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Lower cell phone bill?

April 19th, 2007 at 02:58 pm

Well, I finally convinced DH to switch our cell phone plan last night. It was quick and painless and MAY save us some money. It will definitely save us from the standpoint of not going over on our minutes.

Right now we have a nationwide family plan because DH was doing a lot of traveling for work. Base price: $69.99 for 700 minutes. Then we found out that we needed to add the unlimited incoming package when we tripled our minutes the first month because of all of Scott incoming calls at work (we had previously had it included but the new package charged extra). That added $14 per month for a total of $83.99 per month, add taxes and call it $90. YIKES! But in the past 3 months we have paid $220 EXTRA due to overages at 0.49 per minute. (DH is working on getting his work to pay most if not all of these costs)

The new LOCAL calling plan we are on still has the same base price, $69.99, (both of these are the lowest plans we can get) for 1000 minutes but the unlimited incoming package it $10 and the " free nights and weekends" starts at 7:00 instead of 9:00. Basically we will only save $4 per month, but will be a LOT less likely to go over our minutes. Also, the plan includes 45 minutes of roaming charges each month, so if DH DOES travel it is at least enough minutes for him to call and tell me he is OK.

Man, do I HATE paying this much money for something we survived just fine without when we first got married. Our culture sure has taken a big turn from just 10 years ago. When I was in college, I didn't even have a computer in my room! That was what the computer lab was for! Now the same school I graduated from requires all incoming freshmen to have not just a computer, but a LAPTOP! And there are 10 year olds getting cell phones!

Wait....did I just sound like my mom? Excuse me while I run screaming through the streets.....

8 Responses to “Lower cell phone bill?”

  1. mbkonef Says:
    1176991572

    If you are running screaming thru the streets cause you find yourself sounding like your mom, I think I will have to join you. Actually, it used to really bother me at first when I would hear myself and think - was I just channeling mom (who is still alive and well). Now, it just makes me realize how smart she really was and still is - and thus, me too by default if I sound like her! See, doesn't that make it a bit better?

  2. daylily Says:
    1176992696

    I just changed our cell plan yesterday too. Same issues that you were having. DH travels and has to have it for business calls. Recently his usage has gone up and will continue to be that way. We were paying $0.40/minute for calls over the plan limit. We bumped up to a different plan and hopefully we will not go over the monthly limit.

  3. littlemama Says:
    1176993828

    "Because I said so!" is something I find myself saying alot. Just like my mom, so I definately know what you are saying. Smile My daughter who is ten wants a cell. So many kids her age have one. I told her when I was her age I was doing good if I had a bicycle. Smile

  4. JanH Says:
    1176995761

    I sound like my Dad alot. My mom gets a chuckle out of that one! Hopefully, in the near future your DH's company will provide a phone and service since he is using it for working. We've had that the last few years and it has been nice not to have to worry about the minutes!

  5. Ima saver Says:
    1176996188

    I think i am the oldest one on here and I don't know what most of these new gadgets even are. I just got a computer (which I don't know how to use) 2 years ago and I have never had a cell phone.

  6. newlyfrugal Says:
    1176996283

    DH tried to get a company cell, but they said they had given all of them out and would not be issuing any more. That is when they told him they would pay the overage, as long as he could prove the calls were work related. We are in that process now, but DH is dragging his feet for some reason.

  7. mbkonef Says:
    1176999328

    Whenever my DH used to have to get reimbursed for expenses, I found that if I actually wanted to get the money back, I needed to be the one filling out the forms. I would have DH get the forms, give me the receipts etc. then I would fill out and just have him sign it. On the one hand, he should have been doing it himself, but on the other, I realized that it was not going to get done any other way. We went from me bugging him and him only turning in his expenses once a year or so, to me turning them in monthly. It was not really a big deal and it meant I got the money back faster and stuff didn't get forgotten as easily. If this is an option for you, I highly recommend it if you DH is like mine and not great with paperwork details.

  8. Fern Says:
    1177000620

    i just joined the 21st century this week by purchasing a cell phone. It's for "essential use only" and you get just 400 minutes a year (33 minutes a month) for $12/month, no contract.

    You're right, times and people's expectations have really changed. I never had a computer in college either. And i still don't feel a burning desire to talk on the phone when i'm at the store, in my car or in public.

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