Cell phones are too stinking expensive!

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

I need to find a new cell phone plan. I was paying about $20 a month under a family plan, but I can't do that now. I hardly ever use my phone and I text occassionally. I don't want to get a new plan and pay almost $50 a month with taxes and fees!

Should I do a pay as you go phone? How does that work? Any other suggestions?

 

[CleoPahd]

If you really hardly ever use it you could look into a tracfone. We had one for our daughter and it really worked out well. However, now she's at the point where she pretty much only texts so we just got her an AT&T prepaid with a texting only plan.

Tracfone is good because if you get the double minutes for life it increases your minutes right off the bat. They also have all these promotional codes available to get bonus minutes when you add minutes to the phone. You do have to buy minutes at least every 90 days to keep the phone active. We were spending on average less than $10 per month to keep the phone going. You can talk and text with it. However, the signal isn't always the greatest depending on where you are. Hope that helps a little.

 

[moongirl]

We were in the same boat as you 2 years ago. We have T-mobile pay-as-you-go plans. With our plan, we can buy a $100 card that is good for 1000 minutes and is good for one year. This lasts my husband at least 9 months and lasts me about 6 months. The phones start out at $15 - $20 depending on what you want it to do. Ours are the bare bones models. Our signal is fine most places but people with regular plans get more coverage and better signals than we do. The only time this has ever been an issue is when we vacation on the Outer Banks - we get no signal there.

 

[disney11fan]

Simple solution to your problem. Tracfone no mo. Contract,phone cost about $15.00 and minutes ...pay as you go for about .09 a minute. Check it out ..we use them and have never had a problem.

 

[poohbear2]

I got a T-Mobile pay as you go about a year ago thanks to the advice of the good folks here at the budget board. BEST THING I EVER DID!!! I can even text if I want. I paid about 45.00 for the phone and have paid about 150.00 for minutes. Its been about one year. I used to pay 135/mnt for three phones before that.

 

[descovy]

Yes! I've had a T-Mobile pay as you go plan for YEARS. Mainly because I noticed I was never making use of my $30 att plan.

You pay retail for the phone (so no "freebie" which is never free when you consider the cost of the plan) but $20 will get you a more than adequate phone. Through the years I have upgraded phones, and all I had to do was move the sim card to my new phone... my minutes and number moved with me.

T-Mobile is .10/min or .10/text. If you buy $100 in minutes you get a bonus 15% ... and your minutes will last a whole year. Also prepaid minutes often go on sale at Target. I estimate I pay 7-8 cents a minute.

What to look for is how long you have until minutes expire, and cost per minute. but I'll tell you... I don't deny myself my cell phone or restrict my minutes. I use it however long/often I need to. Even then, I probably spend $10-15/mo

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Thanks for all the replies!

How much is texting on a tracfone? I'm not finding it on the website.

 

[Familycircus]

How much is texting on a tracfone? I'm not finding it on the website.

It depends on the phone you buy. We have 3 in our house. Mine and my son's receives free text and outgoing text is .3 of a minute. My wife's is .3 of a minute both in & out texting, but she has a fancier camera phone.

 

[CleoPahd]

My daughter had the same situation with texting. Her first phone was a less expensive one it it was free for incoming texts and .3 minutes for an outgoing. Her newer phone (camera) was .3 in and out.

 

[nunzia]

I've had a Tracfone for years and years and am very pleased with them. I've bought new phones a couple times (the last one cost all of $10.00) and transferred my minutes and time to it. I figure it costs me $8-$10 a month..somtimes I buy a year plan for like $100.00, and sometimes I buy 3 months at a time. Texts are .3 minute useage. I have never run out of minutes..I just use it occasionally and when we travel. No complaints at all,. Customer service is in India or somewhere, but you can still get helped if you have issues (sometimes my phone doesn't add the minutes right and I have to call for long strings of codes)

 

[pat fan]

I've had a tracfone for years and love it! The one I have now has the double minutes, so I put $20 on it about every 2-3 months. 1 minute of a call is 1 tracfone unit, and a text (in or out) is .3 of 1 unit.

My DS just got an ATT pay-as-you-go because of the texting. The phone was free (a friend got a new one and gave him hers) and he has the $25 a month plan. That is $20 for the unlimited texting and $5 for calling. He rarely uses the calling method, but has the $5 on there for emergencies.

 

[bettymae1121]

I love pre-paid!

I was in your exact position a few years ago. I used 5 minutes a month on my cell but was paying $50 a month for a plan with 900 minutes, it was nuts!

I was with T-Mobile at the time so I called up customer service and they were able to switch my current phone off a monthly plan and into a pre-paid plan...I even kept my phone number! Since then I've paid about $100 a year for my cell, rather than $600 a year!

Last year I decided to get a new phone, and they had a nice T-Moble pre-paid one at Target that I liked for $30. They have even nicer ones with more features if you want something really fancy.

T-Mobile is 10 cents a minute/text, minutes are good for 3 months but if you add more money before they expire the old minutes will roll over. If you put in $100 at a time, then they are good for a full year. I always have a signal and never had a droped call, and I've traveled quite a bit throughout the US.

 

[ceecee]

We use TracFone. $99 for a year service and 450 minutes (my phone has double minutes for life) and with a code I can usually get around 1000 minutes. I don't use it much either, but want it for emergency and to keep in touch with DD.
The customer service is horrible if English is your first language!!!

 

[Gina]

You might also look into Virgin Mobile. That is what I've had DS under for years (because to add a line onto my T-Mobile plan was ungodly expensive) and I have been so happy with them. He had Tracfone for a while, but he didn't like the phones and I HATED their customer service. I have to give props to Virgin Mobile for their service -- they're pretty awesome! Really nice, and really helpful. DS is on their unlimited plan, $24.99 for 400 talk minutes per month, and unlimited text/picture text/email/web. Perfect for him.

 

[Poohbug]

I have had Virgin mobile for years. $15 every three months is something I can deal with. I rarely use a cell phone but it is nice to have when you need it. I don't text but I'm sure they have a texting plan.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have had Virgin mobile for years. $15 every three months is something I can deal with. I rarely use a cell phone but it is nice to have when you need it. I don't text but I'm sure they have a texting plan.

They do have a texting plan, several in fact, including unlimited. We have them, too, and have been happy for years as well. However, their pay-by-the-minute plans are being phased out, so the REALLY cheap option probably won't be available for new customers for much longer, just for us existing customers who are grandfathered in.

The pay-by-the-minute plans are still available for now from VM, but you have to dig deeper in the website to find them; they are now being called "PayLo" plans. When I set one up for my son recently I found that I had to call Virgin to do it; the website is set up to presume that you want a monthly flat rate plan, even if you specify a PayLo phone. (We found that out when his phone died after 30 days when he didn't top up again. Only by calling could I get it changed to the $.20/minute Basic Rate option.)

The Basic Rate with VM does include texting, pictures, and data; you just have to pay for them each time you use them. Texts are now $.15 each in either direction, photos are $.25 each to send or receive, and data is $1.50 per day to use, but it is only deducted if you actually use it that day. (Which means that if you get lost somewhere and need to access Google maps or look up something, you can, or check in online for the occasional air flight; you just are not paying all month for the privilege.)

 

[Soben]

The customer service is horrible if English is your first language!!!

The people are usually very nice and patient. They are in India though, and whenever I have to get a new phone and xfer the number, I always have to call India.

I love TF and have never found another plan that comes close on price. I pay $20/month for 3 lines. With double minutes and a quick search for codes, we add about 150 minutes on a phone to last 3 months. That's 50 minutes a month (I never use all of mine) or 166 texts per month. If you add more minutes at a time, the cost per minute goes down. My 14 yo adds more minutes w/her money.

I think that they are on the Sprint network, I've never had any coverage issues, but I think that it may depend on your area. You could buy the $10 phone and it comes w/10 minutes and try it out before you committed to more time.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

$20 a month? WOW. I pay $83!

You should really get a pay as you go for your situation. I use my cell as my main line and it's also an iPhone so it functions as a portable PC for me. I'd never give it up.

 

[scard192]

I love pre-paid!

I was in your exact position a few years ago. I used 5 minutes a month on my cell but was paying $50 a month for a plan with 900 minutes, it was nuts!

I was with T-Mobile at the time so I called up customer service and they were able to switch my current phone off a monthly plan and into a pre-paid plan...I even kept my phone number! Since then I've paid about $100 a year for my cell, rather than $600 a year!

Last year I decided to get a new phone, and they had a nice T-Moble pre-paid one at Target that I liked for $30. They have even nicer ones with more features if you want something really fancy.

T-Mobile is 10 cents a minute/text, minutes are good for 3 months but if you add more money before they expire the old minutes will roll over. If you put in $100 at a time, then they are good for a full year. I always have a signal and never had a droped call, and I've traveled quite a bit throughout the US.

I'm thrilled to see this. I currently have a T-Mobile plan that I pay $19.99/month for 75 minutes(weekends free). Not a lot of money but I rarely use 30 mins a month. My sister has a Tracfone and keeps having to add minutes that she never uses to keep the phone active. My contact with T Mobile ends in November and I am seriously considering switching to pre-paid. I don't give many people my cell # because my minutes are so limited;it's turned off most of the time. It would be nice to be able to use it more if I wanted/needed to and wouldn't have to go with a more expensive plan.

 

[cseca]

Great question! We are currently looking at prepaid cell as well.

For those of you who has tracfone, how much do they charge per txt?
I can't seem to find the answer on their website.

Thanks so much!