My phone is pretty much dead and so is my DH. I have no idea what sort of luck got us with our current phones, but they just didn’t last 2 years. It’s been a little over 18 months since we signed our cellular contract. We are due for renewal and will need to get new phones. The microphone on my DH’s phone is broken, and my phone drops calls all the time.
We called AT&T and were told that we could not get the phones we wanted for free this time around. Last time, my DH managed to negotiate AT&T waiving the fees. He did so by convincing them as long term customers it was worth giving them to us to sign on for another 2 years. We only had to pay $18/line activation fee for the new phones.
The phones we wanted are the LG Xenon and the Sony Ericsson W760. So my DH decided to get them for free from Wirefly. With a coupon he managed to get a free bluetooth handset and the activation fees waived. So what’s the catch for the free phones?
We have to upgrade our cell phone plan from a 550 minute $59.99/month family plan to 700 minute $69.99/month family plan for 6 months. We technically pay $70/month including taxes and fees typically since we don’t text or surf the internet. Also since we never go over it’s an extra $10/month or $60 for the 6 months for the 2 new phones and no activation fee from Wirefly. But the Xenon also requres a $15/month data plan or $5/month text messaging. We went with the data plan for an extra $90 for 6 months. Truth is my DH really wants an iphone but he isn’t sure it’s worth $30/month data plan for 2 years. Plus the phone isn’t even available free from Wirefly.
Thus we save a bit because the phones from AT&T would have cost $99.99 for the Xenon and $49.99 for the Ericsson plus the activation fee of $36. We’d have saved money if we got the $5/month text messaging but it seems like a cool compromise to try out a data plan for 6 months instead.
I don’t know if we’ll be hooked an unable to downgrade in 6 months. I expect us to downgrade our minutes in 6 months for sure. But I hope that this data plan doesn’t turn into HD-TV. Where we got HD finally and now can’t/won’t go back to regular television. But at least it’s a trial run with an option to get out after 6 months. And it’s $15/month instead of $30/month.
What do you pay for your cell phone plan?
17 responses so far ↓
1 Midwest Chick // Jun 4, 2009 at 9:33 pm
I am currently still on a family plan with my mom, dad, brother, and grandma. The five of us share 700 minutes a month. We have unlimited text messaging. My workplace has a discount with my provider, so I get 20% off the primary line. We pay about $130 a month total.
2 LAL // Jun 4, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I didn’t know you could have 5 lines, I thought the maximum was 4.
3 Forest // Jun 5, 2009 at 12:10 am
I pay about $65. I’m on a $40 a month plan for I don’t even know how many minutes and I recently upgraded to the Blackberry which adds $25 a month for the data plan. There also would be taxes and fees and such, but I get a discount from work which pretty much takes care of those so it’s always right around $65 a month. Still not sure if the Blackberry upgrade is really worth it, but it’s kind of fun.
4 JoeP // Jun 5, 2009 at 9:10 am
I think it depends on your usage. In my experience, people who pay for a lot of minutes or features figure out ways to use them, and then use that as a sort of “reverse justification” for paying what they do. Personally, my cell phone is always off, and I use it only for emergencies and the occasional call back home asking clarification on an item at the store.
So we went with T-Mobile’s prepaid plan. After a certain dollar amount is reached, you get a 15% bonus on minutes on subsequent refills. We pay $100 for 1000 minutes (or less) that last a year, and that is usually enough for us.
We don’t like the idea of having a recurring bill for something we rarely use, and don’t want to force ourselves to change our behaviors in order to feel we’re getting value out of something. BTW, same holds for pay TV; we don’t have it because we don’t want to increase our couch time. I’m probably odd man out on this one!
5 Amy // Jun 5, 2009 at 2:12 pm
We pay $125 with my husbands 19% discount through his work for 700 minutes on 2 iPhones with data plans.
I think if your husband wants an iPhone, he should get an iPhone. It is definitely worth the extra $30 per month. Other smart phones on the market really don’t compare. Of course I wouldn’t get a new iPhone now, I would wait until the iPhones come out with either the new operating systems or new phones all together later this summer.
6 Amy // Jun 5, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Plus there’s the rumor of the $99 iPhone.
7 LAL // Jun 6, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Living without a cell is not an option, JoeP. I’d rather live without a landline. Plus my mom would freak out if I didn’t have a cell. Plus it is a good safety issue when I work late. I just don’t need fancy stuff. My DH wants to test out the internet with my phone before committing for two years.
8 JoeP // Jun 7, 2009 at 9:24 am
LAL: I hope you didn’t take my post as an attempt to convince you not get a cell phone. My point was that the type of plans people pick usually go way past their requirements, they pay a lot for those features, and then invent ways to use the features. Being somewhat frugal, we found that a usage-based plan works best for us, and the extra money is helpful. Of course, your needs may be different.
9 LAL // Jun 7, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I’m feeling guilty about the internet. I’m not sure honestly how much use I’ll get. And I’m willing to try it for 6 months. But locked in 2 years at twice the price for an iphone?
No way. We use laptops at home. Why would you use an iphone when you’ve got a work or home computer?
But we had the basic cell phone plan until now. I doubt we could do with a prepaid plan but it’s a nice thought. I don’t like the recurring bill but it seems to have just become necessary. Unless I want my mom calling the police because I don’t answer the home phone or calling my work 24/7.
And yes she’s done that before! I am buying peace of mind and quiet. This way she has an electronic leash on me. She has a few paranoid delusions, not the least of which is me being kidnapped and mugged or killed or run over. Pretty much anything and everything.
10 JoeP // Jun 7, 2009 at 7:42 pm
You can leave a prepaid cell phone on just like a contract cell phone. You can simply not answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize to save money if you wish. In any case, your mom will be able to contact you just the same. Consider the budgetary ramifications of a monthly bill versus as usage-based bill, and make the decision that works for you. That’s what we did, and we are completely happy with our choice.
Let’s face it, we all don’t need internet access that often. If anyone feels the need to be *that* connected, a cheap wi-fi device can pick up signals in a lot of public places for free.
11 LAL // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:30 pm
How would I talk to my mom Joe? I don’t use my work phone.
The internet definitely. It is pretty fun though. I doubt I’ll keep it after the 6 months.
12 JoeP // Jun 11, 2009 at 8:22 am
LAL: Do you understand that a prepaid phone is excatly the same as a contract phone? To talk to your mom, you either call her on it or answer it when she calls. Is there something I’m missing?
13 LAL // Jun 11, 2009 at 9:55 am
I understand but if I talk to her any more than say 5 or 10 minutes at a time, then I’m SOL, right? I mean I’ll burn through my minutes. Or if I chat with any friends I’ll burn through my minutes? So no calling friends and family except from my landline?
14 JoeP // Jun 11, 2009 at 10:09 am
Depends on the number of minutes you burn. Figure out how many you use and then find out how much that will end up costing on a prepaid plan.
Another option (one that turns some people off) involves minor behavioral changes. Maybe for some people you cut the conversation short and tell them you’ll call them back. Then call them on your land line when you get home, or your spouse’s cell phone if they have a big bucket of minutes. Long distance on land lines can be cheaply had using a service like SpotTalk (99 cents a minute and max $1.99 for a call).
Not trying to steer you toward prepaid, but if you’re ignoring the option and not running the numbers, then you might be missing out on some substantial cost savings, not to mention freedom from a contract.
15 LAL // Jun 11, 2009 at 10:21 am
I run through an average of 2000-3000 minutes a month. Most of it is MTM.
My DH is on the plan with me. We pay $70/month for 2 of us. For just him or just me, it would cost $40/month.
How much will that cost with prepaid? We’d have to change our behavior. I always call during the daytime hours because of the time difference. I don’t wait till I get home, I usually call around 5 pm. Then have dinner and sometime I call late at night. I also call early in the morning on the way to work.
My family is entirely on the same network, specifically because they like to chat with each other. My best friends are on the same network both in hawaii and CA.
If I wasn’t on the network, I’d call them using my landline at home and use their minutes up. Especially since I’d have to wait until at least 10 pm to chat from home because of the 3 hour east and west difference.
My family has landlines, so that might not be a big deal. My friends? Most are never home, I usually catch them in the car or at the gym, and they usually don’t have landlines.
I know that I use a ton of minutes. My DH gets calls as well and most of his friends are on the network as well, especially his brother. Again we’d have to wait until 10 pm at least to chat.
I think that if you live anywhere far from your family and friends, a cell phone is the way to go. If you live in a place where calling friends and family is local, maybe a prepaid is the way to go.
Also if you are single and no landline, cell phone not prepaid is the way to go. That way all calls can be answered such that you don’t feel like you are tying up a work phone. Or if you share a work phone or need to talk privately you can go outside.
If you have to consider time zones in your calls it’s a big deal. My roommate used to have free international calling on his cell. He’d pay around $70/month but he used it. His parents live in Canada, but traveled and now live part time in Pakistan, Turkey, London, and his family is in Africa as well. Now he has a ton of minutes and buys international calling card since they did away with his plan.
He only skypes with his brother. I believe if we lived close to our families prepaid could very much work well.
16 JoeP // Jun 11, 2009 at 11:22 am
Looking at your situation, the behavioral change to go from contract to prepaid would be big, possibly too big to be comfortable with it. So spending the money for a contract deal would probably keep everyone happier.
17 LAL // Jun 12, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Until we moved out east we lived with one cell phone for me. Then we moved and it got to be more difficult. I think that previously it was different. Our needs were different.
Leave a Comment