CapCity12thMan said:

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YTTV $70
Disney+ $6
Boomerang $3. <=== cancelling in 3 months
Cozi $3
Amazon Prime $10
G Suite $6
Crashplan $20 <=== cancelling in 2 months
iCloud $10
Netflix $15
AT&T $200 <=== plan on reworking this (3 iPhones, unlimited data, device protection, etc.)

$344/month

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Just FYI, my current Verizon bill is right around the same as what you are paying (last bill was $199.94). That is for 5 lines, an apple watch, and my recent new phone. I actually split a plan with my ex that includes both our phones, her watch, our two kids phones, and her moms phone. I pay for my line and we split the kids and she covers the rest.

Granted, the per cost per line goes down as you add lines, each line is currently 33.59 with taxes and fees. It may have been $40 per line (plus taxes and fees) when it was just myself, my ex, and our daughter. I can't remember.

Phone plans are byzantine as well.

We are paying $120 per month for 2 lines. We have a 10gb data plan and the two lines. When I did a price compare of the legacy carriers last year, I had to create a spreadsheet with multiple line items to get to a apples-to-apples comparison.

Ultimately, it was more expensive for us to switch carriers and/or swith to an unlimited data plan. We don't even come close to hitting 10GB in a month, so it didn't make sense to move on either.

I think the only thing that would make sense for us is to go to Mint or similar. Moving to a legacy gains me nothing unless there are some new deals running now.

The way some of these companies do business is shady as hell and borderline criminal.

I know we pay too much for phone. We have two unlimited lines w/ AT&T, pay around $175/month. I tried getting pricing with Verizon, did their internet tool, comes out to $140/month without taxes and fees. Which means squat, every one of these companies has different fees. In order to get a full amount you have to provide a SSN for a credit check and a credit card for a temporary charge. WTH?!?! I call, customer service rep says the same thing. Sorry, I'm not providing this information just to get a quote.

htxag09 said:

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The way some of these companies do business is shady as hell and borderline criminal.

I know we pay too much for phone. We have two unlimited lines w/ AT&T, pay around $175/month. I tried getting pricing with Verizon, did their internet tool, comes out to $140/month without taxes and fees. Which means squat, every one of these companies has different fees. In order to get a full amount you have to provide a SSN for a credit check and a credit card for a temporary charge. WTH?!?! I call, customer service rep says the same thing. Sorry, I'm not providing this information just to get a quote.

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Yeah, and maybe we are outliers but I'm not sure why people are paying for unlimited data. Is everyone actually monitoring what they are using? We use about 5GB per month.

I monitor it, we did a shared plan for awhile. We can make it work but we're definitely cutting back, using wifi at places we'd rather not, etc. Our last 5 months were 45 GB, 31 GB, 25 GB, 18 GB, & 20 GB

This may be an unpopular take but if you've reached a certain level of comfort in your career the marginal returns on getting your $3k annual subscription entertainment down to $2k is penny wise and pound foolish. Profit = Revenue - Cost. Growing your revenue streams by $1000+ is IMHO way more valuable than being the household Controller.

Don't mistake this as me saying be frivolous and spend money on things you don't use or shouldn't, but if you get some entertainment out of it and can grow your top line, that's a better option.

htxag09 said:

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I monitor it, we did a shared plan for awhile. We can make it work but we're definitely cutting back, using wifi at places we'd rather not, etc. Our last 5 months were 45 GB, 31 GB, 25 GB, 18 GB, & 20 GB

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Can you give me some context for how you are using that much data? I don't get it.

Are you streaming TV on your phone while away from home all of the time?

YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I monitor it, we did a shared plan for awhile. We can make it work but we're definitely cutting back, using wifi at places we'd rather not, etc. Our last 5 months were 45 GB, 31 GB, 25 GB, 18 GB, & 20 GB

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Can you give me some context for how you are using that much data? I don't get it.

Are you streaming TV on your phone while away from home all of the time?

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Honestly, don't know. I don't pay much attention to it. I work a hybrid schedule and my wife is 100% from home, so some days she'll work from a coffee shop for a change of scenery or I'll go work at the gym so I can workout during lunch. When we do things like that we use our phone as a hot spot vs. the available public wifi. If I'm out with her running errands and an A&M basketball game is on I'll stream it and watch while she's shopping. We also basically exclusively stream Spotify when driving or listen to audiobooks, no idea the data Spotify uses. Guess these add up, again we pay the unlimited so we don't really have to worry about it.

We are paying 102 per month for unlimited data, 2 lines

Redstone said:

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We are paying 102 per month for unlimited data, 2 lines

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Juxtaposed those numbers. You are paying 120 just like me. Can't fool me Redstone.

YouBet said:

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Malibu2 said:

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This may be an unpopular take but if you've reached a certain level of comfort in your career the marginal returns on getting your $3k annual subscription entertainment down to $2k is penny wise and pound foolish. Profit = Revenue - Cost. Growing your revenue streams by $1000+ is IMHO way more valuable than being the household Controller.

Don't mistake this as me saying be frivolous and spend money on things you don't use or shouldn't, but if you get some entertainment out of it and can grow your top line, that's a better option.

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I agree but a lot of what we spend is frivolous and the ROI on some of these costs is nothing. Different thread but I did a complete review of our budget when I left my full-time gig in 2020 and ended up cutting thousands and thousands of dollars from our annual budget. To the point, that I honestly don't have to work if I don't want to.

What I never really did was do a deep dive on this Entertainment category because of your point. However, now that I've cut all of the big-ticket items that move the needle, I'm now reviewing the smaller things just to see what other fat there is from a "let's make life simpler if we can" viewpoint.

Living leaner and simpler is kind of our push right now and this falls into that.

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I'm in the C Suite and drive a 2007 Ford Focus if that gives you somewhat of a picture of my level of frugality.

I think the simplicity angle is a great one, but I approach it more from what's distracting me, creating an unresolved commitment that isn't welcome in my life, rather than what costs me $15/month and do I really need to spend that money? I unsubscribed from all non-WSJ news (needed for work) for that reason. Facebook is free but net negative so adios.

Malibu2 said:

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YouBet said:

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Malibu2 said:

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This may be an unpopular take but if you've reached a certain level of comfort in your career the marginal returns on getting your $3k annual subscription entertainment down to $2k is penny wise and pound foolish. Profit = Revenue - Cost. Growing your revenue streams by $1000+ is IMHO way more valuable than being the household Controller.

Don't mistake this as me saying be frivolous and spend money on things you don't use or shouldn't, but if you get some entertainment out of it and can grow your top line, that's a better option.

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I agree but a lot of what we spend is frivolous and the ROI on some of these costs is nothing. Different thread but I did a complete review of our budget when I left my full-time gig in 2020 and ended up cutting thousands and thousands of dollars from our annual budget. To the point, that I honestly don't have to work if I don't want to.

What I never really did was do a deep dive on this Entertainment category because of your point. However, now that I've cut all of the big-ticket items that move the needle, I'm now reviewing the smaller things just to see what other fat there is from a "let's make life simpler if we can" viewpoint.

Living leaner and simpler is kind of our push right now and this falls into that.

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I'm in the C Suite and drive a 2007 Ford Focus if that gives you somewhat of a picture of my level of frugality.

I think the simplicity angle is a great one, but I approach it more from what's distracting me, creating an unresolved commitment that isn't welcome in my life, rather than what costs me $15/month and do I really need to spend that money? I unsubscribed from all non-WSJ news (needed for work) for that reason. Facebook is free but net negative so adios.

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I'm primarily distracted by my list because I'm paying for stuff that I only partially or seasonally use and that bothers me. If I cut it, I'm no longer distracted. So maybe it's more of an optimization exercise than anything.

I've done an internet review and I only have 2 options in my area - ATT and Spectrum. Spectrum is $105 per month for gig. More expensive than what I'm paying.

ATT is $80 and includes HBO Max. I'm paying $95 so it looks like I was correct earlier in that I'm simply off the HBO intro and am paying for it. Going to see if I can get the $80 rate.

Stive said:

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I need to get HBOMax adjusted. I've got ATT for cell service and im paying $15 or so for HBO Max separately.

If I have ATT should I also be getting Max for free (rolled in)?

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log into your att acct. On my home page it says very conspicuously that my acct comes with free HBO.

62strat said:

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Stive said:

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I need to get HBOMax adjusted. I've got ATT for cell service and im paying $15 or so for HBO Max separately.

If I have ATT should I also be getting Max for free (rolled in)?

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log into your att acct. On my home page it says very conspicuously that my acct comes with free HBO.

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I think it's tied to ATT internet though. Not sure it comes with just wireless.

YouBet said:

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62strat said:

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Stive said:

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I need to get HBOMax adjusted. I've got ATT for cell service and im paying $15 or so for HBO Max separately.

If I have ATT should I also be getting Max for free (rolled in)?

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log into your att acct. On my home page it says very conspicuously that my acct comes with free HBO.

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I think it's tied to ATT internet though. Not sure it comes with just wireless.

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incorrect. I don't have att internet. Wireless only.

You have to have some kind of promotion or special account. I have ATT wireless and do not have HBO (or if I do, I can't find any mention of it).

62strat said:

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YouBet said:

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62strat said:

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Stive said:

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I need to get HBOMax adjusted. I've got ATT for cell service and im paying $15 or so for HBO Max separately.

If I have ATT should I also be getting Max for free (rolled in)?

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log into your att acct. On my home page it says very conspicuously that my acct comes with free HBO.

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I think it's tied to ATT internet though. Not sure it comes with just wireless.

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incorrect. I don't have att internet. Wireless only.

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Ok. They must have changed it then. When I picked it up they were only offering it through internet.

jtraggie99 said:

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CapCity12thMan said:

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YTTV $70
Disney+ $6
Boomerang $3. <=== cancelling in 3 months
Cozi $3
Amazon Prime $10
G Suite $6
Crashplan $20 <=== cancelling in 2 months
iCloud $10
Netflix $15
AT&T $200 <=== plan on reworking this (3 iPhones, unlimited data, device protection, etc.)

$344/month

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Just FYI, my current Verizon bill is right around the same as what you are paying (last bill was $199.94). That is for 5 lines, an apple watch, and my recent new phone. I actually split a plan with my ex that includes both our phones, her watch, our two kids phones, and her moms phone. I pay for my line and we split the kids and she covers the rest.

Granted, the per cost per line goes down as you add lines, each line is currently 33.59 with taxes and fees. It may have been $40 per line (plus taxes and fees) when it was just myself, my ex, and our daughter. I can't remember.

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So far, this is the most interesting thing I've read in this thread. Clearly you two have a decent relationship which is praiseworthy, but how did this conversation start? Do you discuss this annually? Have either of you remarried?



I'm just wondering at what point do I tell my adult children they need to do their own phone lines. Is it after graduation, their first job, a marriage, or do I just keep them on as a Christmas gift.

I have multiple 35 year old friends, married, successful, and both them and their spouses are on their parents' phone plans.

AgEng06 said:

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You have to have some kind of promotion or special account. I have ATT wireless and do not have HBO (or if I do, I can't find any mention of it).

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From

https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1261921/

Check your plan

If you have one of these unlimited plans, you get HBO MaxTM included. You may have to activate it on your account.
Eligible unlimited plans
AT&T Unlimited Elite
AT&T Unlimited PlusSM
AT&T Unlimited Plus EnhancedSM
AT&T Unlimited ChoiceSM
AT&T Unlimited Choice IISM
AT&T Unlimited Choice EnhancedSM
AT&T Unlimited &More Premium (if you chose HBO as your premium channel)

htxag09 said:

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I have multiple 35 year old friends, married, successful, and both them and their spouses are on their parents' phone plans.

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Weird. Are they at least paying them back?

Iowaggie said:

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jtraggie99 said:

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CapCity12thMan said:

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YTTV $70
Disney+ $6
Boomerang $3. <=== cancelling in 3 months
Cozi $3
Amazon Prime $10
G Suite $6
Crashplan $20 <=== cancelling in 2 months
iCloud $10
Netflix $15
AT&T $200 <=== plan on reworking this (3 iPhones, unlimited data, device protection, etc.)

$344/month

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Just FYI, my current Verizon bill is right around the same as what you are paying (last bill was $199.94). That is for 5 lines, an apple watch, and my recent new phone. I actually split a plan with my ex that includes both our phones, her watch, our two kids phones, and her moms phone. I pay for my line and we split the kids and she covers the rest.

Granted, the per cost per line goes down as you add lines, each line is currently 33.59 with taxes and fees. It may have been $40 per line (plus taxes and fees) when it was just myself, my ex, and our daughter. I can't remember.

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So far, this is the most interesting thing I've read in this thread. Clearly you two have a decent relationship which is praiseworthy, but how did this conversation start? Do you discuss this annually? Have either of you remarried?



I'm just wondering at what point do I tell my adult children they need to do their own phone lines. Is it after graduation, their first job, a marriage, or do I just keep them on as a Christmas gift.

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We have been divorced almost 7 years, and no, neither one of us have remarried. Originally we had two separate plans, and my daughter (who is now 20 and in college) was on her moms plan. I would just pay her monthly, half of whatever it was for my daughters line. At some point we figured out it was cheaper to combine the three lines on one plan and just split the cost. At some point, we added her mom (my ex handles most of her mom's finances now, her dad passed away a number of years ago and mom has always been bad with money). Then last fall we added our son, who is 12.

That's the norm for us though. We split whatever kid expenses are incurred regularly. That could be clothes, school related expenses, extra curricular activities, my son is in boy scouts and we incur a lot of expenses there, be it camping / hiking gear or activities or whatever, gas and insurance for my daughters car, etc, etc. We send each other a monthly list of kids related expenses incurred and the other person pays half. We've just always done that. We don't ask for receipts or anything, we just trust each other.

As for your last question, I plan to continue paying for my daughters phone as long as she is in school. Once she is out and has a job, she's on her own (same for my son)

Thanks for the info. We are on an Unlimited plan, but not one of those listed. I can't find where some of those are offered to me anyway. It looks like the only option I have is the Unlimited Elite, but HBO isn't worth $10/month extra for me.

YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I have multiple 35 year old friends, married, successful, and both them and their spouses are on their parents' phone plans.

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Weird. Are they at least paying them back?

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For sure. But I mean it makes sense. You can add a line for $30 or you can get a new plan for $150.....

Can even double the payment to your parents as a "thank you" and still come out ahead in most cases.

htxag09 said:

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YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I have multiple 35 year old friends, married, successful, and both them and their spouses are on their parents' phone plans.

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Weird. Are they at least paying them back?

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For sure. But I mean it makes sense. You can add a line for $30 or you can get a new plan for $150.....

Can even double the payment to your parents as a "thank you" and still come out ahead in most cases.

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Guess it's the independence in me. I would absolutely add my parents to my plan but that's more because I feel like it's my turn to take care of them.

htxag09 said:

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YouBet said:

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htxag09 said:

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I have multiple 35 year old friends, married, successful, and both them and their spouses are on their parents' phone plans.

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Weird. Are they at least paying them back?

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For sure. But I mean it makes sense. You can add a line for $30 or you can get a new plan for $150.....

Can even double the payment to your parents as a "thank you" and still come out ahead in most cases.

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$150 for a single line?

I've never paid that for both our lines. Unlimited everything at AT&T.

Currently at about $130 I think.
Yes $30 saves, it if you double it to $60, might as well get your own line with your spouse.

Yes, $150 was an exaggeration. But comparing like for like plans, a plan with 5 lines will easily be less than half per line than a plan with 1 line, after all taxes and fees.

My wife and I have our own plan. I got my own phone line the week I graduated college. But I absolutely understand why people don't. You're incentivized to have more lines on a plan.

htxag09 said:

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Yes, $150 was an exaggeration. But comparing like for like plans, a plan with 5 lines will easily be less than half per line than a plan with 1 line, after all taxes and fees.

My wife and I have our own plan. I got my own phone line the week I graduated college. But I absolutely understand why people don't. You're incentivized to have more lines on a plan.

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It's no different than splitting rent/utilities with 2 others is always gonna be cheaper than living on your own.
But that doesn't mean young adults should live at home until they find roommates.
There are plenty of areas to cut out the extra ~$50 in a single person's life in an effort to not suck on the teet into their mid or late 20s.

Suck the teet?!?!

Look, we obviously think of this differently. You're free to cut your kids off the minute they turn 18 and get their own cell plan. Others are free to stay on their parents as long as they both want. Especially if they're paying for it, doesn't make it sucking the teet, IMO.

And this is way, way different than living at home, not sure how you even bring up that comparison.

How does this thread feel about paying for services like yard care and pest control? I've been back and forth with my better half about lawn mowing lately. (Which I don't like to do)

Our guys charge $35 per mow, and only charge when they actually come. In the warm months, April-November they average 4 mows per month and the other months are 1-2 mows per month.

We can afford it, but is it worth it to keep paying for convenience when I could do it myself?

htxag09 said:

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Look, we obviously think of this differently. You're free to cut your kids off the minute they turn 18 and get their own cell plan.

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And somehow when I say 'mid to late 20s' it apparently means 18.