The best place to start when you commit to your FI journey or just want to save money is to look at recurring expenses. For us, one bill that seemed high was our internet.
We were paying over $100/month which at the time, didn’t seem to be bad. When I asked other people what they pay for internet, their costs were similar to ours. Everyone I knew had their internet through Shaw, Bell, Rogers, or Telus. I thought they were the only game in town.
We all need internet to get by in our day to day living. However, I did consider cutting internet all together and instead walk to Tim Hortons or the Library when I needed it. My wife was not onboard with this idea.
What is the lifetime cost of internet?
Well, this can very depending on the type of plan you have. But for simplicity sake, I’m going to use Shaw Cable’s cheapest internet package at $100 spread over a 50 year period. Using Get Smart About Money’s Compound Interest Calculator, this gives us a shocking result and also shows the power of compound interest.
I don’t know about you, but $190, 000 is a lot of money to pay for something that I can get for free down the street. But I’m not crazy, I need to have internet in our house for day to day living. I was determined to get this monthly internet bill down. A quick internet search of low cost internet providers in Canada lead me to……….
Vmedia to the Rescue
I started to poke around online for cheaper internet and I stumbled upon Vmedia. They are a low cost, Canadian, internet, cable, and phone provider. I’ve been using the 75 Mbps plan at $39.95/month ($44.74 after tax) for the past two years and I haven’t had any problems.
We are a family of 4 and there are a lot of devices drawing from our router. We use it for Netflix, Zoom calls, and daily internet use. No issues. If you are an extreme gamer and are playing in real time you might need a different plan. Now, let’s plug our new internet number back into our interest calculator.
Wow! That’s big savings!
And just to be clear, I haven’t sacrificed anything by switching internet providers. I’m getting the exact same product and my quality of life has not been effected. So, how much did we actually save?
$191, 672.09 – $86, 252.44 = $105, 419.65
For our purposes, let’s just call it an even $100, 000! That money could be put to work in an RRSP, TFSA, RESP, a non-registered account, real estate, or used to fund a side hustle.
Switching to Vmedia will be the easiest $100 000 you ever make. This simple decision could get you to retirement years earlier.
No Contracts
Not only does Vmedia have reasonable prices, they also don’t make you lock into expensive contracts. If at any point you are unhappy or dissatisfied, you can cancel or change your plan.
Sign Up Bonus
Use the link below to receive a $25 credit on your internet bill.
Customer Service
Vmedia’s customer service is excellent and will respond to your email inquiries within hours. Their call centre is open from 10am – 9pm PST.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Home internet is one of those amenities that is difficult to live without in todays world. Remember, you are the customer and the power is in your hands. Once you begin paying monthly fees for internet, your provider will never contact you to lower them.
They assume you are a happy and they are more than thrilled that you have put their payment on autopilot for the rest of your life. Making the right choice with your home internet will help you on your FI Journey.