How to convince them to ditch their land line and cable (both expensive) and modernize to internet TV and viop phone saving $3500 a year? All can go thru internet they already have. They're hesitant to learn new things, which I understand, but $3,500 is nothing to sneeze at.
I used to wonder why anyone had land lines. We had switched entirely over to cell phones once our kids were old enough to have them. But it occurred to me that a land line has its uses. No matter where you are, internet outages happen. And if their cell phone gets stuck on wifi calls for some reason (my FIL used to play with his phone and change his settings all the time. I spent hours fixing it back to default every time I visited) and it won't swap over or there is something wrong with the cell service, they don't have a way to call for help.
Modernizing is great - if it is something they can handle. My mom is the tech advisor among her friends. She's almost 80 and incredibly savvy. She uses all kinds of streaming services avidly.
But there is also something to be said for leaving things alone or sharing/overlapping with older technologies.
The land line itself shouldn't be too expensive. Do they watch a lot of tv? Or just have it on in the background. If it's just local tv you could cancel cable and just get a really good antenna. There are a number of pretty good channels that way, including MeTV, which shows mostly older television shows anyway.
Now wifi pass for $10 monthly which is endless use, I can use for hours and hours for the Internet. If you get a cell phone,go into settings and lock the outside buttons so they don't mute it. Typical for elderly to mess with the controls. So, TV has good programs and phone & Internet is under $50 per month. There's always DVD player and you can buy movies at the thrift store for about $3 each or cheaper at the salvation army store. Have you thought that maybe they are ordering movies on cable and that's why it costs so much? You can put a parental block on the TV so they can't order movies. That's what my mom was doing,fall asleep and order it again and again.
I managed to adapt from a 1960s world all the way up to a 2010s world, but somewhere around age 50, my window of easily learning fresh new things starting closing. I don't know how to reopen it.
Like I said, it took me a year to adapt to streaming and I'm glad I did it, but I CHOSE to change, and it still reduced me to tears of angry frustration more than once. Ergo, I would absolutely NOT force that on somebody my age or older. My neighbor is 78. She has cable on a smart tv. If the input accidentally changes or the router resets, I have to go over and reset her TV to "find" her cable service, because even with the familiar cable, she doesn't understand how to operate a smart TV.
I light of this, just the IDEA of inflicting streaming TV and cellphones on an 88 year old sounds incredibly cruel, cold, totally clueless, and frankly, stupid.
I bought my Mom a RAZ Mobility phone where I control all her contacts and it has big pictures for them. I bought the phone outright ($390 at the time) and she's on our Verizon plan at $10 p/mo for her line. No data, no internet, no texting, no camera. Lots of control for the caregiver, though. I don't know how much a landline costs anymore but I pretended her handheld phone broke, removed it and never replaced it. She mostly used a flip phone, and when that broke I got her the Raz, which looks like a smartphone and was easier for her to see, hear and handle.
We hate to see our parents “wasting” money but I think as long as they can keep what gives them peace and they can afford it, let them have it.
What if you suggested changing up the plans? If they only watch a few shows maybe reduce the subscription or get a simpler phone plan. Might make it cheaper but still keeping the systems they know.
If they can afford it let them be and enjoy it while they still can
One thing to remember, with a landline there is no need to charge the phone if the phone itself is an attached landline. My Dad had landline portable phone but he started to forget to put the phone back in the cradle to charge. And when the power goes out, if the phone is not bundled with the internet, the phone would still work.
Learning today's new technology has been a challenge. Back in the 1990's I could master any software program and taught others how to use it, and my Dad was still writing Code when he was 75 years old, onto floppy discs.
Getting older is stressful enough without being forced to learn new technology. I am pushing 80 years old, yet, I am bewildered by how to use the cellphone as the software doesn't make sense. The old KISS Theory was tossed out the window. Gone are the days of plug-and-play for TV's, etc.
I agree the landline and cable are both frightfully expensive; I have both myself.
Modernizing and saving money are not everyone's priorities.