Signal/WhatsApp for 90% of my communication

[mouakter13]

I’m officially 10 months into living without a traditional phone number—and my bank account has never looked better. After crunching the numbers, I realized I was hemorrhaging $100/month for a plan I barely used. The solution? I went full Wi-Fi warrior and haven’t looked back.

My survival toolkit:

Google Voice (free number for essential calls/texts)



Offline maps downloaded for my regular routes

$5/month backup eSIM for absolute emergencies

The adjustment period was interesting—I had to retrain friends special database to message me on Signal instead of SMS, and I’ll admit the first time I got lost without cellular data was mildly terrifying. But the benefits far outweigh the hassles: no more spam calls, zero surprise overage charges, and most importantly, that extra $100 in my pocket every month.

Pro tip: Most coffee shops and public spaces offer free Wi-Fi if you really need to connect. And for those “but what if there’s an emergency?” moments—guess what? Pay phones still exist (and yes, I’ve used one).

For the skeptics: Try it for a week. Put your SIM in an old phone and carry it powered off as a security blanket. You might be surprised how little you actually need constant connectivity—and how much you’ll enjoy the freedom (and savings).