Posted on 10/16/2013 6:24:05 AM PDT by kyperman
Prepaid phone plans, where you pay the full price for a cellphone and then pay lower monthly rates without a contract, seem to offer what most budget-conscious people want. So why haven’t they really caught on?
(Excerpt) Read more at bits.blogs.nytimes.com ...
We are in your situation as well so I will look forward to good advice. It would be cool to have a smart phone but not smart enough to pay what it costs. I have enough connectivity in my life.
If you want to pay $500 up front for an iphone, go ahead.
It’s like buying a car with cash upfront versus paying it in installments.
If you can get credit and pay it off with future, devalued dollars it usually makes more sense economically to pay in installments.
Now, if you want a cheap phone with few features, then prepaid would be the way to go.
ping for later reading.
Google ObamaPhone and follow the yellow brick road.
Is this true?
If so, we're keeping our old phones. We're not paying 30 bucks a month for something we don't even want. Actually it's 60 bucks since we have two phones.
I use my phone... as a phone. I occasionally text.
My company bought my iPhone for me. I would not have a smartphone otherwise.
If I had my druthers, I’d go prepaid or just get a home phone.
You can get an iphone 5c for only about $100
It will work with several prepaid plans.
Our last contract was up in May 2013 and we haven’t signed a new one. We’re month-to-month now. I miss the new *free* phones that aren’t really free. We switched plans, now have unlimited minutes, was 1200, now have unlimited data and the bill went down about 30 bucks a month. Our phones are good for now, will buy when needed. We’ve never had iPhones, just androids. They work just fine for our family of four, Mom, Dad, and 19 & 16 yr old so LOTS of texting going on every month. It does feel good to be contract free!!!
Around where I live, the phone service on prepaid plans is not as good as on their premium plans; I know this for a fact as twice we’ve had phones from the same company, different plans and we wander all around the area.
Civilized people write letters anyway :-)
Do you stream music or radio talk shows?
Typically the no-contract wireless providers advertise ‘unlimited data’ but the fine print terms ‘data’ as internet surfing, emails but not streaming video or music/radio. As such many folks get their data throttled once they have hit 1 - 1.5 GB in a month.
AT&T has a new no contract service - GO Phone - which you choose the data amount...you can save some money with that. Can’t set up a hot spot, though...
Good luck!
I can access the net with my tracfone if I really need to but I don’t.
What did you go to? Metro PCS? I hear they have pretty good plans for reasonable rates.
I don’t know of any good ‘pay as you go’ plans. They all seem to be rigged to force you to spend $30-$50 per month — what I pay for my current phone $50 per month, 400 minutes 250 texts, visual voice mail.
If you just want a basic cell phone that you can make and receive calls and texts (and voicemail, if you like), then prepaid is a LOT cheaper.
I have a basic TracFone that cost me $19.95, and for another $29.95 a quarter, I get 240 minutes, plenty for me. My wife and son have one too, so our total initial outlay for three phones was $60, and our monthly cost is $30.
I like having a phone that can give me GPS directions, or let me find stuff on the internet wherever I am. Or check twitter while I am waiting in line.
If you just want a phone to be a phone, then cheap and prepaid is the way to go.
The Walmart trac phone plan. Buy the phone and it’s $45 a month for unlimited data (3G) and it’s month to month so you can cancel anytime. The phones are not top of the line cool phones but it’s more than adequate for my limited needs.
Neither. Use a plan where it is plan as you go. Our carrier has about five phones and prices to choose from (including a Smart phone), plans with different minutes going all the way down to $10 for an emergency phone. Text and media is available, but we don’t use them. If we think the minutes will go up for a month we can go in an add another $10 which adds another 350 or more minutes.
Used to have Verizon and AT & T long ago. Would NEVER go back.
If I used the phone a lot I'd get StraightTalk unlimited for $45 a month. I can't see why anyone would go with a contract with a deal like that.
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