I see folks talking on cell phones while buying groceries with food stamps. They really are not just for the privileged classes any more.

(Again, we're talking about a community where the entire metropolitan area lost land-line service, some areas for just a few weeks but other areas for two-years-plus-and-still-counting. So, many cell-phone users are NOT also paying for a "home" phone.)

Cell/mobile service is not as expensive as it used to be. Of course, if you're paying for a conventional phone, adding a cell IS an extra expense. But as an ALTERNATIVE to old-school phone service, a cell phone can be pretty economical. Long-distance calling, in fact, is much cheaper via cell than via land lines.

We have a family plan, x number of minutes shared among four of us (and soon to include all five); we never exceed the limit, and so never pay over the flat rate, and our monthly tab for phone service is no more than what we used to pay for local service to one provider and long-distance to another.