Dealing with cellphones

**Petunia 100** · 01-29-2013, 06:23 PM

Originally posted by cherryblossom View Post

What are frugal people's recommendations on cell phones?

I have 8 months left on a contract with a very old refurbished phone that I had bought outright. I am wondering if it pays to wait 8 months and see what happens after that (although I don't imagine I will be eligble for any fancy upgrades since I paid for my phone before my contract started) or if I should just buy something outright again (which will renew my 2 year contract again). I guess I am just lost in how this stuff works...and how to get the best deal. I do know those free smartphone deals are pretty much scams.

I've been very happy with Ting. There are no contracts. The rates are very low. I've been paying less than $40 per month total for 3 lines. None of the phones are smart phones.

http://ting.com

**siggy_freud** · 02-03-2013, 08:21 PM

Originally posted by cherryblossom View Post

What are frugal people's recommendations on cell phones?

I have 8 months left on a contract with a very old refurbished phone that I had bought outright. I am wondering if it pays to wait 8 months and see what happens after that (although I don't imagine I will be eligble for any fancy upgrades since I paid for my phone before my contract started) or if I should just buy something outright again (which will renew my 2 year contract again). I guess I am just lost in how this stuff works...and how to get the best deal. I do know those free smartphone deals are pretty much scams.

Why would buying a phone outright renew your two-year contract again? It's when you buy a subsidized phone that they renew you.

**JoeP** · 02-04-2013, 04:09 AM

We stay away from contracts as much as possible. My advice is to ask yourself how important data is on the road. If you don't need it, then get a dumbphone (e.g., look for craigslist or ebay for one). You can even get a smartphone and in most cases add it to a no-data plan.

**theduc** · 02-07-2013, 12:19 PM

Originally posted by Petunia 100 View Post

I've been very happy with Ting. There are no contracts. The rates are very low. I've been paying less than $40 per month total for 3 lines. None of the phones are smart phones.

http://ting.com

I haven't heard of Ting before but it looks pretty interesting... that you only pay for what you use. I've been looking at Net10 lately as they seem to have better coverage where we're located but now you have me trying to find out more on ting.

thanks!

**pennywise28** · 02-12-2013, 10:11 AM

You could try prepaid phones but there is the risk of running out of minutes

**97guns** · 02-13-2013, 06:39 AM

try consumercellular, no contract either

**JoeP** · 02-13-2013, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by pennywise28 View Post

You could try prepaid phones but there is the risk of running out of minutes

I'd much rather run out of minutes and then manually add more money, than get killed with overage fees on a contract plan (while being forced to pay every month for 2 years).

In addition to getting balance low warning texts from my provider to avoid running out of minutes, I also have the benefit of a bank of minutes that is good for a whole year.

**Diavel_guy** · 02-19-2013, 06:41 PM

Just get a job that pays for your cell phone and bill. I haven't paid a phone bill in 7 years.

I kid. Can't you just ride out using the old phone for 8 more months?

**maryadavies** · 02-24-2013, 11:14 AM

Me I'm also looking into things like ting..

My grandma has been paying for the cells in the house. I like having my own personal number for businessy stuff/calling in private when I need to, but Mom's been talking about getting rid of that once Gran dies. I figure, I don't use it a whole lot but I hope I can get things going enough so I can afford a no hassle contract when the time comes. ^^ I like verizon (which is what Gran is using) but if it works with very few drops, I'm cool with it.

**dawnwes** · 03-24-2013, 04:43 AM

What do you want/use in a phone plan?

There are so many pay as you go plans out there right now that it is worth investigating.

I suggest a visit to HowardForums.com for more info than you ever have wanted to know about phone plans.

We used to have Sprint. We had them for over 10 years. They "upgraded" the towers near our house and we lost signal. I was able to get out of our contract because of that.

I now use Straight Talk and their $45/mo everything plan (unlimited talk, text and web). The web is not quite as unlimited as they say and they cap it at 2G but I don't use that much so I am fine with it. I talk a LOT so the unlimited plan works for me.

My parents are on T-mobile's pay as you go plan as they only have their phones for emergencies.

My kids are on SpotMobile's pay as you go plan. We cap them off at $5 every 3 months. .10 per min. and .05 per text.

Dawn

**DorindaD** · 03-25-2013, 08:53 AM

my advice is stay away from verizon.. my bill is never the same and now with the changes its even more costly

**MardenI** · 03-28-2013, 02:34 AM

Prepaid has saved me a lot of money compared to a monthly subscription.
And where I can I use a landline to make phone calls. That way I also save a lot.

**wilddeuce** · 03-28-2013, 07:28 AM

My 2 cents...

I've switched to Virgin Mobile, a prepaid provider, a subsidiary of Sprint. From what I've gathered reading posts from Howard's forum, android forums, first thing you need to find out is the coverage in your area. Virgin Mobile (VM) coverage is not the same as a post paid Sprint contract subscriber. VM does not allow roaming while Sprint contract can roam onto Verizon.

Here in NE area, many people who live in suburban NJ area have trouble receiving signals inside their house. My recommendation is if you are happy with your current coverage, find a provider that use the same service tower your current provider provides. For example, if you are on ATT, find a service provider that uses ATT tower (ie Straight Talk). For Sprint, I know Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile.

Next is find the plan of the provider that suits you the most.

Dealing with cellphones