These days, just about everyone has a smartphone of some sort… and with that smartphone often comes a very expensive data plan. Here’s how you can make your plan less expensive and more worthwhile.
When my monthly Verizon bill surpassed $70 a few months ago (for ONE phone with the lowest talk/text allowances possible and a 19% teacher discount), I decided enough was enough and switched to a prepaid plan through Page Plus Cellular. By doing so, I saved myself $40 per month AND significantly increased my talk/text allowances.
How is that possible?
When you set up a contract with a major cell phone provider (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc.), your monthly bill includes a lot more than just your usage. You’re paying for call centers and customer service reps across the country, replacement phones, advertising, expensive lawyers, and all kinds of other taxes and surcharges.
If you’re a light data user, you’re also forced to pay for a minimum monthly allowance of 2 GB… which you will never use, especially now that there is WiFi access nearly everywhere.
Prepaid plans are different because the focus is on your own personal usage rather than “average” usage.
The absolute cheapest prepaid option is to “pay as you go,” which requires you to replenish your account only when you run out of minutes. However, there are also a lot of monthly bundle plans available that are similar to (or better than) the ones the major providers offer. Even if you’re a heavy data user, Page Plus now has a plan with unlimited talk/text and 5 GB of data for $69.95 per month.
What do I have? My current plan includes 1,200 minutes, 3,000 texts, and 250 MB of data for $29.95 per month. No taxes. No fees. No bullshit. Best of all, no contracts. That means I can change my plan or leave Page Plus altogether without ever paying a penalty.
So if you’re looking to save some money on your monthly expenses, look into a prepaid plan. You might be surprised how much you can save without sacrificing service or usage.
how is the service? could you count on it for use as your main phone? i no longer have a landline and am looking to drop verizon in favor of a prepaid plan. i’m in eastern monroe county.
I’m an independent contractor, so I use my cell phone for a lot of job-related calls in addition to personal stuff and it’s worked fine. (We don’t have a landline either.) My understanding is that Page Plus uses Verizon cell towers, so the service shouldn’t be any different.
The biggest “disadvantage” to a prepaid plan vs. Verizon is that you don’t get a new phone every 2 years. However, I’m saving $960 every 2 years which more than makes up for it.