Trying to cut expense of 5 verizon phone accounts

[dongaudreau]

Hi,
My family has 5 verizon accounts; unlimited texting. The total monthly is $220 and my wife wants to keep the status quo. I don't think we can afford it. Just filed for bankruptcy; any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
Don

[irmanator]

verizon prepaid has a little mentioned plan where you can get unlimited verizon to verizon texting for 10 month. if you do this when setting up the phone ask the rep assisting you. My son had this for a long time. I think you also get 250 text to other phone co.

[Frugal]

I don't know, but I personally also have Verizon, and think it is a rip-off. You are lucky it is that much for five people. we have two phones, and it is $140/month.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by dongaudreau

Hi,
My family has 5 verizon accounts; unlimited texting. The total monthly is $220 and my wife wants to keep the status quo. I don't think we can afford it. Just filed for bankruptcy; any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
Don

Keep 2 lines. One for you, and one for your wife. Shut off the texting on those two lines. Cancel the service and have it blocked.

The other 3 lines I'm assuming are for your kids? Get them all bare minimum prepaid phones through Tracphone, net10, or Verizon. They don't need to text, go online, send pictures, etc. They only need to talk to you to let you know where they are and when they'll be home. If they want all the bells and whistles, then tell them to get a job and pay for their own phone. If they are too young to work, then they will just have to deal with it until their parents get their finances in order.

My advice may have been different if you hadn't just filed for bankruptcy, but you did, so now is the time to start changing your lifestyle and how you think about and manage money. You will be faced with many tough decisions such as this moving forward. The best thing to do is to take the bull by the horns and start to make positive changes now so that you can move on and recover from bankruptcy.

[riverwed070707]

Originally Posted by dongaudreau

Hi,
My family has 5 verizon accounts; unlimited texting. The total monthly is $220 and my wife wants to keep the status quo. I don't think we can afford it. Just filed for bankruptcy; any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
Don

You're wifes resistance to cancelling texting when you just filed for bankruptcy is a small window into how you landed yourself in this situation to begin with. If you want to get things on track it's going to take sacrifices and downgrading your phone is a small one to make. Tell her to suck it up.

Originally Posted by bjl584

Keep 2 lines. One for you, and one for your wife. Shut off the texting on those two lines. Cancel the service and have it blocked.

The other 3 lines I'm assuming are for your kids? Get them all bare minimum prepaid phones through Tracphone, net10, or Verizon. They don't need to text, go online, send pictures, etc. They only need to talk to you to let you know where they are and when they'll be home. If they want all the bells and whistles, then tell them to get a job and pay for their own phone. If they are too young to work, then they will just have to deal with it until their parents get their finances in order.

My advice may have been different if you hadn't just filed for bankruptcy, but you did, so now is the time to start changing your lifestyle and how you think about and manage money. You will be faced with many tough decisions such as this moving forward. The best thing to do is to take the bull by the horns and start to make positive changes now so that you can move on and recover from bankruptcy.

Only thing I would say different is how old are the kids? If they aren't 16 and driving and still living at home, cut them off. Phones are a luxury, not a necessity and you can't afford them.

[DKAS]

Agree with above posters, you can't afford it and should keep maximum of two lines just for the two of you. Also, have you heard of Google voice, I haven't personally used it but have heard good things about it as an alternative. Maybe someone else can chip in if they've used it.

[photo]

Originally Posted by dongaudreau

Hi,
my wife wants to keep the status quo.....Just filed for bankruptcy;

Just think for a moment: are these two related?

The other suggestions are excellent. Just get a bare-bones plan for your wife and yourself (unless she's a stay-at-home-mom) and only get pre-paid phones for your teenagers. With few exceptions, cellphones are not necessities in life.