posted on December 14, 2009 07:41:14 PM new
Happy with your current carrier and current phone? See no reason to sign on for another contract commitment and happy to live by the terms of your expired contract? It pays to check into new plans offered by your carrier. We are on a family plan, due to expire this month. 3 of the members are content with their current phones, one wanted to upgrade. We checked into the heck-of-a-deal phone upgrades with the renewal of a 2 year contract. Then I saw our carrier, T-Mobile, offered a family plan with reduced monthly fees ($30 less per month), no contract commitment BUT no phone discounts. As a bonus, we received unlimited texting for all, where we had unlimited texting for only 1 before. The 2 year renewal credit of $100 for the phone we want to upgrade was easily outweighed by the $720 savings over the 2 year commitment the contract would have obligated us to. I don't know if other companies have similarly morphing plans but its worth checking into. Edited to add: I was surprised by the $70 "activation fee" which the retail rep mentioned upfront but was hidden on their web page.
[ edited by pixiamom on Dec 14, 2009 07:54 PM ]
posted on December 17, 2009 06:44:23 AM new
They'll get their money out of you one way or the other. No contracts for my family ever again. Son and daughters have Verizon prepaid accounts that cost them about 20 bucks apiece per month. Unlimited texting, which is all they do unless they're calling dear old dad, who refuses to learn how to text message on principle. SWMBO and I have tracfones, which run about 20 a month for her and maybe about 6 or 8 bucks for me. Minutes roll over forever and I'm a very light user. ANY phone for me is an emergency instrument only. I might use my cell phone 15 minutes a month.
Cell phone costs have never been an issue for us. Want your own phone? Great. Pay for it yourself.
posted on December 17, 2009 10:24:23 PM new
Prepaid phone charges aren't the bargain you want them to be. Additional users on our T-Mobile family plan is $5 per additional user, same shared minutes, unlimited text.
posted on December 18, 2009 01:07:28 PM new
I'm with you, profe! We have A cell phone--ONE only. A Jitterbug, as simple as one can be. If one of us will be home, and the other away in town or down the mountain, that driver brings the cell phone with him. If we're both going off the mountain, we bring it in case of emergency on the road. That's it. We don't text each other at all, and we're on e-mail or phone with our kids frequently. No need for the bells and whistles.
As I've said before, though, if we were both working, as in the past, we'd each have a cell phone. And if we had small children in frequent need of getting hold of us, we'd think differently.
We're old-fashioned, I suppose, but we prefer face-to-face contact as much as possible.
_____________________
"Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who ***dared to dissent*** from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, ***may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."*** --Eisenhower
[ edited by roadsmith on Dec 18, 2009 01:08 PM ]
posted on December 19, 2009 06:56:51 PM new
After Katrina,many New Orleans residents found their cell phones useless while their land phones working.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on December 24, 2009 05:31:18 PM new
It's amazing what smart phones can do... Audibly give you driving instructions, keep you up to date with weather and traffic conditions, let you invoice recent eBay sales, etc,, etc. I'm bypassing it for now until the price the comes down. It's only a matter of time when the benefits outweigh the cost.
posted on January 8, 2010 06:28:51 PM new
I was perusing the detail on our T-Mobile bill, as I do occasionally, to make sure my 14-year old isn't texting 42 year old males pretending to be 14 year old girls. I was amazed at how he has almost daily contact with his older cousins living in Nevada and North Carolina. He has much stronger ties with his cousins than I did with my cousins. I have daily contact with Neglus in Minnesota, it doesn't cost any minutes, we share the same carrier. Those who use cell phones as an emergency only tool can wear the badge of resistance proudly but I'm sorry they aren't reaping the full benefit of the technology
[ edited by pixiamom on Jan 8, 2010 06:31 PM ]
posted on January 12, 2010 07:10:42 AM new
Clearly it's just a matter of HOW connected one wants to be...me? Not so much.My relatives are around here too much anyhow, and quite a few of them are a pain in the arse.
Last night I was at a 4H meeting where my son is the community club president. Sitting next to me was a new member, a little girl about 9, and her mother. Daughter has the normal attention span of a 9 year old and is looking around the room, fidgeting and missing the club's advisor who was explaining some VERY important information about the yearly record books that the kids have to keep on their projects. Her mother spent the entire meeting texting, and also missed the presentation and didn't notice that her daughter was also not listening. When this little girl is confused and uninformed when the spring fair comes around and her animal project isn't ready and she doesn't know how to complete her record book, her mother will be frantically calling the club advisors for special instructions. Shut the damn phone off and pay attention.
[ edited by profe51 on Jan 12, 2010 07:11 AM ]
posted on January 12, 2010 06:18:01 PM new
When they return next year, both mother and daughter will be texting. That is, if their thumbs aren't tired.
Congratulations to your son! Serving as the community 4-H Club President is an admirable endeavor.
posted on January 21, 2010 01:36:35 AM new
Emergency use only here as well.
Got a $20 Virgin Mobile phone at Radio Shack for which I can buy minutes for $15 every 3 months (started out at $20 for every 3 months but they lower it). So far my minutes have lasted me 3 months at a time.
My husband got me a Broadband2Go for Christmas for my laptop. It's by Virgin Mobile as well and work much like the phone plan. $10 for 10 days or $20 for 30 days etc. I just started using it but so far I love it.
posted on January 22, 2010 07:50:08 AM new
Once I retired I was happy to put my cell phone and pager in a drawer to gather dust. I had been attached to and at the mercy of those two machines for far too long!
DH has a cell phone that is basic and buys minutes every month which we rarely use up totally.
Our latest gizmo is one that saves us money...a Magic Jack for the computer which enables us to make phone calls.
posted on January 22, 2010 12:00:23 PM new
Thanks Helen. The poor kid didn't have a choice. The old man's the large stock club leader and both his sisters were prez's.
Occasionally, leaving home without the damn thing is absolutely exhilarating! 