Cell phone problem: Fixed!

I managed to get our cell phone bill down to $39 monthly ($42 with tax).  T-Mobile lets me purchase minutes to use in advance, so I get to keep my same number and phone, but I won't be answering it when it rings unless it's Cliff.  Those who want to talk to me will need to call Cliff.  Most of the people we talk to have T-mobile, so if they call Cliff, minutes won't even count.  And yet, I have a phone with me just in case.  
I'm still stewing over the Century-link bill.  All we want from them is Internet; we're paying almost $50 per month.  I didn't want to have their phone at all, but they gave us a new number and said people can call us, but we can't call out (except for 911).  Now we're getting calls for whoever had this number before, not to mention credit card companies peddling their wares and Highway Patrol guys trying to collect for some "good cause".  How do these people get our number?  
If I could get the local cable company to run Internet from the road to our house, I'd switch, because I'm fairly sure their Internet wouldn't cost us almost $50 a month.  
Now that Cliff has retired, I'm a regular tightwad!