If the idea of parting with your internet connection leaves you gasping in horror, you're not alone. An Ofcom study shows around half of us would rather give up treats like eating out, DIY and holidays than relinquish our communications services.
Although almost half of respondents to the regulator's survey said they'd be likely to cut back on going out for dinner, just 10% would give up their broadband. Four in ten of us would choose to give up holidays compared to 16% who're willing to forego their TV subscription.
Results like this show there's a whole new wave of services that have become necessary to us, as essential as gas and electricity. Just as people don't consider cutting themselves off from the national grid, households can't bear to be without internet, television and a phone.
But even if you prefer gadgets to getaways and mobiles to meals out, the chances are you could still make savings and not have to go without. Here are a few of the current market-leading deals...
Choosing the best mobile deal
More than 85% of UK adults now own at least one mobile phone. For many they are no longer a luxury but a necessity.
There are thousands of tariffs to choose from. James Parker, moneysupermarket.com's mobile and broadband expert, said: "There's no single deal that suits everyone. You need to look for the best offer for your personal use, whether you're a compulsive texter, you make calls while abroad or use your handset to browse the web."
But what are the most competitive deals on offer just now? Well, the best buys are all longer contracts at 18 months, so be aware that you'll be tied in for a year and a half.
Are you looking to spend just £15 a month on your tariff? Vodafone has an 18-month contract that gives you 100 minutes and 500 texts, while Virgin offers 200 minutes and 300 texts for the same price.
If you know you'll use your phone more than that, the Orange Dolphin 25 deal costs just £19.57 a month online, giving you 200 minutes and unlimited texts.
For those who spend hours each month making calls, O2 has an online-only tariff at a monthly cost of £44.05 that gives you 1,200 minutes and 1,000 texts a month.
Bringing down the cost of broadband
Web at home
Ofcom recently revealed that broadband in the home has become considerably more competitive. At the end of 2005, customers were paying an average of £23.30 a month for their broadband but now they are paying just £13.61.
This is because Ofcom ruled that BT should unbundle lines and allow rivals to use its copper telephone network. James said: "The move allowed a number of competitors to enter the market and challenge BT's dominance, which in turn forced down prices and ultimately gave consumers a much better and fairer deal."
So what's on offer? Well, there's a moneysupermarket.com exclusive deal available from Plusnet. You can have three months free on any broadband deal by quoting 'mscom' as you sign up.
That makes the market-leading Plusnet Value deal even more of a bargain for light and medium web users. It brings the average price down to just £4.49 a month and the contract is for a year and a half with a download cap of 10 gigabytes (GB).
If you're a heavy user and any sort of limit leaves a bad taste in your mouth, O2's Premium deal could be better. For an average cost of £12.23 a month, you can have unlimited downloads and top speeds of up to 20meg - that's if you sign up in August, which gives you two months free.
The O2 tariff is particularly good if you already have a phone with the company, as it'll give you a discount, bringing it down to an average of £8.16 each month.
Of course, it's only worth paying more for unlimited web if you're actually going to use it. If you know you're a light user, you may well want to stick with the low-cost Plusnet Value deal.
Mobile web
Internet at home has long been an essential service for many people and now internet on the go is becoming equally important.
T-Mobile's 18-month Mobile Broadband Plus costs £14.17 a month, with a data allowance of 3Gb. If you exceed that, the provider lets you know - which is vital if you're a heavy user as some suppliers charge a fortune if you use more than you've agreed.
Alternatively, the Internet Everywhere 15 deal from Orange charges £14.68 a month and 1.43p for every Mb you use beyond 3GB.
Saving a bundle
Many households could make significant savings by moving to a bundle deal, where one provider supplies their broadband, home phone and TV.
In fact, in several of our financial makeovers, we used a bundle deal to save people money. Earlier this year, we saved Angela Hanvey an incredible £333 a year by bundling her phone, broadband and TV together on a deal with Sky.
For £14 on average a month, and with a contract of one year, Virgin Media's Bundle product provides unlimited internet access within its fair use policy, unlimited UK weekend and landline calls and more than 45 digital TV channels.
Alternatively, Sky's 12-month See, Speak, Surf deal costs £16.50 a month, caps your downloads at 2Gb, provides free UK evening and weekend calls - as long as you have an active BT line, and allows you access to up to 212 non-subscription channels as well as its Variety Pack.
Disclaimer: Please note that any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing. Products underlined can be applied for directly.
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