My husband and I have finally done it. After talking about scaling back, after going over the budget to see where we could make cuts, we pulled the trigger. We went back to basic phones. It's interesting because we've been sharing this information with our nearest and dearest, and we thought they would laugh at us, but what I'm finding is that most folks respond the same way, "Man, I wish we could do that" or "if it wasn't for _____________, we would be doing the same thing." Everyone agrees that the price of having a genius phone is outrageous, but most won't take the plunge because in our fast paced world basic phones are inconvenient. I agree: they are inconvenient. I was used to "swyping" my text messages, but now I'm back on the text pad where you have to hit the number 9 three times to get a Y. This is my life. Do not be surprised if I don't text you back for small talk. What used to take seconds is taking me five minutes to type. I'm sure I'll adapt.
Anyway, if you've been thinking of taking the plunge back to basic, I want to share with you the three main reasons why I finally decided to do it. Maybe my experience will help you in deciding what is best for your family.
Reason 1: The smart phone is expensive.
Husband and I were both carrying smart phones to the tune of $160 a month. That's more than last month's heating bill. Personally, I find that ridiculous. By switching to basic, we are getting to pocket $110 a month. Cha ching.
Reason 2: I want to be fully present.
I'm sure you've had this experience: you are out with a friend, only to find that person is checking their phone every ten minutes. They're watching videos or they're on social media. I don't want to be that person. I want to have meaningful conversation. I want to go beyond pleasantries. By going basic, I am doing just that. Mainly because it's a pain in the butt for me to send a text message as I mentioned before, but I also am unable to surf the web or get on Facebook or Youtube. The phone sits in the bottom of my purse untouched until I leave the restaurant or movie. There is nothing going on digitally that I'm missing out on. When I get home, I can like all my friend's baby pictures. I can read the latest news (it's probably been updated ten times since first breaking anyway). What I can't do is get back that moment with the person I'm visiting.
Reason 3: I want to be radically generous.
By saving $110 a month, my hope is that husband and I can pay off a little extra on his car/our home. I'm also hoping we can put a little money into savings. My biggest wish, however, is that by being present and listening, I can hear what people need. I can bless those who need blessing and not worry about where that money is going to come from. If I see a kid without a coat on the coldest day of November, I can go to the store and purchase the coat without breaking the bank.
Recently I've been reading a book entitled More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger. In his book, he talks about how we can bless others with our excess. I have fast internet at home. Having fast internet on my phone (for me) is excess. I can divert those funds to causes or people who need assistance. I can bless them.
Does this mean you are a bad person if you don't go basic? No. Absolutely not. Shinabarger suggests we all identify the area in our life where we have excess and use that to bless others. For you it could be clothing, or food, or a car. And in a season where we all have so much for which to be thankful, wouldn't it be nice if we all decided we have more than enough and instead of stockpiling our wealth we generously gave to those in great need? And all God's people said "Amen!"
