Why Your Internet Bill is Eating Your iPhone Budget (And What to Do About It)
Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) just reported strong Q2 2026 results, with Glo Fiber revenue up 32.8% and a record 6,200 net additions. But while fiber companies are booming, your personal expenses might be quietly draining your budget. Here's how to stop the leak and keep more cash for what matters.
I was sipping my morning coffee in Ubud when I saw the headline: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results. Not exactly beach reading, right? But hear me out.
This isn't just about some Virginia-based telecom. It's about how the companies we pay every month are getting richer while our own wallets get lighter. And if you're a freelancer, remote worker, or digital nomad like me, you're probably bleeding money on expenses you never even think about.
The Glo Fiber Boom: What It Means for Your Wallet
Shentel just hit a massive milestone: their 100,000th Glo Fiber customer. CEO Ed McKay said, "Our fiber businesses continue to build strong momentum, now representing 51% of our total revenue and delivering 21% year-over-year growth."
Impressive numbers. But here's the thing—while Shentel is adding 6,200 fiber customers per quarter, you're probably adding dozens of small, forgettable expenses every month. A coworking day pass here. A Zoom subscription there. That random SaaS tool you signed up for and forgot to cancel.
The math is brutal.
Shentel's Glo Fiber Expansion Markets revenue grew 32.8% year over year to $26.3 million. Meanwhile, your "small" expenses are growing at a similar rate—but you're not tracking them. You're just wondering why your bank account feels emptier every month.
The Hidden Cost of Location Independence
As a digital nomad, I love the freedom. But freedom has a price tag. And it's not just the obvious stuff like flights and Airbnbs.
Think about it:
- Coworking memberships in different cities
- International data plans and eSIMs
- Cloud storage for all your files
- VPN subscriptions
- Coffee shop purchases (they add up fast!)
- Random transaction fees for international transfers
These are the expenses that slip through the cracks. The ones you tell yourself you'll "sort out later." But later never comes.
The iPhone Test: A Simple Reality Check
Here's a question I ask myself: "If I saved every expense I forgot to claim this year, could I buy an iPhone?"
For most people, the answer is yes. And that's not a joke.
Let's say you forget to claim just $20 in expenses per week. That's $1,040 a year. The new iPhone 17 Pro? About $1,099. You're literally one forgotten coffee receipt away from a new phone.
But the problem isn't that you're bad with money. It's that expense tracking is a pain in the ass. You have to save receipts, remember what was business vs. personal, and then manually enter everything into some clunky spreadsheet. Who has time for that?
The 3-Second Solution
I used to be terrible at this. Then I found ccLuca.
Snap a photo. AI extracts the data in 3 seconds. Done. No IT setup, no enterprise software, no learning curve. Just you and your expenses, sorted.
It's built for people like us—individuals and small teams who don't have a finance department. You know, the people who actually need to keep their money.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Shentel's report shows that fiber is becoming the backbone of how we work. 51% of their revenue now comes from fiber businesses. That means more people are working remotely, streaming, and relying on high-speed internet.
But here's the irony: the same connectivity that enables our location independence also enables a thousand tiny subscription fees, transaction costs, and forgotten expenses.
You can't afford to ignore this.
Every dollar you don't claim is a dollar you're giving away. And in a world where even telecom giants are fighting for every percentage point of growth, you should be fighting for yours too.
The Bottom Line
Stop treating your expenses like an afterthought. Start treating them like the revenue stream they actually are.
Because if you're not tracking your expenses, you're not just losing money. You're losing freedom.
And that's the whole point of this lifestyle, isn't it?
Source: Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results