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There are some things we just don’t discuss in my household. One of those things is our HUGE wireless bill. B just gets so frustrated and swears there’s cheap wireless out there. But you see, I rely heavily on my cell phone for work. It has to be reliable. I don’t have the lowest price rate plan by any means. I’ve been with the same company since 1991 and I’ve changed rate plans, added new phones, and watched as my bill steadily increased over the years. But I’m not a fan of change and my actual service is very reliable.
Is that really money growing out of that box? Not technically, but I’ll explain in a bit.
With each month, I find myself agreeing with B more and more. The cell service is great. The customer service is not. So am I doing myself any favors by sticking with this carrier? Surely I can find something better and I can even port my number. Everything else is on the rise but there are so many wireless providers out there, I was sure I could do better. I hope you’re sitting down, because I’m about to show you WHY this ticks B off so much and why it was time to look for a cheap wireless plan that offers unlimited service.
That’s my May bill from Verizon Wireless. Basically a car payment. You might think this is atypical and surely we went WAY over on everything right?
It’s actually pretty much the norm. And it’s always a surprise. I don’t like surprises. I have set rate plans. We have “almost” unlimited everything. Why does it fluctuate so much? Your guess is as good as mine and when I call about it, they always tell me the charges are justified and that I’m welcome to shop for a new provider when my contracts are up. You know, because they value me as a loyal customer and all. So as a gift to B for Father’s Day, I’m doing my research and I will save us some money.
After a little online hunting, I came across Walmart Family Mobile. They claim to offer truly unlimited talk, text, and wireless at only $40 per month for the first line, and $35 per line thereafter. Things I love: No contracts, no credit checks, no deposits, and absolutely no overages or hidden costs…EVER! I immediately contacted the folks at Walmart Family Mobile, powered by T-Mobile, and they agreed to send me a Concord so that I could try out their service. If this works out, I would be saving about $140 a month on average for my 5 lines.
The Concord is a little bigger than my Droid and not quite as powerful, but this phone is being put to the test for service reasons. I need to make sure the service is great, unlimited, and exactly what we want. It’s a great little phone but if I do go with this plan permanently, I’ll bring my phone with me. You can do that too!
To sign up, all you have to do is head to Walmart, pick up a phone (or bring your own), purchase a Starter Kit for only $25, and have the phone activated. While in store, there is a lot to choose from, which you can see from my shopping trip, but don’t bother yourself with that. I’ve already done my homework. Walmart Family Mobile has the lowest priced rate plan with truly unlimited service.
You might be asking one question right now. If your bill is already that high and you have 5 phones already, why would you want another one? Well, there are multiple reasons. First, we need to save money because this is a ridiculous monthly expense as it stands. Second, I don’t want to make the swap until I actually test the service level. Third, we don’t have a home phone or computer other than my work computer which no one else touches. So this will serve as our home phone, as internet service for online searches and purchases, and best of all…it will serve as a connection between long-distance siblings! Because I’m so afraid of surprise charges and overages, I limit Bug’s conversations with her sisters in Georgia. It makes her very sad, which makes me very sad. And I don’t let my little reader play online learning games often because I’m afraid we’ll go over those allowances. That makes me a “mean Mommy” and that has got to change!
My little Bug has worked hard this year. She’s made huge behavioral and learning strides. She’s about to graduate from Kindergarten and she deserves a prize. So when she got home from school the other day, I gave her the surprise of her life. Unlimited talk and text time with her big sisters. She was speechless (for once) but that didn’t last long!
She ate her dinner, took her bath, and immediately called sister #1. I love to hear them talk to each other. There may be a 17 year age gap but the love is there and I love to see the sparkle in my baby girl’s eyes when she talks to her.
And then, although her spelling isn’t perfect…yet…she started texting with sister #2. I loved listening to her giggle and helping her read some of the words. Who knew texting would be a motivator for a 6 year old to read better? This momma should have known with as much as the older girls love to text.
She’s pretty excited that she has a phone to talk as often as she wants, I’m thrilled to be trying out a new wireless provider, and B’s hopeful that I’ll be switching soon and ending his misery as he takes a peek at our current wireless bill each month.
We’re trying out the service this month, without a contract, and I’ll be back at the end of next month to let you know how it goes. So far so good! Stay tuned.
Who is your wireless carrier? Do you think you have a cheap wireless plan? Is your plan truly unlimited? Are you paying too much? I encourage you to check out Walmart Family Mobile because from what I’ve seen so far, this might truly be the best wireless plan on the market.
About Christy
Ok, seriously, I remember like yesterday you were worried about Bug starting Kindergarten! Whoa… I need to know what you think about this plan because I have Verizon too and it is expensive!
I know right? Can you believe she’ll be graduating tomorrow? And she gets on green every.single.day! Amazing! I’ll let you know about the service as well. Verizon is evil!
As big sis to two younger sisters, I know how important it is to be able to stay in touch! What a sweet way to reward your girl for doing such a great job in school and the possible added benefit of happy husband and saving so much – that’s just icing on the cake! I’ve gone through the same thing with our outrageous contract plan but always looked at other contracts, skeptical about no contract options. I’ll be looking forward to reading more about your experience 🙂
It’s working out well for her so far. I’ve always been a little skeptical of the no contract plans too but I’m also extremely tired of the contracts!
Dang! I need to look at this wireless plan! Thanks for sharing! & Bug is so cute 🙂
That’s insane! I thought our bill was high. Who would blame you for switching?!?!