without being interrupted, not to mention it is a lot safer!

*For anyone wondering, Todd is going with StraightTalk for his cell phone provider.  He will have unlimited talk, text and internet for less than $45/month because we will be paying every 6 months (to get A discount).  For me, I am going to be with the same carrier (AT&T) but downgrading to their “pay-as-you-go” plan which will give me 250 minutes a month and unlimited texts for $26.63/month after tax.  We are going from spending $128/month for cell phone service to around $70/month and not being locked into a contract. 

Have you tried going without a cell phone for a week?

What has been your experience?