Please tell me why we are paying over $35 a month for each kid's "free" cell phone?!
Every once in awhile, I open our Sprint bill to check out what extra "fees" and whatnot they are charging for, and pretend to monitor the data usage. (It's "unlimited", so that's why I say pretend.)
I did that today, and find out that each kid's line is $30 per month for just the service, plus an installment on the phones they were supposedly getting "free" when the lines were added. Not free, just no money up front apparently. Idk why I ever let SO do this. When I agreed to this, he assured me that the bill would not be going up more than like $10, and now I see that our cell phone bill is nearly $300 per month. That is BS.
Our kids do not need unlimited data when they are only being charged $5 a month for these phones (the cost that SO said it would be) and they are actually WAY more expensive. The phones were supposed to be for emergencies and check ins. I am so disgusted with this... :jawdrop:
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It looks like their heavily
It looks like their heavily advertised plans are for new service (as in entirely new service for all lines..not just adding 2). It does say that after a certain date that the everything plan will be 60 for first line 40 for line 2 and then 30 for each line after that. So that would be 160 before taxes/fees and then you apparently got the phones on an installment plan.. with "no money down".. so I guess that adds to that cost too... plus if you and your HD also have phone payments.. it can really add up.
I have two lines with Verizon and pay 155/month and we do not have unlimited.
If you take away the
If you take away the unlimited data make sure you lock down the phones and that they can't undo it. If they do hold them accountable.
I always ask a hundred questions about cellphone services. Many of them also give you at least a month to decide if you keep it or return everything. I knew 15 days in what our bill would be. It was not what I was told and I called them. I said either fix it or I'm canceling. They fixed it. Better to keep getting 120 out of me for 2 years then 130 once I guess and yes 10 dollars was worth a fight. That's 240 over two years.
I used to work for at&t. They
I used to work for at&t. They all work the same and make the pricing so complex and make various claims but fail to clearly tell customers the true costs of what they are agreeing to.
The cost of cell phone service (and home internet while we are at it) is astronomical in this country.
We’re with sprint too, both phones we own outright and it still costs $130 a month for two lines with unlimited data.
I got burned on one of those
I got burned on one of those types of plans that my DD25 said I would save money. We share 15 gigs of data for 5 ppl, plus roll over what isn't used. BUT I had to buy new phones and have to have insurance on each phone, the insurance on 3 of the phones is double what the phone payment is.
I already told everyone I'm not getting new phones when the plan is up next month and if they want new phones, they have to buy them. SD got an Iphone6 and the frame of the phone bent from her keeping it in her pocket without the expensive otter box, so DSO is just paying $35/month for something that can't be used.
DH and I need to add SD
DH and I need to add SD (who's 16) to our plan and this what we are worried about. DH wanted to make her earn the privilege of having a cellphone by behaving and getting good grades, but that didn't work. We need her to be able to contact us in an emergency but even the cheap plans end up being so expensive.
I would not add her to your
I would not add her to your plan. Go get one of those "Straightalk" wireless plans (or similar pay in advance by the month plans with no contract).
I think you can get a plan for like 30 a month with a limited amt of data (and it just cuts off at that point for data.. although you can probably buy more..) You will need to buy a phone but all the networks pretty much require that. Perhaps you or your DH are ready for an upgrade and could hand her down a phone.. or look for a used one of an older model iphone or something.
I think this arrangement is best because it keeps her off your plan and insulates you from overages. Do not "trust" her to be limited.. even if she is good.. sometimes things happen like my YSD who had a phone that would automatically switch to the network if wifi wasn't strong enough. Of course at her mother's the tower was stronger than mom's wifi in her room.. so instead of using the home wifi she used lots of expensive DATA. She didn't realize it until they got a huge bill the next month and I told her how to take that setting off.
Now, if you want to attach any other kind of requirements like she pays half or whatever.. that would be ok.. but at least she can't get you for more than a set amount each month.
completelyover...NO you don't
completelyover...NO you don't have to add her to your plan.
At 16 she can apply for a part time job at Wendys or Arbys on weekends. Then she can get a pay as you go phone on the cheap.
If her behavior is awful why would a parent GET a phone first and us it as leverage. "IF you do this again your phone is gone"... Make her earn it with consistent decent grades and behavior.
Minor Kids in our home do NOT have cells. You get one when you have a job AND pay as you go go go. By the way they don't have cars either. We take them to work and events.
I posted about this on the
I posted about this on the general discussion forum - SD is in special ed classes and an after school
Program. My mom was suppose to pick her up but was confused about the schedule so SD was left there after it closed and the staff there couldn't get in contact with her dad. The staff person was going to call the police because she didn't know what to do with SD. So, she needs to have either a list of phone numbers or a phone.
I posted about this on the
I posted about this on the general discussion forum - SD is in special ed classes and an after school
Program. My mom was suppose to pick her up but was confused about the schedule so SD was left there after it closed and the staff there couldn't get in contact with her dad. The staff person was going to call the police because she didn't know what to do with SD. So, SD needs to have either a list of phone numbers or a phone.
No such thing as "unlimited"
No such thing as "unlimited" Usually the carrier throttles the speed after 25 GB or so.
It is beyond me why anyone
It is beyond me why anyone would have a contracted cell phone now days. I was with At&t about 10 years ago. Supposedly had 2 lines with unlimited talk and text. Didn't even have internet. My bill was never the same. Every month it was a different story. So bills were upwards of $200.
I got sick of the roller coaster bills and switched to the the GoPhone plan they had. I haven't paid more that $50 a line since. Right now have 3 lines with unlimited talk and text and unlimited internet for $103.00 a month. The bill never changes unless I change our plans. DH and I have 6GB high speed and DS has 1 GB. They have bigger plans but we don't need that much.
We get $15 off for being auto pay and $5 off my line and $10 off DS's phone for being on a family plan. DS's phone literally raised our bill by $5 a month when we added him and got the family plan.
Here is the
Here is the link:
https://www.paygonline.com/websc/openPage.html?linkText=impDetails
I did the pay as you go for a
I did the pay as you go for a while but with my busy schedule and constantly using my phone for two jobs it wasn't practical.
Wasn't practical? Because of
Wasn't practical? Because of the internet?
I have another reason why you
I have another reason why you might want to explore a stand alone "pay as you go" plan.
BM.... In our case, we had YSD on our plan. She was wanting a new phone.. so since this was back in the day when you got a "free" one for signing up for new service.. we took her and got her a new phone.
Whelp... 2 months later, she comes home with a "better" phone that BM got her on a new plan.. and our phone was ditched... yet we had almost 2 years left on our plan for it.. the lowest we could get the cost was something like 20/month at the time..for a phone that no one used.
Standalone plan with a preset cost each month is best because you don't have overages from the kid using all your data... your bill is a known quantity and if BM decides to ride in and white knight the kid a "better" phone.. you simply cancel yours and no further monthly cost.
DH and I have Tracfones. $30
DH and I have Tracfones. $30 each every 3 months and I never use up all my minutes. I have internet access and text and phone. Works for us.