I’m not saying he’s not just leading you on, but maybe that fella you’ve got your eye on isn’t answering your perfectly breezy text messages asking what he’s up to this weekend is because he got rid of his cellphone. There are 30 million people in the U.S. right now who don’t have cellphones, after all, so he could ostensibly be one of them. Or maybe he’s just not that into you. Ahem.

Even as people are willing to cut back on many other things in their lives but still cling to spending on cellphones, the Wall Street Journal notes that there are still plenty of people getting along without the devices in an effort to cut costs. Avoiding having a contract with a major phone company can free up a nice bit of your budget, after all.

But how do you do that? Live without a cellphone? Well, as the WSJ points out, we all used to do that all the time, and for some people out of work or living on a fixed income, it’s not so easy to keep making those payments every month.

One woman says she just sets up a meeting place and time beforehand with friends, and if they don’t show up within 15 to 30 minutes, she goes about her day. Just like the days of yore!

I once left my cellphone at home (I know, gasp, the horror, etc.) when going to meet friends for a movie. I was early, or so I thought, and kept waiting outside. No one was showing up so I frantically tried to find a pay phone to call my mother, the only number I knew by heart, so she could get me one of my friends’ numbers. Turns out they were already in the theater by the time I gave up on contacting them.

This doesn’t mean we’re all ditching our precious texting and movie-watching machines, oh no — American cellphone ownership is at around 88%, says the Pew Research Center. But still, that guy? He could be part of the 12%, sweetie. Don’t let it get you down and just move on with your life.

Living Without a Cellphone [Wall Street Journal]

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