mortgage ugh. dont-remind-me. Order of operations I follow is:
  a) Mortgage
  b) Electric
  c) Phone
  d) Internet
  e) Smartphones
  f) TV

  Our Internet's not reliable enough (boonies here) to fold
  Phone/Cell/TV together just yet.

  So often ppl get the order-of-things backwards.

  The trouble with Mortgage-first ('cause you need a roof over
  your head!) is, when times are tough (running your own business
  is doable but it can be hectic) - the *chance* you might lose
  some fun service always looms overhead.

  Been lucky so far. 13 yrs, knock on wood. But that bank has to
  get paid because THEY paid the home-builders to build the house.

  Most ppl don't realize that: A mortgage is a building loan -
  LITERALLY. It's a loan for the building that ONCE built that
  building.

  Still amazes me how construction really starts it all.