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Denise Albert: Mamarazzi
Choosing a family cellphone plan
Filed under: Activities: Babies, Holidays, Day Care & Education, Gadgets
We're usually way behind the times in our house, sort of Little House on the Prairie, only with a microwave and high-speed internet.
We didn't get a 2nd vehicle until we had three kids and the mapping of who needed to be where and when became overwhelming. We held off on a minivan until kid #4, when we couldn't belt one more little body in the backseat. And we're the only family left on the planet without cellphones.
It really hasn't been much of a sacrifice. The money we saved not having a cellphone bill paid for one kid's braces. When I was lost or wanted the time, I asked strangers or gas station employees. It IS still possible to function in life without a cellphone, I'm living proof!
However, we're now at the point where cell phones would help like the 2nd car did. With kids in after-school activities in high school and junior high, I think I'd be a little less gray in the hair if I knew who was where. I'm thinking we need four phones: one for me and my husband and for each of the older boys.
But here's where I get confused: what should I be looking for when researching cellphone packages? One friend says no to contracts, one says make sure it has free roaming, one says unlimited text messages are crucial for kids, one says buy the maximum amount of minutes because going over is expensive.
It's enough to make me just wash out some tin cans and invest in miles of string. Here's how clueless I am, I didn't know that someone else calling MY phone would use up MY minutes. What is the deal with that?! Now I feel guilty over calls to cellphones I have made!
So I'm asking you, the experienced cell-savvy parents out there, what should I ask or look for in a cellphone plan? What did you find worthwhile and what is unnecessary?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-29-2007 @ 11:06AM
nae said...We have alltel. You get 10 circle numbers that are considered the same as cell to cell which most plans have free cell to cell, and also they let you change the plan anytime you need. Therefore go with the highest plan you could never imagine using and then you can always adjust next month after everyone has used it normally. We run a business with 9 phones. Under 200 a month for those phones and we never go over mins. Goodluck!
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10-10-2007 @ 12:36AM
Ann Adams said...I have Metro PC with unlimited minutes, long distance, and texting. Cost - about $45/month. The only problem is no family plans so you'd be paying that for each phone.
It might be cheaper to look at the family plans and lay down the law to the kids.
Good luck.
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10-10-2007 @ 1:11AM
Lauren B. said...Lots of them have things like mobile to mobile (which is just in service carriers), some have unlimited incoming with different amounts of outgoing. The circle seems nice. Some (the "kid" phones) make it so only certain numbers can work with the phone and other you can "allow" how much time they have and when they can use the phones.
It's tough. We got sprint b/c hubby got a discount when we got our phones.
Personally, hubby uses all the minutes and I'm a texter.
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10-10-2007 @ 10:48AM
Kristi said...If you're going to be mostly calling each other's cell phones, look for a plan where those minutes are "free". If you have teens who will want to send or get text messages, get a plan that includes them--otherwise you may pay to *receive* them (yes, someone sends you a text message and you have to fork over cash to read it...very annoying). Also, unless you're dying to have cameras on your cellphones, specifically look for phones without cameras. Many of the phone "deals" out there require you to pay for an additional photo-sending "vision" service if you buy a new cell phone with a camera, and if you don't buy the service, you don't get the rebate they're advertising. Buy a phone without a camera, and you get the rebate without the extra $30 a month ability to send crappy photos to other cameras (how often do you really need to do that anyway?).
Finally, don't feel guilty for calling people's cell phones. If they were worried about the minutes, then they wouldn't give out their cell phone number. The same goes for you--the phone is for *your* convenience, not everyone else's, so don't give the # out to people who don't need it or people who would waste your minutes and your money. For us, the amount we save in long distance (especially the "local" long distance calling across area codes in our metro area) more than makes up for the cost of the phones and minutes, so it's worth it.
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10-10-2007 @ 1:05PM
MJBUtah said...We have 4 phones, all on one family-plan with Tmobile. Calling each other doesn't count at all against our minutes, and nights and weekends are free. We share minutes, and have had these phones for 2 years and have never gone over, even though we have dumped our land line and use these as our home phone. The unlimited text is very important, because not only do the kids text their friends, we all text each other as well. The text counts to send and receive, even within the plan so it was 20 cents each time. You get 50 messages free, but each send/recieve counts as 2. We also have the Nationwide family plan, so when we are on vacation they work with no roaming, so we can keep tabs on everyone no matter where we are, and if someone gets separated from the group we can quickly find them. The camera phone thing was not an issue either, we don't get charged any extra for a picture message vs. a text message.
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10-11-2007 @ 12:25AM
Mamacita said...Buy Tracfones for everyone. Secondary school kids should be paying for their own cell phones anyway, and with a Tracfone, they'd be more likely to curb their enthusiasm somewhat if it's coming out of their own pocket. There's no monthly fees or any surprises whatsoever, and if you use all your minutes, they're gone until you buy more. If you buy minutes on the web, there are amazing discounts, INCREDIBLE savings. I'll never waste my money on a contract again, EVER.
Texting is fun. It's even more fun when your kids pay for it themselves. Don't back down.
But then, I've always been a mean mommy.
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