Cell Phone Plans

[momofthree]

Ever since we realized we didn't come anywhere close to using all of the minutes of our old contract phones we made the switch to pre-paid. For us T-Mobile is the best deal. We bought the phone for $20 on sale at Best Buy and then buy a 1000 minute card for $100 (.10/minute) this makes you a Gold member. As a gold member your minutes don't expire for a year and you get 15% extra minutes on future refills. We tend to make it about 9 months on a $100 card, so $11/month sure beats the $60 we used to pay! And as long as you refill before your minutes expire, you keep whatever is left and roll them over. This seems to be the best plan we have found as long as your in their coverage areas.

We do the same thing. We love t-mobile, never have service problems, just wish they had a bigger selection of phones for their prepaid plans...

[wlonsdale]

I'm switching to Page Plus. Unlimited Talk and Text for $39.95/month. I have had a verizon contract which expired now, so I can make the switch with no ETF. But the plan they want to put me on if I go with "new every 2" will cost nearly twice as much.

I suppose now that I filed BK they would want another deposit to renew. I haven't checked into it, because I wasn't planning on staying with them anyway. Page Plus uses the Verizon network and I can keep my Verizon phone, so I guess I don't need no steenkin contract.

This change will be a little helpful with my new Chapter 13 budget.

I love Page Plus. My wife uses the unlimited plan....it's going to be $44.95 a month now but that includes unlimited talking, text and 20mb data. The 1200 minute plan is $29.95 and it includes 50mb of data. Oh, and if you have a Verizon phone, you can most likely use it on their network....Google Kitty Wireless they have a bunch of free services and excellent customer service!!!
ETA: Kitty wireless is a dealer for Page Plus because Page Plus can be hard to reach at times.

[tigergem]

I love Page Plus. My wife uses the unlimited plan....it's going to be $44.95 a month now but that includes unlimited talking, text and 20mb data. The 1200 minute plan is $29.95 and it includes 50mb of data. Oh, and if you have a Verizon phone, you can most likely use it on their network....Google Kitty Wireless they have a bunch of free services and excellent customer service!!!
ETA: Kitty wireless is a dealer for Page Plus because Page Plus can be hard to reach at times.

When they raised the unlimited rate to $44.95, I went with the $29.95 plan.
I checked my call logs and decided that 1200 minutes/txt is plenty for me right now. I got my activation and subscription from Rick Black at Black Dog Wireless. When I call in my payment to him every month, he doesn't charge me taxes or surcharges like PagePlus does on their own web site.

[nomoneynomore]

We live in a very rural part of Kansas. Most cell phone companies are either not available here or have poor service.

We use Straight Talk Wireless. We pay $90 a month for two lines with unlimited talk, text, pics, web & 1411. It works in places where Sprint, Verizon & A T & T don't work. We have had this service since November and love it. We haven't had a single problem with customer service, features or anything.

I would highly recommend their service.

In the past 2 years we have tried AT&T, Verizon/Alltel, Sprint/Nextel, Boost, Virgin Mobile, TracPhone and Net10 trying to find one with good coverage. Since Straight Talk uses pretty much everyone else's towers, their coverage is the best we have found. TracPhone does the same thing, but we like the features & cost of Straight Talk better.

[Exployer1234]

I have AT&T. I pay 69 dollars for a pretty good plan. I got locked in last year before they changed all their rates on the new iPhones. I have been pretty pleased with the iPhone, and mainly use it for school work when I am on break at work. it has been a lifesaver. I am thinking about next year looking into verizon next year because come in better in my area.

[debtprison]

I ditched my cell phone after deciding I really didn't need it. I was on a T0mobile plan that while officially was about $30, it ended up being about $45 a month with all the taxes. I just decided to get a VoIP landline from Ooma. I bought the equipment and now on the basic plan pay them nothing. I was a little apprehensive about doing this at first so I bought a $15 phone with 20 minutes the first month. After doing that I found I was fine without the cell although I still can charge that phone up and have 911 free anytime I need it while mobile.

If I did get a cell phone again I would probably opt for the 1,000 minutes from T-mobile good for one year.

Btw, consider ditching the cell. You wouldn't believe how liberating it is to not ever get rudely disturbed by someone calling your cell for some stupid reason.

[queenfluff]

I didn't read all the responses here but I BK Verizon last year just to get out of that stupid contract so I can't go back to them! (which is fine they are expensive). I just have a cell phone but I hardly ever use it so even a monthly bill lik $40 is a lot of me. I got an At&T GoPhone which is OK but I still don't like the fact that you HAVE to fill the thing up after 3 months even if you haven't used all the money on there (it is $25 for 3 months which I don't even use up which shows you how much I use my phone!).

Another thing is that the phone itself doesn't alert me if I have a VM so if I don't hear the phone ring I have to remember to check it. It charges me for in and out calls and to pick up VM. Another thing I don't like is there are no text msg or email alerts to tell you that you expiry money is up or you are out of money. Last time I forgot to refill and I lost $25 and I realized my phone was shut off to incoming calls for a whole week! (even though it looks like the phone is fine because it still has network bars). I was mad about losing that.

So, I am looking for a new one now. I want no contract, no expiry on the minutes I buy and I only want to fill it back up when I want or run out of money on there. Yeah, I know cell phone companys don't like that. So, someone recommended the tracphone. I am looking into that. It looks like Net10 might be like this too but my ex had this and he had problems with them. I have until October until GoPhone will want to suck more money out of me so I have a bit of time to decide.

I don't text so that I don't care about. I mostly like having my cell for emergencies like in the car etc.

[pris72]

I am stuck with sprint. I should have went with a non contract phone. It would be cheaper than what I pay out per month. We are paying $160 a month for 2 phones through sprint. I need to look over my contract and see what the cancellation fees are. Someone told me I could get an AT&T pre pay for $60 a month, and that covers everything. That would be $120 a month for 2 phones vs. $160 a month. Now I do have GPS added, which adds on. Other than that we get 1,500 mins. a month, anytime after 7pm, unlimited text, internet and the GPS.

[iswmle]

I am also with Sprint, but I really like them. I have 1 phone line and I believe my plan is called Everything Messaging. It's unlimited text, free mobile to mobile, but only 450 anytime minutes. I never use all 450 minutes. My bill usually runs around $55. It is useful for me to stay with Sprint since my family and my boyfriend have the same carrier. I also like their website.

I'm going to upgrade next year.

[HHM]

It really depends on your needs. If all you need is a "phone" there are plenty of cheap operators out there. (and honestly, that is what most people need).

I use T-Mobile, but that is because I want higher tech phones than what you can get with Metro, or Tracphone, etc.

[FTWORTH]

I didn't read all the responses here but I BK Verizon last year just to get out of that stupid contract so I can't go back to them! (which is fine they are expensive). I just have a cell phone but I hardly ever use it so even a monthly bill lik $40 is a lot of me. I got an At&T GoPhone which is OK but I still don't like the fact that you HAVE to fill the thing up after 3 months even if you haven't used all the money on there (it is $25 for 3 months which I don't even use up which shows you how much I use my phone!).

Another thing is that the phone itself doesn't alert me if I have a VM so if I don't hear the phone ring I have to remember to check it. It charges me for in and out calls and to pick up VM. Another thing I don't like is there are no text msg or email alerts to tell you that you expiry money is up or you are out of money. Last time I forgot to refill and I lost $25 and I realized my phone was shut off to incoming calls for a whole week! (even though it looks like the phone is fine because it still has network bars). I was mad about losing that.

So, I am looking for a new one now. I want no contract, no expiry on the minutes I buy and I only want to fill it back up when I want or run out of money on there. Yeah, I know cell phone companys don't like that. So, someone recommended the tracphone. I am looking into that. It looks like Net10 might be like this too but my ex had this and he had problems with them. I have until October until GoPhone will want to suck more money out of me so I have a bit of time to decide.

I don't text so that I don't care about. I mostly like having my cell for emergencies like in the car etc.

Ooma is cool. I also have it and I'm surprised more people don't get it. I was skeptical but when Costco started carrying it I was convinced.

[momofthree]

I didn't read all the responses here but I BK Verizon last year just to get out of that stupid contract so I can't go back to them! (which is fine they are expensive). I just have a cell phone but I hardly ever use it so even a monthly bill lik $40 is a lot of me. I got an At&T GoPhone which is OK but I still don't like the fact that you HAVE to fill the thing up after 3 months even if you haven't used all the money on there (it is $25 for 3 months which I don't even use up which shows you how much I use my phone!).

Another thing is that the phone itself doesn't alert me if I have a VM so if I don't hear the phone ring I have to remember to check it. It charges me for in and out calls and to pick up VM. Another thing I don't like is there are no text msg or email alerts to tell you that you expiry money is up or you are out of money. Last time I forgot to refill and I lost $25 and I realized my phone was shut off to incoming calls for a whole week! (even though it looks like the phone is fine because it still has network bars). I was mad about losing that.

So, I am looking for a new one now. I want no contract, no expiry on the minutes I buy and I only want to fill it back up when I want or run out of money on there. Yeah, I know cell phone companys don't like that. So, someone recommended the tracphone. I am looking into that. It looks like Net10 might be like this too but my ex had this and he had problems with them. I have until October until GoPhone will want to suck more money out of me so I have a bit of time to decide.

I don't text so that I don't care about. I mostly like having my cell for emergencies like in the car etc.

Just saw this one. T-mobile lets you keep your minutes for a full year if you spend $100 (for 1000 minutes). They also allow texts at 10c for each text sent, 5c for each text received. We've been with t-mobile prepaid for 2-3 years and love it. We save a ton of money and our minutes have yet to expire!

[AnotherBK]

I live in a great verizon area so i got the Straighttalk ( runs on verizon towers) unlimited plan for $45 per month, unlimited talk, text and web ( web browser NOT GOOD AT ALL but not what i have the phone for). Its been so great that i turned off my house phone to save a few bucks.

[stormy]

I've been with Verizon for years; right now I'm paying $200/month for 3 phones and my wireless internet. 700 minutes on the cell phones with unlimited texting and a data plan on my Blackberry. Since I have a teenager, unlimited texting was a must have.

I do know I could shop around and get a cheaper plan with another carrier but Verizon really does have the best coverage in my area. Which really doesn't make sense since I don't live far from Chicago; you would think cell phone coverage wouldn't be a problem in this area but it is. I was using Cricket for my wireless internet but the signal was terrible; I had to sit in a certain spot in the house near a window to get decent internet speed. Verizon's blew their service away; I can go any where in the house and not lose my signal.

[pavlikclan]

We use verizon. 2 lines one a blackberry one an lg ally 700 minutes data unlimited text im the whole kitten caboodle $210 a month plus the cost to upgrade every two years. Approximately $2650 per year with upgrade costs.

Verizon will be getting a letter when we file they are going to be included in the bk to get out of their INSANE plan. We are switching to Straight Talk We will go with one Nokia E71 Smart Phone which according to straight talk website is $244.00 @45.00 a month for service $784.00 for the year. I will go with a cheaper model 100-150 price range and also the unlimited plan for 540 per year. Total cost $690 combined cost = $1,474 Monthly cost $122.83 Yearly savings $1,176.

This is all for unlimited everything. Verizon = rip off!