# What is your monthly phone bill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479 "2009-02-26T04:30:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/21 "2009-02-26T14:17:02Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > How do you get that kind of landline bill? 10 lines? Overseas calls? Excessive featuritis? > > My bill is about $50/month for 3 landlines, unlimited local & domestic long distance and all the features I could ever dream of (voice mail, caller ID, etc., etc.). For celphone, $30/month for unlimited[sup]\*[/sup] calls anywhere in the USA, anytime. Phone is thru Charter (+ cable TV/Internet, bundled), celphone is Celcom. > > Before Charter offered phone, my bill with AT&T was double what I pay now. Competition and technology is a great thing, you bet. > > - I just keep using more minutes each month and they just keep charging me zero more. I don’t really know what the official rate is, but I’m afraid to ask. It’s gotten a little out of hand and I need to find a way to get it down. When people who do my line of work retire, go bust or move I pick up their phone number. Sometimes I actually pay them for the number. but it’s gotten a little unwieldy. I have 10 land lines now. ETA: all with AT&T ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/22 "2009-02-26T15:13:37Z")
Dunno who your cell phone carrier is, but have you considered switching up to one of those unlimited-calling-to-five-numbers plans? Some of them included unlimited long distance to said five numbers, so you’d be covered as long as most of your long distance is used to call home (assuming home is also in Canada, that is, since you didn’t specify). I pay $15 for landline and $25 for Blackberry voice and data… it’s one of the few perks I get for working for The Man. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/23 "2009-02-26T15:24:45Z")
$85 a month for unlimited minuets and data downloads plus 200 texts which I occasionally go over. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/24 "2009-02-26T15:25:40Z")
~$95/month for my cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/25 "2009-02-26T15:33:36Z")
$32 for local phone service, about $7 for long distance, $7 for cell phone (Tracfone). I am a cheap bastard! Most of my communication is by Internet. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/26 "2009-02-26T15:34:45Z")
$53 for unlimited local, long distance and texting. MetroPCS. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/27 "2009-02-26T15:38:46Z")
€20 for my cell. no land line. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/28 "2009-02-26T15:44:01Z")
$35 something for cell - 200 anytime minutes, 500 nights and weekends, and 1000 texts/pictures/etc. So far, since 02/19/09, I’ve used 7 anytime, 20 nights/weekends, and 79 texts/pics/etc. Home phone is usually around $50. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/29 "2009-02-26T15:47:15Z")
I have a Tracfone for emergencies and the “I’m in the parking lot, where the heck are you?” type phone call. I bought a year’s worth of minutes and didn’t come close to using them. So…about $8.50/month. I have a packaged unlimited phone service at home and I forget, but it’s probably $40.00/month. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/30 "2009-02-26T15:59:29Z")
$70/month for the iPhone + $35/month for a landline. I rarely make long distance calls from the landline, but if I forget, it might add a few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/31 "2009-02-26T16:33:44Z")
I have vonage and with taxes I pay roughly 32 US a month. (I’d have to look.) I have a pay-as-you-go cel and I rarely use it. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/32 "2009-02-26T19:49:36Z")
$55.74 for cell phone only. It used to be $67.17 until I started getting a discount through work. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/33 "2009-02-26T21:26:57Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Ever considered getting a calling card? In the US at least, their rates are MUCH cheaper than the cell phone carriers’. (Note that this only helps with long-distance, not roaming, charges.) Depending on the carrier and the plan, long distance may be the same as regular local calls (ours is). Until recently: Cell (2 lines): 67 a month for far more minutes than we ever use Home: 43 a month Long distance (on home line): 8 a month Broadband/cable: 96 a month this is relevant, see below) We just got FIOS, so the home service including TV is now roughly 120 a month vs the (43 + 8 + 96 = 147 a month) it was before, so a slight savings. We’ll see where that goes in a year when the bundle price expires. We’re not heavy phone users in general. If it weren’t for the kids, and the need to have a land-line for them, we could get rid of that and just use the cell phones. If it weren’t for the bundle, we could have down graded our home phone service to fewer calls per month, I think (not sure that plan is still around). ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/34 "2009-02-26T21:32:55Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Depending on the carrier and the plan, long distance may be the same as regular local calls (ours is). From the way the OP phrased it (“across North America”), it seemed like they may be **international** long distance calls, which AFAIK aren’t included in many plans. Care to clarify, **Quasimodal**? ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/35 "2009-02-26T22:18:49Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > From the way the OP phrased it (“across North America”), it seemed like they may be **international** long distance calls, which AFAIK aren’t included in many plans. Care to clarify, **Quasimodal**? While I’m not Quasimodal, I do work in the Canadian wireless industry and am pretty well-versed with Canadian wireless pricing. My WAG? He’s got a North American long-distance add-on on his plan, where he’s pre-purchased 600 minutes for a fee on top of his regular local plan. Most Canadian carriers offer something along those lines (the pricing is pretty standard across the three national carriers). Lack of competition and the smaller market in Canada also means that, unlike the US, our cell phone plans are incredibly expensive as soon as long distance or roaming come into the picture. There are all-in-one plans where LD and roaming are included, but these usually start in the $40+ range for a very small amount of airtime and go up from there. I’ve seen plenty of bills in the $100+ range that didn’t include a single overseas call (I’ve also seen plenty of $1000+ bills that did include overseas roaming and long distance… that’s a kick in the nuts). I flinch when my American friends talk about their cell phone bills… it’s incredibly depressing to know someone is paying the same price, but getting nearly double the minutes AND no long distance AND free voicemail/call display/blah blah blah. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/36 "2009-02-27T00:15:04Z")
I pay $58 a month for my landline (unlimited local and long distance). My Tracfone costs me just over $7 a month. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/37 "2009-02-27T01:30:58Z")
My bill is about $65, but that includes broadband service. Figure about $35 without it. We also spend about $110 a month calling my daughter in Namibia, but that’ll only be for another year. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/38 "2009-02-27T02:01:53Z")
Vonage at work, Skype at home (I pay for broadband USD$56 per month) - no land line - cell about USD$30 per month - I could pay half that if I went prepaid but I like the control of spend as you go. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479/39 "2009-02-27T15:55:57Z")
landline (including DSL) $102 per month (also includes unlimited long distance) Cell phones x 6 of us (!) about $300 per month. (I pay my portion of the cell phone bill through the office account) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-phone-bill/487479.md?page=1)