Small Monthly Charges

I've seen articles in the consumerist press about Grandma who paid $4.89/month to rent her phone from the phone company and that over 30 years that came to more than $1,700.00. Think of the diamond studded bling phone she could have had for that amount.

Most of us don't rent phones anymore but there's a new game in town. Several years ago I bought high speed internet service from a major cable company. The deal included the cable modem at no charge and a set monthly fee for the service. I was glad to have it and still am but recently the company started to charge $4.00/month to rent their cable modem.

A quick check of staples.com showed a Zoom Cable Modem for $59.98. At $4/mo. this purchase pays for itself in a little more than a year. Some might continue to rent because they're a little intimidated by electronics but all that's involved is:

1. Unplug the cable modem electricity
2. Take off the TV (coax) cable
3. Take off the network cable
4. Drop off the cable modem w/ the electric cord at the cable company local office
5. Stop at some consumer electronics store (Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples) on the way home and procure a new cable modem
6. Reverse steps 1, 2, and 3
7. Call the cable company and tell them what you did so they can set things up on their end

Step 7 took the longest because it involves reading a string of tiny numbers off the label on the new cable modem and waiting for the technician to perform their magic.

Stop renting cable modems or your grandchildren will write ugly articles about how much you wasted on small monthly charges.