DH just started carrying one last year because of work and he goes hunting a lot. We are on a nephews Verizon plan for friends and family where each additional phone line was $9.95 a month which is doable. I think the cost is now $15 a month. I refused to pay the going rate for our own contract. I did have a Trac phone but never used it. I'm home most of the time anyway and prefer not to be so accessible. Some of DH's buddies have discovered that he won't answer the phone when he's driving. If we had to chose a category, for us its more of a luxury.

 I have a cell phone that I only use for about 6 weeks a year. When my boss arrives here for the 6 weeks, I pull my cell phone out of my junk draw in the kitchen, recharge it, and then the cell phone is attached to me for the 6 weeks the minute my boss is on her plane back to the west coast, the cell phone goes back in the junk draw for another year. I personally have no need or want to be that available to be contacted. I have a regular telephone with a answeing machine, leave a message.....cell phones can be a wonderful thing for people that travel or have a need to stay in constant contact with people...I just find them annoying. 

I only have a cell phone - not for accessibility, but because it was cheaper than the landline, which I had disconnected last summer.  I originally got it 10 or 11 years ago because I drove to work through a part of town full of factories off the freeway, with no where to go if my car broke down; over time, it became my primary phone, so in that sense, it's "necessary" - if, of course, one considers any phone "necessary"; I know some people who are attached to theirs constantly, and others who don't check messages for days.

 My opinion is that situations can differ, making cell phones a luxury or a necessity. Overall though, I think they are more relied on and become a larger safety and emergency tool as public telephones disappear.

 A cell phone is a necessity in our house as my husband's work directly calls for one. We found it was cheaper to add a cell for me onto the account and drop the landline.

I like mobile teens having a cell phone but I don't think those need to be more than emergency basic phones with a no frills pre-paid plan.

We lived in a rural area where there might be miles between anything at all. When our oldest began working then dating, I felt more comfortable knowing she could call if there was an emergency. She could not rely on public phone service so cell phone it was. I was not pleased with what she upgraded to when she decided to pay for the frills herself. I don't think teens need to be connected to a cell as if it's a body part nor should it be the lifeline to a social network.

 

Brandy:

I think they are more relied on and become a larger safety and emergency tool as public telephones disappear.

 

That's the reason I was going to state, that we don't have the easy availability of pay phones so  the need for cell phones became greater. We could live without one, but we live better and safer with one. Car breakdowns, and accidents, and emergencies can be helped quicker with a cell phone instead of searching for a pay phone, or knocking on strangers doors to use their phones. 

If someone needs us, getting in touch with us is faster having both cells and home phone, whereas having only a home phone with a recorder calls must wait until we get home to get the message. Edey

I have a prepaid Verizon cell phone so that I can call for help and so that the nursing home can contact me about Mom.

What I like about it is how my minutes roll over each month.

Unlike the land line this phone has voice mail. It also has Caller ID.

I forget how much I paid for it. A $50 card is cheaper than the $99.00 price for a contract every month. I don't have to pay $50 a month for my payment card----I just do it because I seem to need more minutes some months.

I have a tracfone, pay about $30 every three months for service.  I feel that it's a necessity for our family.  Since I have three small kids and travel on a semi-regular basis to visit my parents that are two hours away it makes me more comfortable to have a phone for emergencies.  I almost always make the trip alone, as hubby is working most of the time I go and see them.  I also like having the phone so when I'm out he can reach me when he's alone w/the kids.  It also gives me peace of mind on the RARE occasion that hubby and I go out and the kids are being babysat.

I have a prepaid one as well and keep it on me most of the time I use it to call people outside our area code since I don't have long distance or dh & the dks call me on it when I'm out of the house. Several people I know don't have landlines and have to use thier cells while others I know recieved thiers through a domestic abuse shelter and it's their emergancy lifeline. At the university where dh works the majority of the students have them and could careless if it's not the latest and greatest phone. At least 4x a year he brings home cellphones that he pulled out of the trash or found in the road, one of the phones he found in the trash was a $200 blackjack complete with charger and bluetooth ear piece. We tracked down the owner (via phone book) who didn't want it back their parents gave them a new "better" one so they tossed the old one out. We gave it to the local women's shelter for a lifeline.

before i retired , i worked the evening shift so came home at about 12:30 am.  i carried a trac-phone  which was about $30 every 3 mts.  i renewed it one time since retired and never even had it on .  i didnt renew it.  I dont travel but locally now and in the daytime, although that doesnt mean you're safe, but i consider it an expense i can do without. 

exception 1 - my oldest son has his own business, so it is a necessity

exception 2- my daughter has a high school son, and is in a lot of activities and travels, so they need one to use it to know what time busses come and go.  also SIL has own business

exception 3-  my youngest son lives about 200  miles away and has epilepsy and needs one.

as far as me , i think it is a luxury .  after working as a telelmarketer for several years,  i wouldnt care if i never saw another phone period.   i do have landline that i have my dsl for computer.  think i'll check into something a little cheaper .  it's 80.00 a month. to me that is ridiculous