Hi Everyone-
My parents are on my brother's cell phone plan. They don't use their cells much at all. However, my brother told them that his monthly bill is going up and each one of my parents owes him $40 per month. (Of course his monthly bill is going up... his daughter now has data on her phone.) They don't text and only use about 100 minutes of phone time between the two of them per month.
I told them that maybe it's time to go on their own plan. So... I know there's "pay as you go" plan and pre paid cards for cell phones. Yet... I am not even sure how it works. I need you guys to help me understand the best route for them to go regarding cell phones. I could put them on my Sprint account for only $10 extra per phone a month (not including tax) However, I don't want my brother to get annoyed with me for getting too much involved by adding them to my account and deleting them from his Sprint account.
I'd like them to get new phones too. Simple ones without any extra features. They are in their 70's and are perfectly happy with just calling people. (no bells and whitstles needed what so ever!) Touch screen phones are too sensitive for them. (cameras, games, etc... just make things more complicated for them when these features are on phones)
My dad did call me this morning for advice on the best route to go regarding him getting his own cell phone account. I told him I'd look into that online tonight. So... can you please help me with my "homework?"
Please advise me on what options you think might be good for them.
Thanks so much!!
~Joy
Sorry, I can't help you with phone stuff... I'm not sure, but maybe you could just go to the Target and someone could talk you through their less expensive options. But the thought that occurred to me is the potential scam your brother is pulling. No offense, but it made me wonder what else he is "helping" them with and how much it is costing them. Good luck with everything :)
I have Us Cellular and I love my service and my phone. I get great reception no matter where I am. Even in places where others get low or no signal I have signal. I have a flip phone by Samsung that can also be an MP3 player but I've never put music on it. I have a camera on my phone it takes excellent pictures. The great thing about having a camera on your phone is if you are in an accident -- you have a camera to take pictures of any damage. I like the flip phone because I don't accidently call people. I've had my phone since May '09 and it has been totally reliable. I could upgrade but honestly don't need or want to.
They should be able to easily get a cell phone account for around $40/month for both of them.
My mom uses TracPhone. It does have a simple camera, but it is a flip phone. We can get her cards as gifts to top off her phone time and while she doesn't do texting, she can make calls, etc. If they are just happy calling people, then it may be the right option for them. Or you can add them to your account. Don't worry about your brother. He stated that it's more $$ for them on his plan so you call his bluff and take them on yours. You can simply state that you can give them what they need for less, so you're taking the burden off his family. $80 is not small change for people on a fixed income. If I had stayed with my flip phone and not gotten a data plan, my phone would have remained $10/month on my DH's account. I think your brother's increase is a little sketchy.
I have virgin mobile. I am still on the old true "pay as you go" as I was grandfathered in(I pay about $15 every three months!), but their plans are now prepaid monthly. I think the cheapest plan is $20 for something like 400 minutes. There is no contract, no obligation and the phones are very simple and cheap - I also have a little flip phone. They also have very affordable data plans.
I have had it for 9 years now and no issues. I don't use my phone very much, when I use it I get good reception.
Good luck.
When our plan changed my phone was costing us way more than it should based on how much (or actually how little) I was using it. I switched to Tracfone and have been happy so far, I was really happy I got to transfer my current phone number. My phone cost about $50 and automatically came with triple minutes for life, so if I buy 400 minutes I get 1200. There are some much more basic phones for $10-20. I probably use an average of $10/month, but have to pay up front for the minutes. I like how easy it is to see how many minutes and service days I have left (if you run out of either you lose service, some minute cards come with 90 service days, the bigger ones come with 365 service days). Texts cost me 0.3 minutes each to send or receive and picture texts cost me 1.0 min to send or receive. I think that is a pretty good deal. You can add minutes online or with prepaid cards that are available in all sorts of stores (big box store, grocery store, gas station), you can also pay on your phone but I think it is slightly more expensive that way. They do offer a couple of inexpensive monthly plans now too, one of those might work for their needs. I think tracfone would certainly be worht looking into. www.tracfone.com
My youngst uses a trac-fone - he doesn't want anything else at this time! He lucked into a plan when he got this phone (screen broke on the old one - several years old) that he gets double minutes for life on this thing! That would be a good option for your parents if it is still available!
It's been a year or so since I researched phone service and so there may be a less expensive way for them to obtain service on their own but I doubt it. I suggest that the best way to help them would be to add them to your plan. My daughter and son-in-law have his mother on their plan and it doesn't cost them any extra, probably because they made use of a "special offer." She received a new phone when they enrolled her. I wanted the extras and so have my own plan.
I suggest that you don't give in to your brother's unhappiness over adding them. I don't see how you could be too involved. They've asked you for help. It's reasonable that you help them. I wonder if he's relying on them paying to help him with his bill. I very much doubt that it costs $80 extra to have them on his plan. I suggest that if he's annoyed it's because you've stopped him from taking advantage of them.
When I was looking for a plan, I could go with a Verizon, basic service for one phone, for $20-30. It would not cost double that for 2 phones on the same plan.
I googled cell phone plans comparison chart and found this site. There were several sites available.
