My sister points out a fabulous way to save money on cell phone service: get your family and friends on the same cell phone carrier and buy a family plan. The potential perks are many:
Some cell phone carriers do not charge you when you call someone on the same carrier. AT&T does this, for instance.
Other carriers let you call a certain number of people for free, like T-mobile, which lets you chose five “faves.”
But the best way to save is to have multiple phones on a family plan. Adding an additional line can be as little as $10 a month. Bump up the minutes if you need to and split the cost.
Remember to talk about how many minutes each person typically uses before you join forces. If you use your cell strictly for emergencies, you won’t be happy with a chatterbox on your plan. Everyone on the family plan does not have to live at the same address, but make sure your add-on friends will pay you.
One place to compare family plans is LetsTalk.com. They listed a Sprint Everything Messaging plan that has 3,000 minutes and unlimited texts. The plan is $150 for two lines. Additional lines are $10. Get four people on the plan and it’s $42 per person. Not bad for 750 minutes each. Thanks, Kate!
January 29th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
My youngest son (who does not live at home) and I are on a Verizon family plan, which costs each of us about $40 a month. I use my cell mostly for emergencies, but also for infrequent long-distance calls. A friend of mine suggested yesterday that I investigate the new bundling plans being offered by AT&T and other servers, with Verizon moving into that area. The advantage is supposed to be lower rates on all your electronic needs. Another son is also on Verizon, as are most of my Red Hat pals, so we get lots of “free” calls.
January 29th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
We have Verizon in my family and is a great deal! 5 yrs w/ them and I have only went over my minutes once. I agree that if you enjoy talking, try to get as many people on your network!!