jvlborn- good point on alarm clock- i use my phone for alarm and you can keep it in bed with you and dont have to reach to hit snooze;)

The only time I wasn't able to make a cell phone call was the wind storm about 10 years ago had knocked out the cell tower near my home. It had also knocked trees down which took out the land lines around here too. No dial tone.

Get a cheap DSL line from AT&T or TDS, then go vonage or skype. Keep your cell phone as primary - but still have a working backup without a lot of money spent out of pocket.

Cell phones work perfectly well in power outages too, because they use batteries. :) Ditto for their alarm clocks, vs those plugged in.

I understand the reluctance and the nostalgia, but our landline was out of service for at least 3 days before we noticed last month. It was another 4-5 days before they fixed it, and it didn't affect our lives. Thanks to Charter's horrible service, we'll soon be done with it and have another $30/month!

I'm keeping my landline. In power outages, particularly those of any length, you can still make calls with your landline (i.e. 911) because local phone companies have backup generators specificially for that purpose. Most landlines are buried and made from quality materials because the phone company doesn't want to spend its own money to replace/repair it frequently. (Same thing with the old rotary dial phones before the break up of the Bell System. Quality.) Also, most landlines are part of a "redundant circuit system". If there is a break (i.e. digging) the calls are rerouted over another circuit so that service is not interrupted.

byw- you dont have to call your home phone provider theyll take care of everything. I called a few companies to see a WAY cheap home plan for SEVEN minutes and they kept giving me MORE expensive plans to pick from. I said WHAT dont you understand I want LESS plan.oh but miss you get bla bla and bla for $40. WOW didnt you hear me. I went threw this with mcleod, at&t,vonage. I finally told mcleod you will be cancelled soon thanks for your help NOT. Maybe if customer service people spoke english they would understand what you are telling them.

fiveonearth
I did this with us cellular. GO in sign some forms. wait 7-10 days- cooling off period or something. it is free but they do something to your bill then credit it back. When it is ready in 7-10 days go in sign a couple more things. I believe I took a mcleod bill with me but I think theyll just call them anyway. Be sure your name is on the bill. They "patched" my home to my cell. cell number was no longer in use. I think I signed a form that nobody could have my old cell number.
I dont think it can still stay in phone book. But I would call yellow book or somebody and maybe it still can be. I dont know on that sorry.

hannah:
How do you move your home phone number to your cell phone? I'd get rid of my landline if I could do that. Is it possible with US Cellular? Can you still stay listed in phone book?

I got rid of my cell phone about a year and a half ago. I have only missed it 2 times. Then again, I only used it to call hubby and he is retired now LOL I have caller ID and an aswering machine. If I miss your call, not to worry, I will find it sooner or later :)

Thanks for clearing that up Ann! My knowledge of ladies rooms is limited at best! ;-}

Nine months? My cell phone will be nine years old next year!

I dont. I dont miss the $22 bill for 7 minutes of use. WHAT a waste. Moved my home number to me cell and everybody from the last 20 years can still find me. Now I have caller id. Didnt want to pay for it before. they can reach me no matter where I am and still only need 300 minutes a month so a nice cheap plan. My "pretty phones" are still sitting out though. dont have heart to hide them.

I wish long ago we had them. nobody can use your cell for those 1900 numbers and secretly ruin you phone bill on you.

Get the most rugged cellphone you can find - not the sleekest, coolest or newest. Then feel free to tie it to the wall or whatever if you think you might lose it. Problem solved :O)

* Sigh * I knew somebody was going to make a comment like that, Benneton01.

We have a "powder room" adjacent to the ladies room. It was designed as a place for us to check our makeup and forget our phones on the counter.

Other benefits of a landline:
1) Your kids won't forget to turn it on when they get home from school; and,
2) Your kids won't forget to plug it in so the battery doesn't run down.

"...you never accidentally left on the shelf in the ladies room"
You talk on the phone while in the ladies room?
Eeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.....

I agree totally. The new cell phones are really cheap. The problem with newer technology is that it promotes a sort of bump and dump mentality. For example, the newest game console, the newest computer, the newest flat screen, the newest cell phone, the newest DVD player, the newest software etc... People continue to strive for the latest and greatest. In most cases the improvements are marginal and the money is wasted. Game changer technology is good; meaning things that really make an impact. However, if I get duped into upgrading to one more overpriced worthless Adobe upgrade I'm going to seek help.

My wife and kids all have cell phones but I've stayed with my landline. They laugh at me but I don't care. Plus my phone bill is down to about $35 a month.

I would love to have a real landline too, but the previous owner of our house had covered up all the phone jacks in the house. Our local phone company is going to charge us $100/hr w/a minimum of 2 hours to find & reinstall them!! So we went to Vonage (through the internet) & it's just not near as good as a landline. I agree w/you that I would love to have a real landline, too, though I do love my cell phone. What did we ever do before they came out??

I love the old phones. The old Ma Bell with a real pair of bells for a ringer and a rotary dial. I still have a few, a desk model and a wall mount. Oh and a Princess.
My cell phone is also about as big a dinosaur you can have and still get a contract for it. No camera. No pictures. No color. Just a plain old Nokia tough as nails cell phone.