How much do you pay for your cell phones?

[HappyMommy2]

DH and I have a combined plan. It costs $80 per month. Is that unreasonable?

I would like to drastically lower the price, and know that you mamas will be able to tell me how!

I recently lowered our home phone bill by going VOIP. So we can use the home phone for long distance. Mostly our cell phones are quick calls to connect with each other. Not to chat, just to share plans like I'll be home in a half-hour, etc.

I think our contract is over, so there won't be the switching fees.

Any advice?

[kitteh]

DH and I both have Virgin mobile phones right now that cost about $10-15 each and our monthly plans are each ~$27, so almost $55/month for the both of us. That is their bare-bones plan with 200 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends, but none of the bells and whistles like texting or camera options or internet. It's a VERY very basic plan that we're on until we're out of debt and can think about upgrading. We don't have a home line, and we've both found the minutes alloted to be enough, but neither of us is particularly chatty.

[lyterae]

We have two cell phones and also pay 80.00 a month.

[MommaRNCCRN]

I'm with Verizon Wireless on a family plan and DH and I have 700 minutes/month, unlimited text/pix. I also have a smartphone on my plan and with the employee discount through my employer my bill is 112/month.

[Alyantavid]

We pay $60ish for unlimited texting and like 400 minutes. It was more until we realized we weren't using most of the minutes we were paying for.

We're about to switch to Verizon for slightly more but with more features.

[pbjmama]

I think $80 is a good price. If you tell us more about your needs - do you just use it for calls or do you text, how many minutes, etc we might be able to help you find a better deal.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by kitteh

DH and I both have Virgin mobile phones right now that cost about $10-15 each and our monthly plans are each ~$27, so almost $55/month for the both of us. That is their bare-bones plan with 200 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends, but none of the bells and whistles like texting or camera options or internet. It's a VERY very basic plan that we're on until we're out of debt and can think about upgrading. We don't have a home line, and we've both found the minutes alloted to be enough, but neither of us is particularly chatty.

I must be on the more bare bone plan with Virgin. $20 every 90 days, so $40 every 3 months (13.33 a month) for both of us. We have whatever their cheapest plan is with no texting, no frills, no unlimited times. If we get low on minutes it just "tops off" by putting another $20 on our cc because we have our account set that way. Minutes are rolled over but we have to add $20 every 90 days. Since we just use it to touch base, we always have plenty of minutes. I thinks it's 20 cents a minute and we got free basic phones.

[Casha'sMommy]

HOLY COW!
$80 is awesome! Because of business and dh's travel we spend about $150 a month for three lines with two being smart phones. Some of this is written off at the end of the year.

[Drummer's Wife]

Sounds good to me. DD and I have AT&T and pay $130 a month for two phones (mine is an iphone). We have some extras, like unlimited texting and a few other things. Before adding them, it was less than $100 a month - but I'm okay with the cost now for what we get. DH's work pays for his service, otherwise he'd be on our plan, too.

My DD did have a pre-paid tracfone and it was about $15 a month b/c she used it minimally (and didn't really text then). So, I know there are ways to get cell service for super cheap - if you pay per minute and don't sign a contract.

[tinuviel_k]

Yikes! I had no idea cell phones cost so much! I think I would feel okay about spending $30-$40 a month for a plan, but apparently that is not so realistic.

I use a pay-as-you-go phone, and refill it twice a year. So we'll say I spend about $125-$200 a year, or $10-$15 a month. I can text but don't because I really don't want to, and I don't chat on my phone much at all. It is primarily for meeting up with people, having an emergency line when away from my daughter, or for use when I travel.

Anyway, if checking in with you DH breifly is the majority of what you use your phone for then a prepaid plan might serve you well!
I use T-Moblie because it was the best deal I could find. one payment of $100 gives me 1000 minutes that last one year with no refills. If I have not used all the minutes by the time my year is up I can refill with any amount and keep the leftover minutes. The calls are 10 cents per minute. I think incoming texts are 10 cents, but outgoing texts are 25 cents? Really not a bad deal if you are an occasional cell user like me and don't text much.

[averysmomma05]

My sister added me to her plan and I just pay her husband $25 a month. I have 1500 shared minutes, and unlimited text/web. I don't talk on the phone at all and only text so works for me. Hubby has Straight Talk and its $30 a month for 1000 minutes and text. works for us.

[grniys]

When dh and I just had two regular phones I think we were paying something like $90 a month. We have at&t and a bunch of minutes. I think we also both had phone insurance. Oh, and that includes tax and a military discount.

Now I think we're paying $160-ish or something like that. I have an iPhone and he has a Blackberry. And we each have unlimited texting.

[rhiOrion]

DH and I have t mobile and we pay about 80 dollars per month together for 700 anytime minutes, unlimited night/weekend, with unlimited texting. Neither of us have smart phones, though we definitely wish we did!

[Mackenzie]

If you contract is over, or near over, call your provider and tell them that you can't afford the amount and that you are thinking of canceling service or switching to a less expensive provider but wanted to check to see if there was any sort of plan that they had to offer (because you really like their service and would like to stay with them if you can afford it )... Most major providers have loyalty or retention plans... Even ask if they have a Loyalty Dept that you can speak to, if they don't offer.


:-)

[Hedgehog Mtn]

I have a blackberry and dh has a motorola (krazer maybe? he's had it for 3+ years) we live off grid and beyond the phone lines so we share 1300 min as they are the only phones we can have. We pay 90-100 per month for sharing the minutes and my data plan for the bb. We chose the regional plan because we almost never leave the service area so it's pretty much only coverage in New England (we live in NH)

I don't think our plan is available anymore so I plan to stick with it!!! We pay 0.25 per text because we don't do it much and have never even paid enough per text to equal 1 months texting fee.

[mamaofprincesses]

We have two cell phones that were $40 each originally. We got them through the local Kroger store (it's not Kroger here, but owned by them). Every time I spend $100, I get 20 free minutes. I haven't added minutes in, oh, six months? DH just adds $20 at a time and that usually lasts 3 or 4 months. So . . . less than $7 a month? Like you, they're for quick things - DH is at the grocery store and I think of something we need, he texts that he's caught in traffic, etc. Calls are $.20 a minute and texts are $.10 a piece. They have cameras and Internet access, though I've never used either.

[quelindo]

Originally Posted by 4evermom

I must be on the more bare bone plan with Virgin. $20 every 90 days, so $40 every 3 months (13.33 a month) for both of us. We have whatever their cheapest plan is with no texting, no frills, no unlimited times. If we get low on minutes it just "tops off" by putting another $20 on our cc because we have our account set that way. Minutes are rolled over but we have to add $20 every 90 days. Since we just use it to touch base, we always have plenty of minutes. I thinks it's 20 cents a minute and we got free basic phones.

We have the same thing, only it's $15 every three months since we let them take the money out through Paypal. We almost never use our phones, though, so we have tons of minutes piling up.

[sunnysandiegan]

We both have [original] iPhones and AT&T service. Our plan includes shared minutes (more than we ever use, but the lowest they offer and I call every six months to ask for lower plans), unlimited nights & weekends, a certain number of texts (more than we need; 100 or 200?), and unlimited data plans (we use this feature a lot; $20 each). We pay $105.25 per month (includes all taxes and such; bill is $99 before taxes).

When I call every six months (for 2+ years now), the customer service reps (CSR) always tell me that most people call for bigger plans and they are trying to meet that demand. I have talked to several levels of CSR and they always suggest I write letters and emails directly to the president to show demand for lower plans. I do. Maybe if more of us did the same, then these cell phone companies (particularly the two main ones) would consider offering a wider range of plans.....

[kindchen]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

We both have [original] iPhones and AT&T service. Our plan includes shared minutes (more than we ever use, but the lowest they offer and I call every six months to ask for lower plans), unlimited nights & weekends, a certain number of texts (more than we need; 100 or 200?), and unlimited data plans (we use this feature a lot; $20 each). We pay $105.25 per month (includes all taxes and such; bill is $99 before taxes).

When I call every six months (for 2+ years now), the customer service reps (CSR) always tell me that most people call for bigger plans and they are trying to meet that demand. I have talked to several levels of CSR and they always suggest I write letters and emails directly to the president to show demand for lower plans. I do. Maybe if more of us did the same, then these cell phone companies (particularly the two main ones) would consider offering a wider range of plans.....

Hmm, we have this same set-up, but with 3G phones, and I think we pay $155/month. It seems excessive to me, but dh writes iPhone apps for work. Maybe we could write some of this off because of that. I justify the expense because we don't have a landline and I just really enjoy the convenience of the iPhone.

[Mackenzie]

Originally Posted by kindchen

Hmm, we have this same set-up, but with 3G phones, and I think we pay $155/month. It seems excessive to me, but dh writes iPhone apps for work. Maybe we could write some of this off because of that. I justify the expense because we don't have a landline and I just really enjoy the convenience of the iPhone.

You pay more for your data plan, so that accounts for 20.00 of your difference with the PP. Another difference may be taxes and fees. Some states (and even city/local) tax wireless service outrageously, while some others don't at all....