You don't say what your Computer or Operating System is. That info would be helpful to get maybe a more specific answer.

Wifi, on Win10 and many computers just click the wifi icon by the clock in lower right and place it in airplane mode. Win10 and many others will also have a setting you can search... metered connection - it will turn off most of the background items and save some bytes but sooner or later you need updates and background activities anyhow.

Even if you have no browser open you're still connected with some minor talking going on and updates which can be big or small.

Are you saying that it is your practice to turn on and off your network adapter on a home-based PC, whether it's a wifi or an ethernet connection?

Why? Even if moving from place to place and connecting to different Wifi signals, the task is to connect to the new one. A disconnection from one at a former location isn't necessary. Or maybe I have it wrong? Please explain your disconnect action a bit better.

" I have limited access...."

It sounds as though the OP is concerned about how much logged on time she is using. Perhaps she's on a pay-per-hour/minute type of ISP Wi-Fi usage where she's charged extra money if she exceeds a certain amount of predefined contract time. My ISP offers free, unlimited Wi-Fi usage with the internet access plan that I have but that may not be the case with other ISP programs.

If my understanding is correct...she wants to know how she can enjoy games without incurring Wi-Fi expenses...as in how she can turn off her ISP and still have access to her monitor and games. In my case...if I don't use my browser...my ISP time is very minimal but I have no way of measuring what it actually is. You gurus can bat that ball around. :-)

If you don't have a browser open, you shouldn't be using data. If you have a browser page open, but aren't doing anything, the page might consume data if it has something going on, like animation or videos or ads; other wise not. Your icon -- presuming it's the Network and Sharing Center -- shows whether you have a connection to the Internet...it doesn't necessarily mean you are using data. If you are working on a program that resides on your computer and you are not going to an associated web site, then you aren't using data. You should not have to have to go to the trouble of disconnecting your router every time you aren't on the Internet, and then re-booting or re-connecting it when you want to use it. If you are concerned about data usage, then there are lots of ways you can monitor your use; here's one: Glasswire

What is the reason you are concerned about date use?

Sorry, I didn't realize I got some responses. Ok, I have Windows 7 Hp desk top. I have a Wi Fi as I have another laptop, a kindle and a smart phone. I live in the boonies and am not lucky like a lot of you city folk who have unlimited access. Right now our limit is 12 Gig which we go over periodically and then it is $10 a gig that you can buy extra. If you don't buy it then they cut your speed way down that makes it not even worth trying to use it. So, I don't want to go over. I have a new genealogy software program that I am trying to add information to and this is how I realized that I wasn't turning it off when I thought I was. I had Family.search running in the back ground so I could refer to what I had already entered on line. Some things I have a paper record, so I would turn off the internet (I thought) when I didn't need the web site but I didn't actually close out the page. I realized that if I left the page open, even though I hadn't actually clicked on "connect" to turn it back on, I was able to go to other pages which meant I was not disconnected like I thought. So then I noticed that when I turned on my PC and it booted up, that the internet icon showed that I was connected, even though I didn't open up my browser. So what you are saying kudzu9 is that as long as the browser is not opened I am not using my data. So I will just close those pages when I'm not using them. Right?

You can right click the little connection icon in the bottom right of your screen then click "Open Network and Sharing Center"

Once in the Network and Sharing Center, look for and click on "Change adapter settings". In that window you will need to identify which connection connects to your Internet. If you don't have any Wires going from your computer to the router/modem, then just right click and disable "Wireless Network Connection".....

..you will need to repeat these steps to Enable the connection. Once you've confirmed which connection needs to be enabled and disabled, you can right click it and then select "Create Shortcut" to send the shortcut to your desktop for future use.