So anyway I'm a Comcast customer. A few months back I signed up for their "Triple Play" package which includes TV, phone and internet. They quote $99 as the price, but what they don't tell you is the tall stack of fees and taxes you have to pay on top of that. It's an extra $10 to get a reasonable selection of channels, $14 for HD DVR, $6 for the equipment that lets you get phone service, $3 for the equipment that lets you get phone service, $.50 for a remote (?!), and lots of other fees and taxes.

I know, I could go without... I could get basic vanilla cable (or just scrap TV altogether and read books at the library), or I could use my cell phone for my main phone, etc. but let's face it -- a home phone is convenient and I'm a hopeless TV and internet junkie. I'm looking at my options to see what I can do to trim these costs. Right now, it's bearable, but when my 1-year trial ends and the Comcast bill goes up $40, I'm going to have to switch to something else.