I always thought it was ridiculous how much I paid for my cell phone plan and how much I actually used. I’m not an early adopter by any means, if anything, I’m a late majority. I don’t buy everything new and right when they come out. I base my purchases on actual value – what I get out of the amount I pay.
I definitely didn’t get the full value out of what I paid for my family cell phone plan. We had a grandfathered T-Mobile family plan. Here’s my cost break down:
| T-Mobile | Tracfone | |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | Unlimited (I used <200 a month) | 600 every 3 months |
| Texts | 500/mo | 600 every 3 months |
| Data | 0 MB/mo | 600 MB every 3 months |
| Cost per line | $30/mo | $31.99 every three months OR $10.66/mo |
Before I switched to Tracfone, I thought it was some shady phone company that required you to use one of those old-schooled flip phones. But after I did my research, they let you BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and use your iphone and Andriod smartphones. Not only that, you can keep your existing phone number too. I was sold!
Here’s how Tracfone works:
Unlike traditional cell phone carriers, you don’t sign any contract with Tracfone. It’s pay-as-you-go. You buy a Tracfone card (available at most grocery stores), load it to your account, repeat every 3 months.
I bought a new Andriod phone on ebay for $80 (now only $60) that included a 200-minute card. Here’s the interesting part, most smartphones, including mine, had life-time triple minutes/texts/data. If I added 200 minutes/texts/data to my account, I get 600 minutes/texts/data. However, the 600 is per 90 days, not per month. But it’s sufficient for my usage.
You can buy different increments of minutes/texts/data per 90 days:
| minutes/texts/data | cost per 90 days |
|---|---|
| 450 | $79.99 |
| 200 | $39.99 (I pay $31.99 on ebay) |
| 120 | $29.99 |
| 60 | $19.99 |
What I love about Tracfone is that any unused minutes, texts, and data can be rolled over to the next month.
Another thing I love, that I recently found out, is that you can call internationally and your minutes are deducted the same as any other local call.
The Saving
T-Mobile: $30 per line x 3 lines = $90 a month
If I stayed with T-Mobile, I would pay $1080 a year.
Tracfone: $31.99 per line per 3 months x 3 lines = $31.99 a month
If I switched to Tracfone, I would pay $383.88 a year.
My total annual saving comes to $696.12.
My only regret is that I didn’t switch earlier.
Mild Turbulence 