1, 2, 3, 4... Sunday, January 17, 2010
Somehow this year I sort of managed to avoid the New Years Blues. Maybe I got a little sad but it's been much better than it has in years past. I'm attributing it to having done so much in the last year, checking things off my to-do list.I'm not a fan of resolutions, because most don't seem to stick. But to-do lists seem different. So far I've gotten a couple of them already taken care of, granted they are simple easy things but totally worth it.
1. Call and cancel HBO and see if there is a special running to lower my bill.
Done. I used to watch HBO all the damn time, then I got a DVR and started watching a ton of regular tv on it and never used it anymore. Plus True Blood isn't going to be back on until June. With the special I qualified for I've knocked almost $40 off my bill. HELL YEAH!
2. Reduce my Netflix plan
Done. Again the DVR is to blame for this, I just haven't been watching as many movies. At the moment I'm only saving $4, but I might drop down to 1 disc a time.
3. Figure out what to do about my damn cell phone.
Partially. I spend about 4-5 hours yesterday looking at plans and contemplating options. My brain hurts. A lot. I'm thinking of upgrading to a smartphone but holy jesus, plans are expensive. Do I really need it? Probably. Then again, maybe not? I'm really hoping to lower my bills but this is one area where it seems like almost any change I make is going to make it go up. Which annoys me and my cold, penny pinching heart.
The issue is that my family, whom I talk to the most, is on Verizon which gives me opportunity to call them without using my minutes. Bad thing about them is their free calling doesn't start until 9pm, so I'd be limited in my calling to everyone else.
ATT is an option since you can add earlier nights and weekends for $9 (starting at 8pm instead of 9pm). Plus you get the pretty iPhone. The con is again, my family is on another network.
Both plans are about the same cost, and I can't fucking make up my mind. I made a spread sheet and I still can't decide.
Part of the reason I'm leaving my current carrier, Sprint, is because they sent me a notification that from here on out I'd be charged an extra $5 a month for having an Account Spending Limit. Which means that should I accidentally go over my minutes or texts I'd could only run up a bill to $200 before they would cut my phone off. This has never happened but I like the added protection and have had it since I became a customer with them 10! years ago. They'll remove the fee from my account if I give them access to automatically withdraw from my bank account. Which is a big, fucking hell no. I pay my bill every month, but I know that giving someone access to your account is a huge mistake and there are horror stories of people's accounts being wiped out when the company accidentally charges your account multiple times in a month. Which has overdrawn people's accounts and taken all their money, then it's a fight to get it back.
There is no administrative cost associated with this, it's all computerized and they've never charged for it before so it pisses me off. It doesn't help that their coverage in my area can be sketchy and their options for cells phone upgrades is limited to 5 options and all of them suck.
Holy hell, did I just write a freaking Trieste on cell phones? Sorry, but I did. Suggestions or flat out telling me who to chose would be appreciated as I am uncharacteristically frozen with indecision.
