Another 20 bucks saved...

**mama2James** · 11-25-2008, 09:26 PM

I just reviewed our cell phone plan, we have only a cell, no landline. We haven't been using anywhere near the 900 anytime minutes we were paying for, so I reduced the plan to 450 minutes. We'll have to be a bit more careful since we've been using about 550 a month or so. But it's so easy to check the current usage and $20 bucks saved a month is awesome!

**Michelle68** · 11-25-2008, 10:33 PM

Good for you! Every little bit helps.

**Luv2BeFrugal** · 11-26-2008, 12:23 AM

That's great!! Sure feels good, huh?

We cut our plan about 5? months ago... We had texting and internet, but Dh didn't use either (HAD to have it on both phones...grrr)...and I only used a few texts a month. So, we canceled that portion of the plan and had texting blocked (so as not to 'accidentally' rack up an extra bill). Sure did make a difference!!

Glad you "took the leap"!

**rainbowgc** · 11-26-2008, 10:18 AM

My contract expires next month thank goodness and we will then begin the rounds of shopping for a new phone plane to save $. Glad you found a way to save!

**Spikey1341** · 11-26-2008, 10:27 AM

I have Sprint and we hardly use the cell phone at all. I was thinking of cancelling and going to a Tracfone. Anybody have one?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 11-26-2008, 10:33 AM

That $20 sure is better than nothing.

I went ahead and cut $11 from the package we had, added $4 back onto it for International Text Messaging since most of my texts were to the US. Rogers now charges $0.20 per text if you're not on a plan and text to anywhere in the US. I made the adjustment because I wasn't texting around here any. I had debated cutting the package down even further, but wasn't sure how that'd reflect on our plan since we're on contract.

If I could ditch the land line, I'd be happy. We're too cheap to set up the alarm system to be wireless.

**mmy2grls** · 11-26-2008, 10:47 AM

I love my prepaid phone so I can customize to what I need without racking a bill.

**stayathomesavings** · 11-26-2008, 11:24 AM

Ugh. Cell phone bills will eat you alive if you're not careful. Yet if you opt for a plan that's too low, you can get yourself into trouble, fast! Our contract just ended, so we've started shopping around. We desperately need new phones (his shuts off spontaneously and without warning and mine's battery dies when it is showing full bars), but I've been refusing to commit to any contracts. I think we should change companies, but we live in the middle of nowhere and not many companies get decent coverage once you get out of town.

Good for you for taking the bull by the horns and lowering your bill. I think I'm paralyzed between my yearning for convenience and cool features and my desire to save money! lol

**mandi0808** · 11-26-2008, 11:43 AM

I had Sprint a couple of years ago.
I was paying $60 a month for 350 minutes and 200 texts and pics a month.
I switched to Metro PCS and pay $45 for unlimited minutes, texts, and pics.
Granted I had to buy my new phone, unlike Sprints which was free, but in the long run I saved a ton of money since I use my phone so much.
The basic barebones plan with just unlimted calls anywhere, no voicemail, no caller id, is $30 a month.
You can't beat that!
I also get a better signal than with Sprint!

**cheappearls** · 11-26-2008, 11:51 AM

Good! Every little bit helps.

We have the lowest plan we can have with our family plan and we still don't even come close to using all our minutes. We have 700 shared minutes, we hardly ever go over 200. (We have free minutes between our phones). Once our contract is up, we've been talking about switching to prepaid.

**phoeny_moonstar** · 11-27-2008, 01:06 AM

I congratulate you on saving some money! But I for one wouldn't go the pre-paid route. I think that in the end you'll see that this actually costs you MORE than a contract phone. Atleast in my experience. But if you can find a phone & minutes at a reasonable price (maybe net10?) then I would say go ahead. But alot of thos pre-paid phone companies charge enormous per/minute rates! Make sure to check it out and shop around!!

**kestrel91316** · 11-27-2008, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by Spikey1341

I have Sprint and we hardly use the cell phone at all. I was thinking of cancelling and going to a Tracfone. Anybody have one?

I used to have a Tracfone (it broke), now I have a Virgin phone. Target had a good selection of these pay-as-you-go phones. I only use my cell for when I am away from the office during the day, and when travelling. I still have landlines at the office and home (I'm old school). I NEVER come close to using my allotted minutes on the Virgin phone, I just keep renewing it, lol. Very economical unless you are a phone addict.

**mama2James** · 11-29-2008, 12:52 PM

So, I decided that the 20 extra dollars we'll be saving will be applied to the CC debt consolidation loan. The payment on that is $427 per month. So now I'll send in $447 or push it to $450 just for a round number, lol!

**Mavourneen** · 11-29-2008, 07:57 PM

I would highly recommend if you work for a large company, check to see if your company has any discount programs with various phone companies...

I work for Trane ( the AC people ) and was perusing the "Employees only" area of our website and an area caught my eye - Trane Corporate Partners. Just for being employed with Trane, I get decent discounts at a lot of companies - Sprint included. I called Sprint with my discount code and Bam! 18% savings, for nothing!

I was happy!

**kittykatstrong** · 11-29-2008, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by Mavourneen

I would highly recommend if you work for a large company, check to see if your company has any discount programs with various phone companies...

I work for Trane ( the AC people ) and was perusing the "Employees only" area of our website and an area caught my eye - Trane Corporate Partners. Just for being employed with Trane, I get decent discounts at a lot of companies - Sprint included. I called Sprint with my discount code and Bam! 18% savings, for nothing!

I was happy!

Good point, we can get discounts on many types of phone plans and a health club membership.