Cell phones/plans

[SeansMom]

I'm considering a new plan...for all the following reasons:

I've always had a cell phone provided my job, and DH never carries one, so having a service was never needed. Since DS is driving and I'm no longer employed, I would be happier if we each had a phone (I actually need one for school as I'm oncall 24-48 hours/week).

I've been shocked by how much they cost; I looked at Verizon, as they seem to have the best coverage in our rural area, and it's over $100 a month for a family plan.

Right now, I have Kajeet for my son, but the new phone broke after a month and we're trying to fight our way through the "manufactures warranty" and I'm wondering if antoher plan would be better. We do have the GPS on it, and all I've really discovered is that he is almost always where he is supposed to be. I guess it provides peace of mind.

My current phone is on a friend's plan, as she has no "partner" for her family plan, but I can't upgrade without paying full price (because she has a destructive child who broke his phones so many times she used the upgrade on my line for him.)

If we had a family plan, hubby could carry a phone on the rare occasion that he thinks he might.

I think between Kajeet and my friend's phone, I'm spending about $45.00 a month.

What are your thoughts/experiences? Money is a major issue as I'm in school full time and we're basically going in debt for me to complete school.

 

[BrettAZ]

Dont dont dont sign any cell contracts... per Clark Howard on the radio, and ive seen it too.. cell prices will drop by 50 or 60 % before the end of the year....lots of new competition..thats why all the big boys are pushing contract so much right ow. ClarkHoward.com

 

[HaleyB]

Net 10.

Prepaid minutes for as low as 4¢ a minute.
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/998236/

It is cheap enough to be well worth getting one to see for yourself if the coverage is acceptable in your area. Under $25 including tax for a phone w/500 to 700 minutes (depending on a few factors). It has worked perfectly for me everywhere I have taken it.

 

[dawson5]

Whoever you have your current service through, have you gone in the store to see if you can buy a refurbished phone?

I had a t-mobile pay as you go phone for a few years. Worked great. After the initial $100, your minutes don't expire for a year. Also, my phone dropped on the floor and the front lcd glass front broke--not the lcd itself though. I called about getting it fixed (no warranty) and they wanted $50-75 just to look at it. I found the replacement part online, it was $5. Also found the video on how to replace it on youtube, it took all of a few minutes and an eyeglass screwdriver to fix.

 

[SeansMom]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into them .

 

[Suz D]

Keeping in mind that you may have limited service and this might not be an option for you...

We have Virgin Mobile for my DH and DD. They both only need a phone for emergencies or very limited contact (DD travels a bit and DD is starting HS and we'd just feel better about her being able to contact us when needed). We bought the phones outright (one was $9.95 and the other $19.95). I then bought a $90.00 card that is good for one years worth of service. This only gives each of them 400 minutes, but for less than $10.00/month for the whole year it works for us. Neither have ever used the full amount of their minutes for the year. This definately would not work if the phone is used for more than emergencies.

 

[robinb]

My DD's phone is through Page Plus Cellular: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/. The time between "topping up" on a Page Plus phone is longer than most PAYG phones and even at it's most expensive it's 10-cents per minute. They use the Verizon network and I was able to get a Verizon PAYG phone at Wal*Mart for my DD back in December for only $25.

Check out the Howard Forums for more info: http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=364