Old Phone Contract is Up. Help Us Save!

[TinkOhio]

It's time to sign up for a new phone plan, and I am looking for advice. Long story short, we have been on a contract with T Mobile for two years and can't wait to switch to another carrier. We signed with T Mobile to save money, and it wasn't worth it. Even though we live and work in a major city and suburbs, reception is horrible. We previously had a contract with Verizon and were very pleased with the service. It was expensive, but reliable. We want to sign back on with Verizon, but we are hoping to do so in a budget-savvy fashion. Any advice on how to do that would be greatly appreciated!

We need four lines. My DH wants to keep his old smart phone. My DD wants a Samsung Galaxy. I have never had an iphone, but I would like to try one. My DS isn't sure what model he would like. When looking at ads yesterday, I saw that Target had a deal on the iphone 5. Should I go for it, or the 4S? Also, our cable bills are high, but the service that we have received from our provider (Cox) has been top notch. The bundling benefits AT&T offers is very attractive, but I have heard reception here is also spotty.

Can you help us find a way to keep everyone happy and save money? To top it off, I am thinking of buying a tablet for home and school use. I teach special ed to 5-10 year olds, and there are some pretty cool apps that would be helpful in class.

TIA for any help!

 

[sweetdana]

I think Verizon family plan with your goals is best option. It will run 45$ Aprox for each phonr

 

[DawnM]

If you need 4 smart phones you may not be able to get any better deals than a contract service.

You could look into Walmart's Family Plan (I think it is Net10). It is $45 for the first phone and $35 for each additional smart phone. YOu have to buy the phones yourself though and I believe it uses T-mobile towers so that may not help you.

T-mobile also has a cheaper plan called Simple Mobile, but no subsidies on phones. http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/family-plans.aspx

As far as cable. We don't have it at all. Our bill is $0.

From what I understand, ATT U-verse isn't any cheaper after the initial teaser rate.

 

[bab830205]

The best deal out right now is Page Plus. It is prepaid and smart phones get unlimited talk, text and 2g of internet for $55 a month. If you don't need the internet unlimited talk and text is $39.99 a month. Page plus runs off of Verizon Wireless towers so service is A1. I work for a Wireless company and we sell everything but Page Plus is the best by far IMO.

 

[lvillotta1]

The cheapest option Straight Talk from Walmart. Yes you would have to new phones. Unlimited talk,text,Internet for around $50/month. I love ST and the price is unbeatable. They use Verizon towers. Never had a problem. Sign up for easy pay and deducts right out acct each month.

 

[gabriellewatson]

You might want to look into Virgin Mobile. It is a no contract / prepaid type of service. You can pay per month.

Our contracted with ATT recently ended (March 2013). Although I was happy with their service, the bills were expensive each month for what we were getting out of it, IMO.

We paid anywhere from $137-156 after taxes each month for only 600 mins / unlimited text / 200 mb of data for 2 folks (my hubs and me).

That really was not enough data or talk time for either of us, but it was the 'cheapest' option they had, and we really wanted iPhones.

Now that the iPhones we have, are pretty much destroyed (that's just what happens when you have toddlers), we are switching to Virgin Mobile. It is exactly $45 per month, per user. $90 (taxes included) for unlimited talk, text, and a data for us.

I did some research on phones, and although I LOVE, love, LOVE Apple products. I am switching to an LG Optimus Elite because it was $68 out of pocket for each phone, and it has all the same options as our iPhone 3GS' - only downside is that it does not have a lot of storage on the actual device itself, so I will invest in an SD card to slip inside the phone to improve the memory.

So all in all, I paid $136 for 2 phones that are a similar style, but a bit lighter than the iPhone, and I will pay $90 per month for unlimited everything. And the reviews from Virgin Mobile have been great from what I've read; they run on the Sprint network, so plenty of reception and cell towers in North Texas (where I am at).

Good luck and definitely do more research before switching

 

[DawnM]

I don't think is the cheapest option for 4 smart phones as OP needs. That is $200 total per month (or close to it, $45 plus tax per phone.)

The cheapest option Straight Talk from Walmart. Yes you would have to new phones. Unlimited talk,text,Internet for around $50/month. I love ST and the price is unbeatable. They use Verizon towers. Never had a problem. Sign up for easy pay and deducts right out acct each month.

 

[Moodyzblu]

I switched to Straight Talk and saved myself $150 a month ! I couldn't be happier. The service is great (where I live) and have never had any problems away from here.

 

[wiigirl]

The cheapest option Straight Talk from Walmart. Yes you would have to new phones. Unlimited talk,text,Internet for around $50/month. I love ST and the price is unbeatable. They use Verizon towers. Never had a problem. Sign up for easy pay and deducts right out acct each month.

 

[angwill]

The best deal out right now is Page Plus. It is prepaid and smart phones get unlimited talk, text and 2g of internet for $55 a month. If you don't need the internet unlimited talk and text is $39.99 a month. Page plus runs off of Verizon Wireless towers so service is A1. I work for a Wireless company and we sell everything but Page Plus is the best by far IMO.

Virgin Mobile is also $55 for unlimited or $35 for limited minutes but unlimited text and internet. Do you know the difference between VM and Page Plus? Just curious.

 

[bab830205]

Virgin Mobile is also $55 for unlimited or $35 for limited minutes but unlimited text and internet. Do you know the difference between VM and Page Plus? Just curious.

I sell both at my store. VM is good but they don't pick up that great unless you live close to a tower. I live in the country and VM does not work at all here. In the city it is fine. Page Plus works almost everywhere. VM is a great option if you stay in the city.

 

[DawnM]

You need to be a little more specific. VM uses which towers???? (thought it was Sprint?)

Page Plus uses which towers???? Doesn't it depend on the phone?

They all use someone else's towers and it will depend on where you live and what cell service works best in your area.

Dawn

I sell both at my store. VM is good but they don't pick up that great unless you live close to a tower. I live in the country and VM does not work at all here. In the city it is fine. Page Plus works almost everywhere. VM is a great option if you stay in the city.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

You could look into Walmart's Family Plan (I think it is Net10). It is $45 for the first phone and $35 for each additional smart phone. YOu have to buy the phones yourself though and I believe it uses T-mobile towers so that may not help you.

Hmm, Net10 around my area uses the same towers as Straight Talk, I'd been with ST now I'm with Net10 and there's been no difference. T-Mobile is crappy around here.

 

[kajs22]

I just dumped Verizon because the 3 phones we have (only 1 with data) was costing $200 per month - ugh! We started with page plus last month - using Kitty Wireless and I have to say I am happy with the service. Now my phone bill is $54 per month for all 3 lines!

 

[kajs22]

You need to be a little more specific. VM uses which towers???? (thought it was Sprint?)

Page Plus uses which towers???? Doesn't it depend on the phone?

They all use someone else's towers and it will depend on where you live and what cell service works best in your area.

Dawn

Oh yeah - Page plus uses Verizon - so no change in quality of wireless.

 

[gabriellewatson]

Hmm, Net10 around my area uses the same towers as Straight Talk, I'd been with ST now I'm with Net10 and there's been no difference. T-Mobile is crappy around here.

I thought that Straight Talk used Tmobile towers though. I don't know if maybe I just heard that somewhere or something. I looked into them but the phones cost less through VM and so I decided t go with them rather than ST.

 

[gabriellewatson]

I just dumped Verizon because the 3 phones we have (only 1 with data) was costing $200 per month - ugh! We started with page plus last month - using Kitty Wireless and I have to say I am happy with the service. Now my phone bill is $54 per month for all 3 lines!

Now that is cheap! Do you get data and unlimited text messages?

 

[ceecee]

DH and I have Tracfone $99 for a year service and 1200 minutes. Great reception everywhere we have ever traveled too. DD has an iPhone with Virgin Mobile she gets 200 minutes with unlimited texts (that is the reason she is with them) for $30.00 a month.

 

[melifeld]

I have one word for you... Ting. We had Verizon with 2 smartphones and paid about $150/month. We switched to Ting about 10 months ago, and our average monthly bill for 2 smartphones has been about $45. You have to purchase the phone, but no contract and great service. They run on the Sprint network, so if you have good Sprint service in your area I highly recommend them.

 

[MCazer]

I have 4 phones through Page Plus using Kitty wireless (tier two plan). I get an automatic discount with it.


We have 3 iPhones, and 1 android

We have the $12 plan (I pay $10.80) 250 minutes, 250 texts and 5mb of data for my Mom.

For my son and myself, we have the $29.99 plan (I pay $26.95) for 1200 minutes, 3000 texts and 250mb of data

For my daughter, I have the $39.99 plan, (I pay $35.95) for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 200mb of data.

I have read on kitty's site that they will be changing the data to 500mb for both the $29 and $39 plans.

And they use Verizon! Win win!