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First — let me say that I love being connected to the web. Over the last 20 years (starting in my teens) I’ve probably averaged 10-12 hours per day surfing the web and communicating on various forums. I “need” a phone as much as anyone lol.
Most of my friends and family spend “a lot of money” (from my lower middle class perspective) on all things cellular. This has been going on and gaining in popularity since the early 2000s. It’s not uncommon to hear of $250/month cellular bills for a family.
And THEN you have to factor in the $25-50/month payment for each cell phone ON TOP of the plan cost.
I say it’s ridiculous.
I’ve never paid more than $15-20/month per line for cell phone service.
I buy previous generation iPhones that are new in the $400-500 range and they are used by someone in the family for many years. For example, up until a few days ago my mom used a iPhone 6s that was bought when they came out over 5 years ago (now a new SE I got for $200).
Anyway, my price break down including the price of phones is less than $30 per person....$120 for 4 people.
I think people get caught up in “monthly pricing” to determine affordability so something like $275/month doesn’t sound so bad.
I don't get it either. People are too lazy to do a little research or use something other than the big three. They throw gobs of money at these companies that then use it to build monopolies.
I think people get caught up in “monthly pricing” to determine affordability so something like $275/month doesn’t sound so bad.
Yeah, they use the same "logic" in deciding whether or not a car is affordable. That's how they end up with leases and 7-year loans.
I'm frugal by nature, not by necessity, but I bought an iPhone 5 when I retired in May, 2014. I finally replaced it with an 8 in September, 2019, mostly because I wanted more storage. Since I buy my phones outright I'm not locked into any contract and have had service with Ting for years. By keeping Cellular Data switched off except when I'm actually using it, and using Wi-Fi for data-heavy activities, I've kept my bill to about $16-17/month. Even better- Ting just changed pricing plans and for about the same money there's no cap on voice and text (before that you had to pay a bit more if you went over 100 texts or 90 voice minutes) and the lowest-tier data allowance is now 5gb, not 100 mg. I'm happy!
My first bill when I bought my iPhone 5 from Verizon in 2014 was almost $100 and that was after buying the phone outright so no "free" phone costs buried in it. I've saved thousands of $$ over the last 5 years!
Yeah, they use the same "logic" in deciding whether or not a car is affordable. That's how they end up with leases and 7-year loans.
I'm frugal by nature, not by necessity, but I bought an iPhone 5 when I retired in May, 2014. I finally replaced it with an 8 in September, 2019, mostly because I wanted more storage. Since I buy my phones outright I'm not locked into any contract and have had service with Ting for years. By keeping Cellular Data switched off except when I'm actually using it, and using Wi-Fi for data-heavy activities, I've kept my bill to about $16-17/month. Even better- Ting just changed pricing plans and for about the same money there's no cap on voice and text (before that you had to pay a bit more if you went over 100 texts or 90 voice minutes) and the lowest-tier data allowance is now 5gb, not 100 mg. I'm happy!
My first bill when I bought my iPhone 5 from Verizon in 2014 was almost $100 and that was after buying the phone outright so no "free" phone costs buried in it. I've saved thousands of $$ over the last 5 years!
Awesome. It used to be having a cell phone period was a luxury, but people demand more and more and prices keep climbing. We basically want home quality internet 24/7.
MVNOs like Ting are great. I used to use the Red Pocket yearly plans (unlimited text/talk/5gb data) which go on sale occasionally for around $160. $160 / 12 = $13.33/month.
Before that I was on Mint Mobile for about $10/month....before that the free for 1 year unlimited Sprint plan.
Right now I’ve cornered a decent deal on the 1 yr ATT prepaid plan for $250. A little more than I usually pay but you get 8gb/month and full on ATT service.
Regardless, probably averaged under $15/month for cell service since 2010 when I first got a phone.
I find it kinda funny that people are now financing phones at like 0% for 2 years. I mean find a $500-600 phone and just buy the sucker straight out...use it 3-5 years on the cheapest service you can get....rinse wash repeat.
I use my computer to surf the internet, which is essentially $50/month for the service provider.
For a cell phone, I got a fairly dumb one for $94 and an $18/month plan. Good enough for me. I don't need to surf the internet when I am out and about.
I have a $5 flip phone purchased five years ago and buy minutes as needed (a few times a year) and make calls for free via Google whenever possible. My 10-year-old Mac and an internet connection serves all my computing needs.
I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars a year to use a cell phone.
We have 4 lines and 1 ipad connected and we pay 202 a month. This includes "free" netflix which I cancelled when we signed up with the company we have.
We have 4 lines and 1 ipad connected and we pay 202 a month. This includes "free" netflix which I cancelled when we signed up with the company we have.
So its $43 a line. Which Im ok with.
Yeah $43/line isn’t bad but that all depends on your income. Tons...if not most people pay that.
But I’d say 90% of people can NOT afford it. Saving $100/month could be the difference between having a something like a decent retirement account vs nothing.
It seems like for most people that $100/month they blow seems like chump change but what about $100/month invested over say 25 years?
I have plenty of “poor” friends that don’t even want to hear about ways to save $40 here or $20 there. It all seems like peanuts until you add it up over 20-30 years. I was always taught to account for every penny going in and out.
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