One Cell Phone Or Two?

This month, our cell phone contract is up, and we have been deciding what we’d like to do with it.  Right now, Shawn carries a Blackberry for work, which is not for personal use.  He also carries a personal phone, and the kids and I phone him throughout the day to include him in milestones that are going on at home.  Lily likes to phone him and keep him up to date : “ Daddy, I pee potty!!”.  Daddy always cheers for her like a good sport.  I’m sure every once in a while, someone near him thinks he’s nuts when he proclaims “ Potty!? YAY!!”. Hee hee hee!  I have a cell phone too…it’s around here somewhere…what’s my number? Uh, Hold on, I’m not too sure.  I must have it written down somewhere…

Ok, you get the idea, I never use that phone anyway.  When Shawn’s phone got run over/dropped/smashed one too many times, we swapped the numbers so he got my nice, still-shiny-new three year old phone.

Over the last couple months, we’ve been discussing what we should do with the cell phones.  While in theory, it seems reasonable that I have one, the reality is, I just don’t need one.  I’m at home most of the time.  If I were going to drive somewhere, say to Saskatoon to go shopping ( which never happens anyway!), I could just take his with me for peace of mind. 

We’ve all become so used to having cell phones that we think they are a necessity, but you what?  Most of the time, they aren’t. Ok, some people need them for work, to be reached when on call or during an emergency ( Shawn included) but realistically, not all of us need that phone. 

I don’t even feel obligated to answer my home phone just because it’s ringing.  If I’m reading to the kids, that’s important and they appreciate my full attention.  I don’t feel bad if I am not reachable 24 hours a day.  I have message manager, that’s what it’s for.  On weeks when Shawn is off, our family has a little ceremony where he makes a big production of powering off the phone, and the rest of us do a little dance and cheer.  It’s so nice to be set free from the slavery of having that phone constantly within arm’s reach.  His ring tone sounds like a submarine’s diving warning, and we all cringe when it rings and interrupts family time.  We know that it means either he will be on the phone discussing some problem, or helping someone fix something, or that he will have to go back to work to fix something.

So, besides being a rant about how much I hate the cell phone, this post does have a point!  I’ve been wondering, if I hate the thing so much, why am I paying for it?  Why do we pay for caller ID, the second line or any of those other features we’ve never used anyway?  We’ve decided to keep just one personal phone, because we do value being in contact with Shawn throughout the day.  He doesn’t miss out on the fun stuff going on at home, and the kids like that Daddy is still part of their day, even when he’s away.  We have one for peace of mind when we travel, or when Shawn’s hunting or fishing. We’re putting that phone on a bare basics plan, and saving $40 a month. We’re using the phone we already have, because we don’t want a long contract, and we don’t want to pay for a new one when we don’t need to. 

Getting rid of my phone will help accomplish two of our family goals : 1) simplify life to make room for what really matters; and 2) save money.