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Prepaid: A plan for those not obsessed with cell phones

Posted Mar 13 2008, 01:44 PM by Karen Datko
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We are among the four or five people in the country over the age of 12 who don't have a cell phone. Do we really want to be in touch with everyone all of the time? Why do we need to have a conversation about what the cat threw up, or what Oprah said, when we're driving, boarding airplanes or browsing in supermarket aisles?

Admittedly, a cell phone would come in handy once in a while: When you break leg on a mountain, your car dies in the middle of nowhere, or you really need to make a call and there's no pay phone in sight.

"Paidtwice" at I've Paid For This Twice Already says a prepaid cell phone plan is the way to go for the occasional cell phone user.

Paidtwice used to think that prepaid plans were for people with bad credit, until she realized how much money she could save. She used to pay $60 a month for a family plan. Now she pays about $14 a month total for two prepaid phones, and even got two free phones through company promotions.

"Once I let go of the 'cost-per-minute' factor and started focusing on the 'cost per month,' I realized that I was throwing tons of money away on minutes I wasn't using," she writes.

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Comments

 

With the cell phone, you don't even have to go completely prepaid to save money. I have cricket service and love it. There's no contract, and no credit checks. I pay just $45 a month, and I get unlimited calls, unlimited texting and unlimited mobile web access. I get the benefits of ala-cart pricing becasue I can shut it off any time I like, but I don't have to count calls or messages. Plus, I bought my phone at http://www.mycricket.com and paid just $29.99 for it.

Jason (Posted 06.19.08 6:51 PM ) Report Abuse

Jason, you are so correct on Cricket.  I have a prepaid because I am an infrequent cellphone user (Cingular/AT&T), but I get tired of refilling every 30-45 days as there is no rollover with this plan.  My son has a Cricket phone and he loves it.  I'm switching.  

The only problem I've seen with Cricket is that some of the phones are very expensive....or at least they were when Cricket hit town two years ago.   Many of the cheaper phones are refurbished phones and only come with a 30-day warranty.  I am going to look into them again, but the plan is great!  

I have a Razr that was given to me and I've heard that Cricket may allow users to use other phones on their plans, but I'm not sure if this is correct.  I have fallen in love with this phone as it has a camera and video which proved to be a lifesaver for me when my ceiling collapsed in my apartment due to leaks from above.  

Carla (Posted 06.20.08 8:33 AM ) Report Abuse

Prepaid Phones really a money saver because we only pays for the service that we use. Meaning we're in total in control of everything I  am a prepaid user since then



Ellaine Condes (Posted 08.20.08 2:06 AM ) Report Abuse

I am a prepaid phone user because simply paying $50+ a month isn't an option currently, using tracphone now which they switch to having your time last for 90 days instead of 60 which is nice and even give me bonuses sometimes. Would switch to something like Cricket if it was available in FL due to all the txting I do which takes away my minutes so far I don't even realize it.

John (Posted 08.27.08 5:00 AM ) Report Abuse

Part of the non-cell phone group, finally getting 2 due to nagging from parents-in-law.  We are getting 2 t-mobile phones, prepaird, will buy 1000 minutes each.  It will be an upfront cost of $330 (2 phones, 1000 minutes each) but but the minutes last for a full year, requires no contract, and no monthly bill.  We will see how it goes.

durhamite (Posted 09.22.08 11:37 AM ) Report Abuse

With my prepaid plan, I pay .75 per day and at night it's free calling and unlimited texting. I never have minutes that I don't use. No contracts, no bills. I am in control. Twenty dollars will last about a month. Can't beat that!

Melissa (Posted 11.06.08 9:47 AM ) Report Abuse

To: Melissa

     What prepaid phone service do you have? Sounds great for $20 a month!

G. Vaughan (Posted 11.06.08 10:50 AM ) Report Abuse

A prepaid service people may not be aware of is Boost mobile.

Boost Mobile is an Irvine, CA-based brand of mobile phone service (owned by Sprint Nextel) launched in Australia (Over Optus) in 2000 and in New Zealand (Over Telecom New Zealand) in 2001.

All calls are 10 cents a minute anytime.

Text messaging 10 cents to send and receive.

Balance/time is good up to 90 days.

It is very affordable.

Or another one is look into is Net10

A prepaid wireless service offering all local, long distance and roaming calls at one low price of 10 cents per minute. All NET10 prepaid wireless service is provided by TracFone Wireless, Inc, America's #1 prepaid wireless company. There are no contracts, credit checks, monthly fees, security deposits, activation or deactivation charges, or age restrictions. TracFone Wireless is a subsidiary of América Móvil (NYSE: AMX, NASDAQ: AMOV), Latin America's largest mobile phone provider, with more than 165 Million wireless subscribers across the continent.

One downside - lowest price card expires after 60 days.

Prepaid mobile phones are very common in the UK.

US phone companys should look at their plans.

Conor (Posted 11.06.08 10:57 AM ) Report Abuse

i'm located the the lehigh valely, pa area & cricket isn't available here.  can anyone recommend another service?

claire (Posted 11.06.08 11:23 AM ) Report Abuse

I have an ATT prepaid GoPhone that costs $100 a year, and my wife has a Virgin Mobile prepaid that costs $20 every three months.  Our land line averages $26 a month including long distance, and we average $10 a month for each cell including a few extra minutes.  That's $46 a month total fro all three phones; less than the cost of most single cell phone contracts.  Which phone is better depends on your area.  The ATT and Virgin web sites will tell you where they have reception.

Bill (Posted 11.06.08 12:03 PM ) Report Abuse

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