Saving Money on Wireless Service

[pb4uski]

If you use very little data then $10/month with airvoice wireless is for you. My wife and I have iPhone 6 and have been using airvoice for 2 years.

You must check out this plan. What you don’t use will roll over to next month. I allows you to use voice, text, and data at very reasonable rates.

https://www.airvoicewireless.com/10-dollar-monthly

Set up auto pay. I use data wherever there is no WiFi, my balance is $50.xx after two years. I used to pay $60 per month for one line. Talk about big savings. They have good customer service which is US based.

We used the $10/month Airvoice Wireless plan for about 4 years.... autopay of $10/month then they deduct 4c for each minute of voice, 2c per text and 6.6c per mb of data... whatever balance that remains at the end of the month rolls over to the next month.

Then we became snowbirds and our needs changed and we switched to their $30/month plan... unlimited talk and text and 1GB/month.

Very happy customers.

 

[97guns]

I’m on metropcs for the first month and the data is super slow with a lot of dead spots and I’m in a large metro area. I expect coverage and speed and I suspect they throttle down the data speeds, running off T-Mobile’s network.

I just signed up today with cricket and got a free Samsung that I’ll be gifting to my father in law, hoping the coverage and speed will be better than the at&t network, I had net10 that used at&t’s Network and it was great

 

[freedomatlast]

I had read a lot of good things about Consumer Cellular, but that would require us to buy new phones. While my wife's iPhone is 3 years old, mine is less than 2 years old and I didn't like the idea of having to buy 2 new phones when we still have 2 perfectly good iPhones.

We have been with Consumer Cellular for over a year and have iPhones older than yours and were not required to by new ones when we signed up.

 

[Souschef]

Since DW got her new (first time in 20 years) car, it came with Pandora and Bluetooth. So, screaming and kicking into the 21st century, I bought 2 Alcatel smartphones from TracFone. I paired her phone with the car, and she can listen to Pandora all over.
The phones were $99 each, and all our minutes, texts and data from our flip phones were moved over.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

I'm still in the cell phone stone age as my flip phone (Pantech) is so old I cant remember when i bought it other than I'm sure its after 9/11 because calling my NYC relatives and staring at phone hoping for a good outcome (it was) is still burned into memory and I know my phone was different then. This pantech is indestructible and i can access the net on those rare occasions i really want to. As a a mega corp retiree was eligible for a reduced rate AT &T plan so spend $35/month (after all fees taxes etc) for unlimited everything. Will have to get a smartphone i guess someday but not really looking fwd to it as based on anecdotal evidence they don't seem to last very long.

 

[bobandsherry]

Sounds like OP just used the no data option as easy way to get out from subsidizing his kids. I am primary on my account but have told my kids we split the bill up evenly, I'm not subsidizing their "habit".

I'm on Tmobile, been real happy with them. 6 lines with unlimited data and paying $190/mo or $31/mo. If any lines don't use 2GB of data it's a savings of $10 per line. When I'm not traveling my wife and I can stay under the 2GB, drops the rate then to $21/line. Also get free Netflix from TMo which also saves me $12/mo.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

I'm using mintsim.com for the last 3 months and will probably renew. The 3 month trial comes out to be $15 per month for unlimited calls and texts along with 2GB of 4LTE data. You have to provide your own phone. I enjoy using some internet surfing while "waiting" for appointments, so nice to have data access.

 

[VanWinkle]

Ever since I caught the FIRE bug, I have been looking for ways to save $$ and accelerate my retirement date.

One big monthly expense that seemed untouchable was our cellular service. We were spending appx $260/month for 5 lines of service with data.

3 of the lines were for our now grown-up kids and they started contributed a share once they moved out on their own. But, we still paid the lion's share which came to about $150/month.

In addition to reading a lot about savings and retirement, I've also been reading about "minimalism". So, after a recent chat with the Princess (i.e., daughter) who is very much into a simple lifestyle, the wife and I decided to get rid of our smartphones.

We notified the other kids and told them they would need to find their own plans. Then, we started looking for a simple plan of our own.

The best deal I found was Cricket Wireless. I had read a lot of good things about Consumer Cellular, but that would require us to buy new phones. While my wife's iPhone is 3 years old, mine is less than 2 years old and I didn't like the idea of having to buy 2 new phones when we still have 2 perfectly good iPhones.

With Cricket Wireless I was able to get a plain talk and text (no data) plan using our iPhones. Out of pocket cost for the 2 lines: $50/mo.

So, I'm pretty happy to have found a way to save an add'l $100/mo.

I with you on this one- just switched to Cricket from At&t, same coverage and more data for 60.00 flat- no tax or other fees. Saved me about 35$ per month over my basic At&t plan. At&t owns Cricket, but I like the price better!!!

VW

 

[Jerry1]

It was a two-part decision. To save money and to get rid of the smartphone. I don't want a data plan.

I understand the saving money part, but please expand on the data plan. I'd like to save money too, but I find the phone very useful for times when I need to look things up while away from home or to get directions. Granted, these often involve shopping ventures which we need to curtail as well, but I'm struggling to see how to give up data, which means giving up easy access to directions.

 

[Hermit]

I bought a Moto G5 Plus that has Android 7 on it a couple of months ago at Costco for $219. I live so far out in the boonies that I only get cell service when I go in to town. Verizon has better coverage out here, but I think all service providers work in the closest town. I still use my flip phone for phone access while in town and use the smart phone for wifi including phone over wifi. It works ok, but there are a couple of times a month where it would be nice to have data access without wifi. I pay Verizon $29/ mo. for unlimited talk and text. I could switch to Verizon's offshore plan with data for $50/ mo. but I have a problem spending the extra bucks for something I may use once or twice a month. I tried to get in on a deal for free phone and data for a year at Sprint a couple of months ago, but they told me my credit was not good enough (its 800+). I won't be doing business with Sprint. It looks like if I go with Boom, I would need to get a new phone number. So I just keep slogging along as I am. I need some encouragement from RobbieB to spend more loot!

 

[Teacher Terry]

WE live in an area where AT & T has great reception all over the state. So we switched to Cricket to save $. However, we did not have phone service when we left town. Although Cricket uses AT & T's lines when in rural areas I guess AT&T rents these lines from others and Cricket users don't have access. We switched back after finding this out the hard way.

 

[REWahoo]

WE live in an area where AT & T has great reception all over the state. So we switched to Cricket to save $. However, we did not have phone service when we left town. Although Cricket uses AT & T's lines when in rural areas I guess AT&T rents these lines from others and Cricket users don't have access. We switched back after finding this out the hard way.

Interesting. What states/locations were without service?

We've been using Cricket for almost two years now and traveled extensively in a number of states, primarily in rural areas with our RV, and had zero problems.

 

[OldShooter]

Lots of good information here. A couple of comments:

1) We had PureTalk for a number of years and it uses the AT&T network. Got a big bad surprise once traveling through the Tomah, WI area. No cell coverage. It turns out that AT&T roams onto T-Mobile in that area and PureTalk was literally AT&T only. This may be the case with other MVNOs. I would check coverage maps carefully and ask detailed questions.

2) Project Fi has been mentioned. We are on Project Fi now for a couple of reasons: First, their international coverage is like 130 countries many with free calling and others with relatively low cost calling. In all countries data is $10/GB. Second, the $10/GB is the price in the US too but you pay for only what you use. Recent full-month data bills I have had were 83 cents and a dollar twenty-nine. We like this because data is sometimes handy, like for Google maps and Yelp restaurant suggestions in unfamiliar areas. A couple of weeks ago I found the data connection useful when our home internet went down for several days. I just set up one of the phones as a hotspot and we were virtually unaffected. I think we used about a Gig, so $10 bill this month.

Our Project Fi bills run about $45/month for two lines, unlimited talk and text, and the small amounts of data we use. IIRC almost ten bucks of that is government fees and taxes.

 

[CoolRich59]

I understand the saving money part, but please expand on the data plan.

This is hard for me to explain, and in my attempt, please know that I chose to do this because of my deficiencies and this is not intended as a criticism of anyone else or their use of technology. But, I made the decision because I feel that technology - and my smartphone in particular - was having a net negative impact on me from both a social and a spiritual perspective.

I've done a lot of reading on this and related subjects and some of these authors explain it much better than I ever could:

“Once your brain has become accustomed to on-demand distraction, ... it’s hard to shake the addiction even when you want to concentrate. To put this more concretely: If every moment of potential boredom in your life—say, having to wait five minutes in line or sit alone in a restaurant until a friend arrives—is relieved with a quick glance at your smartphone, then your brain has likely been rewired to a point where, like the “mental wrecks” in Nass’s research, it’s not ready for deep work—even if you regularly schedule time to practice this concentration.” Cal Newport

"When two human beings get together, they're co-present, there is built into it a certain responsibility we have for each other, and when people are co-present in family relationships and other relationships, that responsibility is there. You can't just turn off a person. On the Internet, you can." Neil Postman

“Our world no longer hears God because it is constantly speaking, at a devastating speed and volume, in order to say nothing.” Cardinal Robert Sarah

 

[Teacher Terry]

WE live in NV and basically mostly only had service in Vegas and REno. We went to Fallon to see a friend and had no service which was not good as my DH had a phone meeting for work. He was definitely not happy.

 

[ivinsfan]

WE live in an area where AT & T has great reception all over the state. So we switched to Cricket to save $. However, we did not have phone service when we left town. Although Cricket uses AT & T's lines when in rural areas I guess AT&T rents these lines from others and Cricket users don't have access. We switched back after finding this out the hard way.

This is my fear as well.. AT and T service rep swore up and down we'd get good service using the zip of a town 7 miles away, but that town is only 6 miles from the biggest town in the county 20+K.....so if that small town is getting signals from the big town tower I might be SOL...

 

[Teacher Terry]

WE ended up going back to AT&T pretty fast. We travel a lot and need service since we both work p.t.

 

[omni550]

We used the $10/month Airvoice Wireless plan for about 4 years.... autopay of $10/month then they deduct 4c for each minute of voice, 2c per text and 6.6c per mb of data... whatever balance that remains at the end of the month rolls over to the next month.

Then we became snowbirds and our needs changed and we switched to their $30/month plan... unlimited talk and text and 1GB/month.

Very happy customers.

pb4uski -- Do you know whose cell towers Airvoice uses?

They look like very good deal.

It's sort of interesting, as I just read that their headquarters are located about 30 miles from me and I've never heard of them. I wonder how they do their marketing.

omni

 

[pb4uski]

They use AT&T towers.

 

[Major Tom]

Republic Wireless is not without flaws, but you buy your phone and pay for what you use. My bill is $25 but I get back $15 or so if I don't use all my 2Gb.

Republic for me too. I have a legacy plan which gives me unlimited talk and texting. No data, except when on WiFi. I really don't need mobile data, so it works for me, and the price of $10/month + fees, which works out to a little over $12/month all-inclusive, works very well for me indeed.

New subscribers wanting the same plan have to pay $15/month + fees, which is still not at all bad.

 

[ncbill]

Most of the resellers (MVNOs) mentioned use either T-Mobile or Sprint.

Their data coverage is...lacking...in my area, which is why we switched to Cricket.

For backup for voice/text I carry a flip phone that uses Page Plus, a MVNO running on Verizon.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

We have 2 phones on Republic (me and wife), which each cost about $20 per month for 1GB of data. My teenage daughter is on ATT prepaid, primarily because her iPhone wasn't supported by Republic when we moved from Germany to the USA. Her 6GB plan costs $40 per month.

 

[Katsmeow]

I wonder how many people actually need/use 5G of data a month? My plan gives me 1GB of data a month and I barely even use 100meg as Wi-Fi is everywhere.

It depends. My daughter is on our cell phone plan with unlimited data. Last month she used about 100GB of data. Yes, it can be slowed down when she uses over a certain amount.

You might wonder why she does this if WiFi is everywhere. Basically WiFi is not everywhere. Specifically, it is not in her apartment. Paying for internet in her apartment is beyond her means right now. She has a computer center in the apartment building where she can use an actual computer or take her existing laptop and use WiFi there. But, for more casual computer usage such as web surfing and watching videos she does that in her apartment on her phone and doesn't have to pay for internet. It is way cheaper than paying for internet.

I sometimes use more than 5 GB a month. We do have WiFi at home. But, sometimes when we go places and DH is driving I will use my iPad in the car and will use internet at that point.

Another place. When we visit my 93 year old mother. She doesn't have WiFi either. But I can bring my phone and iPad and use data there. I can even use my phone as a hotspot with a notebook computer as well.

 

[REWahoo]

WE live in NV and basically mostly only had service in Vegas and REno. We went to Fallon to see a friend and had no service which was not good as my DH had a phone meeting for work. He was definitely not happy.

This is my fear as well.. AT and T service rep swore up and down we'd get good service using the zip of a town 7 miles away, but that town is only 6 miles from the biggest town in the county 20+K.....so if that small town is getting signals from the big town tower I might be SOL...

Looking at the Cricket coverage map it does show some parts of Fallon, NV have no coverage. Looks like several areas generally west of I-25 and east of I-5 have areas of spotty coverage. East of the Rocky Mts Cricket coverage is pretty solid other than western Nebraska and northern Maine.

https://www.cricketwireless.com/map.html

 

[Dog]

I applaud you. At times I consider giving up the smartphone and decreasing wireless bill. However, I hike, climb, backpack and Scramble at least once a week. This means I’m driving in the mountains and hinterlands. I use the Maps function on my phone to find trailheads and the Gia GPS function once I’m on and off trail. I can also get weather and conditions updates. Verizon has outstanding coverage and many times I can text my husband from a summit or back at the trailhead. Its funny how many times people I’m out with have asked to use my phone to communicate with their families while we are out because I have coverage and they don’t. I also take pictures with the phone which means I don’t have to carry a camera. I use my phone for email, texting and reading. I’ve just scratched the service of the ways I use my phone. Interestingly, the smartphone has simplified and uncluttered my life due to its’ functionality.