Saved $ today on phone plan

[xman23]

You have to review you phone service all the time as they are always getting cheaper. So I had my old I5 from work which I gave to my wife to upgrade what she had. Verizon said they wouldn't enable the smart phone without buying data. She doesn't need data on her phone. Unlimited calling and text we were paying $40 a month. I checked there web site, Verizon prepay plan, $30, smart phone, unlimited phone, unlimited text, and Wi-Fi data. They wouldn't admit they had that plan until I showed them. Perfect, ever IPhone feature works, including face time when connected to WI-FI. And I saved $10 a month. Prepay is just pay one month ahead. Actually I made it automatically paid buy credit card.

 

[iron]

try using a secondary provider like pageplus, cricket, etc. you should find a plan for ~1/2 that price.

my calling "plan" is $5/mo. i just have a dumb phone, so it's not super comparable to your situation.

 

[Bobbin]

TracFone for my business. Cheap is the operative word. In my line of work a telephone is too often an interruption that can spell expensive mistakes (screwing up a drapery lay out on fabric that is $100+/yd.=big money) so I often work with my phone on mute and answer calls when I'm not "in the middle" of something. Interestingly, I prefer e-mail for most communications with my customers and frankly? for someone who knows how to type efficiently using my laptop computer or desktop model is more comfortable!

 

[homebrewz]

I switched to Ting about a year and half ago, a third party carrier that uses the Sprint and Verizon networks. You pay for what you use, kind of like the electric bill and you can bring your own phone (if it's wired for Sprint or Verizon), or buy one from them. I bought an older iPhone on ebay and my average monthly bill is about $28.

Pros: Their customer service is very easy to deal with. In fact, the few times I've had to call them a real person picks up the phone. No touch-tone menus or computer voices to deal with. You can also earn a commission for signing people up. I didn't have a bill for several months after signing up some friends. Cons: If you're a heavy data user, they may be more expensive than your current plan. Also, they don't have a data agreement with Verizon, so you can only use data in the Sprint coverage area or over wi-fi.

 

[OhioBurner©]

I'll cast my vote for Airvoice Wireless, if you have good ATT signal where you live. I had an unlimited call/txt plan + small amount of data for only $20/mo.

Still though I decided to go cheaper and currently have their $10 prepaid plan (set on monthly auto pay). With that you pay for whatever you use (calls, text, mms, data, whatever) with a minimum fill of $10/mo. You can always add more money to your account if you need it sooner though. Right now I have a 20-some dollar surplus, as I use less than half of the $10 every month on average.

I bought my own non-carrier-branded BLU smartphone on amazon. Great phones for a fraction of LG, Samsung, etc.

I offset a lot of my cellular usage by using a free google voice phone #. I have the hangouts app installed on my phone and it allows me to call or text just like a regular cell phone, but it uses wifi and free. So when I am home or at work and have wifi I do all my calls and text for free with google. Only when I am out and about do I need to use my traditional cellular account. There is some quirks though, but so far it works well enough.

 

[jb6l6gc]

you guys disgust me... kidding, but seriously our rates here in canada arent even close to what you guys get. Me and wifey both have iphones which she has under her personal business plan and we average over $120 a month.
The CRTC are a bunch of crooks, and the big companies have monopolies so there is no competition.

 

[drz1050]

In Upstate NY, Verizon or AT&T are the only options... no one else has any service at all, and even those two are quite sparse. I pay ~90/ month.

 

[DougA]

The CRTC are a bunch of crooks, and the big companies have monopolies so there is no competition.

It's the big telcos, not the CRTC that is the problem. Shop around. I finished my plan and pay Bell $20. month for all the data I could ever use on my smart phone and they give me free minutes by paying on time. I refuse to give them preauthorized credit card. I had a huge problem once with that. If there is an error, they take your money and you are forced to prove they are wrong. It takes me 30 sec. every month to pay with a CC and worth it.
I'm with the others and have cut my cell phone use a lot. Waste way too much time.

 

[jb6l6gc]

I refuse to deal with bell for anything they've screwed me at least 3 times.

 

[homebrewz]

In Upstate NY, Verizon or AT&T are the only options... no one else has any service at all, and even those two are quite sparse. I pay ~90/ month.

Try Ting.. they use Verizon's network. You won't be able to use data though as they don't have a data agreement with Verizon.

 

[DougA]

I refuse to deal with bell for anything they've screwed me at least 3 times.

I hear ya. I've been screwed by all 3. Telus was the worst so take your pick of which crook to deal with.
That's why I pay each month with a CC and do not let them keep the CC info on file.
As an aside, I went to download the app from CTV (Bell owned) and they want access to your bookmarks and your browser history. I stopped in my tracks and screamed. No way

 

[sportbikerider78]

$225/month 4 lines. 15GB. Unlimited text, photo sharing and calling.

 

[Dougsey]

Total Wireless from Wal Mart. I have the $25/mo plan, add on data card $10 for 1.5GB. Runs on VZ network which is a requirement for me due to work location. 1.5GB data lasts me a very long time but you do need it if you ever want to send a picture message or occasional internet use to get directions or whatever.

They have some good multi phone plans that come with monthly data buckets if that's what you need.

 

[OhioBurner©]

In Upstate NY, Verizon or AT&T are the only options... no one else has any service at all, and even those two are quite sparse. I pay ~90/ month.

A lot of the MVNOs use Verizon or AT&T so that is not really limiting much. I frequent upstate NY (if you couldnt tell from my avatar) and Airvoice $20 unlimited plan works just fine as long as you have AT&T signal (or the $10/mo plan I just switched too). Only place I lost signal was in the actual mountains, though last time I was there I did have signal on the long hike up the backside of Rocky Peak Ridge. I'm almost bothered/upset that I had cell service up there lol.