Paying for kid's cell phones

[jjquantz]

We kept our daughters on our plan for a while (they reimbursed me twice a year) but eventually some of us figured out that moving to Ting was cheaper than shares in a family plan at V*****n. DD#2 is piggy backing on in-laws plan now. She is the only one of us who follows the upgrade path pretty closely. I think that the in-laws are giving her a better deal than I was, too.

 

[KM]

We covered the cell phone bill while kids were in college. Once they no longer were they paid for their portion of the bill (base plan divided by # of phones + whatever extras they wanted - ie data, text, etc). Both had flip phones.

DD (29) left our plan last year when she decided to get a smartphone and felt she could do better on a different plan. DS (31) recently switched to a smartphone and his "bill" went up. He asked us how much his new bill would be before he upgraded. He pays us each and every month.

We don't need the money - but it was more about letting them learn to support themselves and learn to live within their means. Neither got a smartphone for a long time.....and I was happy to see they both understood that a smartphone isn't a necessity - it was a luxury.

 

[6miths]

I don't even view it as healthy as nowadays it seems like they never even look up anymore to experience real life.

Agree with this. Still have 17, 19, 21 and 23 year-olds on our plan. Not really in any great hurry to get them off but do remind them once in awhile what they are missing. Cost and managing bills.

My biggest concern health wise is that they tended to keep them awake until the last of their friend cohort was asleep and involved them in more than the necessary number of 'crises'. We put a midnight curfew in place for high school.

 

[CaliKid]

My head is spinning with all the justifications given. Once kids are off the payroll then get them OFF THE PAYROLL.

Plus, someone above said they get free phones every two years from their provider. Really? Since when? Our phone provider hasn't given us that in several years unless we get a very basic old model. Do you really do that? If so, good for you. Many people go in for the "free" phone and walk out with $30 a month added to their phone bill for a new Iphone.

 

[Carpediem]

Plus, someone above said they get free phones every two years from their provider. Really? Since when? Our phone provider hasn't given us that in several years unless we get a very basic old model. Do you really do that? If so, good for you. Many people go in for the "free" phone and walk out with $30 a month added to their phone bill for a new Iphone.

I had the same question about the "free phone upgrades". Are they really *free*? Or are the payments just spread out over 2-3 years?

 

[ivinsfan]

Well in your case I can tell you that 3 earlytwentysomethings will not want a free phone provided by the cell company. In fact they get their phones "free" from you. Do you see the problem here? It's called spending other people's money.

 

[Car-Guy]

Just curious how many folks are still paying for their kid's cell phones. And if you're not, got any advice for getting them off your plan?

I can dream about "only paying" for the DD's cell phone.

My head is spinning with all the justifications given. Once kids are off the payroll then get them OFF THE PAYROLL.

 

[jollystomper]

We have one kid still on but he pays us the cost of the monthly service for the line and it responsible for paying for the type of phone he wants. He recently got a better job and save to get his first smartphone, which he paid for.

The other kids (all adults) have their own phones... probably because they don't want us seeing who they are calling or texting.

 

[MBAustin]

Both kids (27 and 24) are on our family plan; they pay for new phones and related costs like insurance (DD is accident-prone). I see no reason for them to pay a bunch for an individual plan when it's very reasonable to have them on our plan.

 

[Philliefan33]

Both DDs are still on our plan. The 25-year old pays her share of the plan and all costs associated with whatever phone she buys.

The 27-yr old is a poor graduate student, so we foot the cell phone bill for her. It's the only thing we pay for, and I consider it a nice way to help her a little. She is appreciative and in no way "entitled". I was a poor grad student once and I remember the struggle.

 

[Sunset]

But it's always going to be cheaper for them to piggyback onto your plan, what happens when they are 30, 40 or older?

I know a guy age 63 living at his parents home, doesn't pay rent or even help out. He does do his own laundry but a parent makes the supper.

 

[Sunset]

Our cell phones which we largely just use for phone calls , and a little free wifi usage at home and various restaurants cost approx $150 per year for DW and myself.

They are smart phones Lumina 640 running Win 10 , and each cost me ~ $29 total.

So low cost phones and plans are available.

 

[ElizabethT]

We moved our kids off our family plan after college, at the point each was able to land a full time job w/benefits, which was 26 for one (completed graduate school before seeking full time employment) and 22 for the other. We gave them a heads up about two months ahead of pulling them off, plenty of time for them to locate their own service.

DH and I immediate switched to StraightTalk, saving a bundle, and our kids slowly found their way to StraightTalk as well after learning the hard way that those 'free' phones you get from the big cellular companies really aren't so free in the long run, given how much more expensive their monthly plans are than the smaller, backbone-using companies.

 

[jazz4cash]

But it's always going to be cheaper for them to piggyback onto your plan, what happens when they are 30, 40 or older?

I dunno. I'll let you know but I suspect one of 2 things
1. They'll opt out for some higher tech plan
2. Telcos will realize the family plans are too consumer friendly and get rid of them.

 

[RetireAge50]

When we originally bought iPhones we paid $200 per phone. Every 2 years we sell them on Craigslist for $200 and get the latest new iPhone for $200. So the net cost is zero.

It is cheaper for my kids AND ME to keep them on my plan and divide the total monthly cost evenly (we have unlimited data and text so each person's share is the same).

 

[broadway]

A Tracfone with the 1st year of service purchased from HSN or QVC is in my opinion the best value if you don't use much data.

My mom paid $85 including tax for her LG smartphone and received 1200 minutes/1200 texts/1200 MB data.

Since service costs $125 for one year for 1500/1500/1500, she essentially got the smartphone for free and the service at 20% off.

Next year, to maintain the service, we are planning on buying 400 minutes/365 days for $100 + 1 GB data for $10.

 

[pb4uski]

Nope. DD went off of our plan after she graduated college and began working full time (or "off the dole" as we refer to it within the family). Similar with DS... I don't remember the exact timing of his but I think it was when he moved out of the house.

DS bought a phone ($50 IIRC) and has a cheapo plan that meets his needs but is $50 every 4 months.

They can get their own plan from airvoicewireless (AT&T network MVNO) with unlimited talk and text and 100mb/month of data for $20/month or 1GB of data for $30/month. If they don't have a GSM cellphone they can buy one for $50-$700 depending on what they want.

 

[pb4uski]

....DD is just turning 13 and I do not think needs a phone.... and I prove my point when I say I will buy her one like mine and she says 'no way'....

No 13 year old wants a flip phone.

 

[Texas Proud]

No 13 year old wants a flip phone.

It is not a flip phone.... but a small smart phone... but does not look 'sharp'... she wants an Apple, but I have told her she will never own an Apple while living here or getting money from me....



OH... BTW, Jerry Jones has a flip phone.... at least the last time he was on TV talking on his phone (which was last year when I saw it).... if it is good enough for a billionaire it should be good enough for a 13 YO...


Pick of my phone...

 

[Greencheese]

I see nothing wrong with keeping a large family plan and splitting the costs. The plans are all structured to be vastly cheaper the more lines you add so having someone leave the plan just raises their costs. Tmobile for example had that buy 2 get 2 lines deal a few weeks back, cost for 4 lines was $120 or $30/line, cost for just 1 line with them is $70. Isn't it better to save everyone a little money than the view of independence? After all I thought money/early retirement websites were all about being smart with your money!

 

[HadEnuff]

I recently found out that DW and I are paying for youngest son's monthly phone bill. It's separate from our plan, and costing close to $80/ month. I was not pleased, as he is 26 and living in Brooklyn. It's not that we can't afford it, but I know that had I been involved in the decision making there would have been a few things included in the deal, such as an exit strategy, and perhaps finding cheaper options to provide the "necessary" options without any frills.

 

[donheff]

We carry DD on our phone plan and her car on our insurance plan. She still has her packages delivered to our house. She is independent and doesn't "need" our support but we never saw a reason to dump her. She is a teacher and lives below her needs so why not send some extra her way? If all proceeds on plan we will start gifting both kids in 10-15 years. If all doesn't proceed on plan we will kick them to the curb

 

[pb4uski]

I see nothing wrong with keeping a large family plan and splitting the costs. The plans are all structured to be vastly cheaper the more lines you add so having someone leave the plan just raises their costs. Tmobile for example had that buy 2 get 2 lines deal a few weeks back, cost for 4 lines was $120 or $30/line, cost for just 1 line with them is $70. Isn't it better to save everyone a little money than the view of independence? After all I thought money/early retirement websites were all about being smart with your money!

While family plans used to be more affordable, things have changed and that is no longer true. We pay $20/mo for unlimited calls and texts and 100 mb of data and there are less expensive plans out there if your needs are more modest. For a few years we paid $10/mo, but our needs changed so we upgraded to the $20/mo plan.

 

[ivinsfan]

We carry DD on our phone plan and her car on our insurance plan. She still has her packages delivered to our house. She is independent and doesn't "need" our support but we never saw a reason to dump her. She is a teacher and lives below her needs so why not send some extra her way? If all proceeds on plan we will start gifting both kids in 10-15 years. If all doesn't proceed on plan we will kick them to the curb

Does she live in your home, these car insurance payments make me curious. Most polices say are they on your tax return, living in your home or going to school and/or driving your car? Just because they still let you pay her premium doesn't mean she would be covered in an accident. Having packages delivered to your home doesn't count as living there. You'd be surprised how many of these things slip thru the cracks until you have a problem. If it's cheaper for her to be on your insurance there is a reason for it..ie underwriting guidelines.

 

[ivinsfan]

I see nothing wrong with keeping a large family plan and splitting the costs. The plans are all structured to be vastly cheaper the more lines you add so having someone leave the plan just raises their costs. Tmobile for example had that buy 2 get 2 lines deal a few weeks back, cost for 4 lines was $120 or $30/line, cost for just 1 line with them is $70. Isn't it better to save everyone a little money than the view of independence? After all I thought money/early retirement websites were all about being smart with your money!

The OP was paying the bill for all 3 kids,the question is not really how big is the bill, but who pays for their own phone.